Mickey Free

Mickey Free (1848/1851 - 1914), Apache name Mig-gan-la-iae, birth name Felix Telles, was an Apache Indian scout and bounty hunter on the American frontier. Following his kidnapping by Apaches as a child (an event which led to the Bascom Affair), he was raised as one and became a warrior. Later he joined the U.S. Army's Apache Scouts, serving at Fort Verde between December 1874 and May 1878 and was given the nickname Mickey Free.

Early life Telles' mother was Maria Jesus Martinez, a Mexican woman. His father was Santiago Telles. As sixteen-year-olds, the two met and fell in love but Telles did not marry Maria Jesus, perhaps because of resistance from Santiago's parents. His given name at birth was Felix. In 1858, Maria Jesus and her two children, Felix and his half-sister, Teodora Rangel, met and moved in with John Ward, an Irishman who had migrated to the Arizona Territory and started a ranch. The August 26, 1860 United States Census for the Sonoita Creek settlement in the Arizona Territory indicates that Felix Ward was 12 years old, his sister Teodora was 10, and his sister Mary Ward was 5 months. Maria Jesus Martinez was listed as 30 years old and John Ward as 54 years old. A half-brother, Santiago Ward, later claimed his birth as July 25, 1860, but this contradicts the census record. John Ward and María Jesús had five children before his death in 1867.

Capture by the Apaches Felix Telles was playing by himself and climbed a tree near his farm. An Apache Warrior rode up beside Felix and put him on his horse abducting him into the tribe. Felix was abducted at age 12 on January 27, 1861, by a Pinal Apache raiding party. He was later traded to the Coyotero Apache, who are also known as White Mountain Apaches. The kidnapping had lasting implications for relations between the Apache and the United States. Felix Telles's abduction led directly to the start of the hostilities between the United States Army and the various Apache nations. John Ward was away from his home on Sonoita Creek on business. Returning home, he learned from neighbors that his cattle and step-son had been taken by Apaches.

Scout for the US Army He joined the U.S. Army's Apache Scouts on 2 December 1872 as a scout and within two years he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. He was posted to Camp Verde to serve as an interpreter, where he met Al Sieber.

Because the soldiers could not pronounce the Scouts' names, they gave them nicknames. Due to his red hair and other features, the soldiers claimed the scout named Feliz, bore a resemblance to a character in Charles Lever's 1840 novel, Charles O'Malley: The Irish Dragoon named "Mickey Free".

Free served as a scout for George Crook in the pursuit of Geronimo and Nana. He accompanied Crook on his expedition to the Sierra Madres in 1883 and accompanied Chatto and other Apaches on a visit to Washington, D.C., in 1886. He left the scouts in 1893.

In his time as a bounty hunter, Free tracked the Apache Kid, who at one point had a $15,000 reward on his head. Free pursued a bounty for the Apache renegade Massai, but Free never caught Massai.

Later life and death After leaving the Army, Free moved to the Fort Apache Indian Reservation with the remainder of the White Mountain Apache Scouts and lived out the rest of his life as a farmer until his death in 1914. Free married two White Mountain Apache women at the same time named Ethlay and Ochehey. Polygamy was customary among the various Apache tribes. He married four times and had two sons and two daughters.