Mickey Free
Mickey Free (b. 1847/1848; d. 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, he was raised as one and became a warrior. Later he joined the US 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.