“Prescott Bush, George W's grandfather, and a band of Bonesmen, robbed the grave of Geronimo

November 10, 2003 1:18 PM

“Prescott Bush, George W's grandfather, and a band of Bonesmen, robbed the grave of Geronimo." Grandpa Prescott brought the skull of the Apache leader back to Yale in 1919, where they were kept in a glass case in the Skull and Bones House. Today the Mescalero Apaches are not amused. Meanwhile, the Skull and Bones initiation ceremonies are finally revealed! Eating clubs are nothing compared to this...
posted by zaelic (15 comments total)

Boys will be boys.
posted by troutfishing at 1:46 PM on November 10, 2003

Oh, you mean like this one?
posted by Mo Nickels at 1:47 PM on November 10, 2003

It's a shame that the doonesbury.com strip archive appears to now require a subscription. Trudeau did some funny stuff on GHW Bush's involvement with Skull & Bones in 1988, or thereabouts.
posted by tingley at 2:00 PM on November 10, 2003

I grew up amongst the Mescalero tribe.

Don't piss them off.
posted by WolfDaddy at 2:05 PM on November 10, 2003

Wolfdaddy, while I know they can be tricky to deal with, they make wonderful music.

Aw, come on. Somebody had to.
posted by soyjoy at 2:11 PM on November 10, 2003

Skull and Bones goes way back in time, and I had often passed their tomb-like quarters when growing up in New Haven, but now, since women for some years have been attending Yale, I wonder whether S and B admits babes...all reference here seem to be to "the boys." Could it be a gay club? If so, can't they now come out?
posted by Postroad at 2:25 PM on November 10, 2003

I knew it. He is eeeeeevil...
posted by jpburns at 2:26 PM on November 10, 2003

I wonder whether S and B admits babes...all reference here seem to be to "the boys." Could it be a gay club? If so, can't they now come out?

Postroad, from the 60 Minutes article:

But Skull & Bones now has women, and it’s become more multicultural.

“It has gays who got the SAT scores, it's got the gays who got the straight A's,” says Brooks. “It's got the blacks who are the president of the right associations. It's different criteria. More multicultural, but it's still an elite, selective institution.”
posted by pardonyou? at 2:28 PM on November 10, 2003

dangnabbit! Soyjoy beat me to it.
posted by scody at 3:50 PM on November 10, 2003

Prescott Bush is Jules Verne.
posted by hama7 at 3:52 PM on November 10, 2003

Mo: I find the S&K strange enough, but how many American presidential dynasties have grave desecration as one of their proudest moments? And you gotta admit, it would be hard to deny that Geronimo was a real American hero. He didn't have to make up lies about why he went to war. And, he actually went...
posted by zaelic at 3:59 PM on November 10, 2003

Lying and thievery have been Bush family traditions for generations.
posted by wsg at 4:12 PM on November 10, 2003

and we keep right on rewarding such behavior. here's hoping the violent removal of theives and liars from office will someday become an even bigger american tradition.
posted by quonsar at 4:31 PM on November 10, 2003

A directional mike and a webcam. Total Information Awareness does have its uses!

GNN has a well-linked overview on Skull & Bones, including the surprising hold that the Russell Trust has on Yale (i.e. owning much of the campus) but plays down the masturbation angle. For my money, Rosenbaum had the mikes in the wrong place. (Admitting women must have made this part of the initiation that much more interesting.) Anyway, he's been a bit obsessed -- here's his 1977 article for Esquire. And if you want to play mix and match with the current administration, be my guest.
posted by dhartung at 12:20 AM on November 11, 2003

Just a small quasi-ego-trip: My great-great-grand uncle was the man responsible for bringing in Geronimo and making peace with him. Yay.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 12:28 AM on November 11, 2003