Delgadito (Apache chief)
Delgadito whose Apache name was Tudeevia was a chief of the Copper Mines group of Tchihende people, one of the three divisions of central Apaches.
War-leader and chief
As a young warrior and later as a war leader and a chief, Delgadito fought under Tchihende chief Juan Josè and Fuerte. Later, he served under their successors Mangas Coloradas and Cuchillo Negro. He succeeded Mangas Coloradas as chief of the "Coppermine" Mimbreños.He played a significant role in Apache warfare from 1851 to the mid-1860s, along with his contemporaries Cochise and Nana, as well as younger leaders such as Victorio, Loco, Juh, Chihuahua, and Geronimo.
He may not have been the real leader of all the Mimbreños, however, since in the meantime younger Victorio, Mangas Coloradas's son-in-law, achieved even higher fame and prestige because of his extraordinary abilities as a warrior and a warlord, succeeding Cuchillo Negro as chief of the "Warm Springs" Mimbreños to every extent.
Delgadito stood side by side with Mangas Coloradas and Cuchillo Negro many times, and acted for them in dealing with North Americans and Mexicans. After parleys in the spring of 1850, Delgadito and some other Mimbreño and Nednhi chiefs signed a treaty that summer in Janos with Chihuahua representatives.
In June 1851, Delgadito, Ponce and Coleto Amarillo accompanied Mangas Coloradas to Santa Rita del Cobre to meet John R. Bartlett, the U.S. commissioner appointed by Washington to the United States and Mexican Boundary Commission, until the Apaches did not feel disappointed and betrayed by the Anglo-American newcomers. In the same year of 1851, the Santa Rita del Cobre copper mines were reopened and white people overran the area of Pinos Altos and Santa Rita, imposing their rule and giving deference to the Mexicans according to the agreements with the Mexican Government. In spite of the good will of the chiefs, who had to intervene repeatedly to prevent any drastic reaction by the warriors, relations became more and more difficult until the Apaches broke them.