Mangas Coloradas, << MAHN guhs kol uh RAHD uhs >> (1790?-1863), was a leader of the Chiricahua tribe of the Apache, whose land covered what is now northern Mexico, Arizona, and southwestern New Mexico. The name Mangas Coloradas means red sleeves in Spanish.
Mangas became known for the raids he led from the 1830’s through the 1850’s against Mexican settlers on Apache land. After the United States defeated Mexico in the Mexican War (1846-1848), many U.S. settlers and miners began moving to or traveling through the area. In 1861, Mangas and his son-in-law Cochise joined forces to fight U.S. soldiers and settlers and to prevent travel through their land.
In January 1863, Mangas agreed to meet with U.S. soldiers near Pinos Altos in what is now New Mexico to discuss a peace settlement. When Mangas arrived, he was taken prisoner and jailed at Fort McLane. Mangas died at the fort the next day, on Jan. 18, 1863. Soldiers said they killed Mangas as he was trying to escape. But many historians believe a report, said to have come from an eyewitness at the fort, that the soldiers tortured Mangas to provoke him to resist. According to this version of the story, the soldiers pressed heated bayonets against the prisoner’s feet and legs until Mangas finally tried to resist, and then they shot him.
