"...standard works of American history. Which is not to say that no-one realised it even earlier; think of the history of Geronimo, for instance."

Pleeeze...Geronimo was born was south of the United States in Mexico and was never an American.

Geronimo's wife and three children were killed by thugs sent from Mexico City in a program intended to pacify the unhappy natives.

He fought like a madman against a band of Mexican soldiers, killing (I believe) 8 of them without suffering even a scratch.

That made him one of the biggest targets in the country, so fled to the Chiracahua Mts. in what is now southeastern Arizona where he was protected by the Apache, distant relatives of Geronimo.