Geronimo's Skull & Bones

It's funny sometimes being a Yale graduate with my upbringing--a blue-collar, middle-class kid from rural America. One thing in particular I just never quite got was the whole secret society thing. As such, it's been a bit amusing to see all the attention they've gotten in the years since my graduation. The Skulls came out in 2000, trading on the name of Yale's most prominent "secret" society, Skull and Bones. A few years later, a classmate wrote Secrets of the Tomb, an exposé of Skull and Bones. And then, of course, the Skull and Bones memberships of both George W. Bush (and his father, and grandfather...) and John Kerry were frequently mentioned during the 2004 Presidential election; proof either of Yale's good-ol-boy network, or a vast conspiracy involving the Illuminati and others, depending on who you asked. (More below...)

One long-standing claim of Skull & Bones is that they had the bones of Apache leader Geronimo (plus Hitler's silverware, among other treasures and trinkets). Of course, 20 year old boys trying to be impressive and with a reputation for stealing aren't necessarily the most trustworthy, so many of these claims have been met with skepticism, and even S&B spokesmen have said it was a hoax. However, the Yale Alumni Magazine (which I didn't even realize was online--d'oh) recovered old documents that show, if it was a hoax, it's a really old one.

A letter written in 1918 from one "Bonesman" to another:

...announces that the remains dug up at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, by a group that included Charles C. Haffner Jr. '19 (a new member, or "Knight"), have been deposited in the society's headquarters (the "Tomb"): "The skull of the worthy Geronimo the Terrible, exhumed from its tomb at Fort Sill by your club & the K -- t [Knight] Haffner, is now safe inside the T -- [Tomb] together with his well worn femurs[,] bit & saddle horn."

Of course, this doesn't prove that any bones there are really Geronimo's--but that "...the letter shows that the story was no after-the-fact rumor. Senior Bonesmen at the time believed it."

This also has deeper implications than just a frat prank, such as burial rights for the Apache leader (which were addressed 20 years ago when the supposed Geronimo skull first came to public attention), and of course, historical significance. As noted in the article, it's also an interesting reflection of the times and the social history of Yale.

Image from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/97/Bonesmen_clock.jpg

More like this

The REAL force behind the evil that is the Skull & Bones Society is Charles Montgomery Burns, Yale Grad and all-round bad-guy. It would not surprise me if Mr. Burns funds the DI.

J-Dog says:

The REAL force behind the evil that is the Skull & Bones Society is Charles Montgomery Burns, Yale Grad and all-round bad-guy. It would not surprise me if Mr. Burns funds the DI.

Why you scurrilous curr...Smither's, release the hounds!
Ex-cellent.

I'm reminded of the Charlie Sheen parody Hot Shots, where all the paratroopers jump out of the plane shouting GERONIMOOOO!, and finally Geronimo himself appears and jumps, shouting MEEEEEE! :)

Dave, You are correct!
BTW - Is Mr. Burns also responsible for Pandas Thumb being down today? Is it the Skull & Bones Society? The Opus Dei freaks? Has Buffalo Bill Demski fnally actually accomplished something? What's Up With That????

Does Yale get any Federal Funds? Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) would probably apply... Would someone in the White House Press Corps ask George Bush why Yale is in violation of Federal Law?

By Christopher Gwyn (not verified) on 10 May 2006 #permalink

Yale does get federal funds. I don't know if they'd be held accountable, though, since Skull and Bones is registered as its own corporation (or something along those lines; it's a separate entity from Yale, anyway). I'm sure it's right on the top of Bush's "to do" list...

George W. Bush 'To-Do' List:

1. Find out...did I really go to Yale?

Nope, not at the very top anyway. :)

I would just like to ask, what is our society coming to when you can't even dig up some dead persons bones for a little fun anymore?

This is old enough that there's a Straight Dope column about it: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/051111.html

As Cecil points out, the account of the supposed grave robbery in S&B's history is contradicted by the known characteristics of the Geronimo gravesite in 1918. All that this letter is evidence of is that an S&B member, presumably not the one who wrote the "history", was repeating a claim which has an extremely dubious evidentiary basis.

An old hoax is still a hoax, and the boasts of a bunch of drunken, useless upper-class twits aren't a sterling, or even particularly credible, source of evidence.

Just because I consider the lot of them to be a turd floating in the genetic and historical punch bowl doesn't mean I'm obligated to believe them guilty of every accusation that floats over the transom.

By ktesibios (not verified) on 12 May 2006 #permalink

So no former Book and Snake / now blogger/prof? The cool ones were the Pundits. "Here put this hood on and get on this bus to Hamden. We'll be waiting for you, I promise."