How an 11-Year-Old Was Taken by Apaches and Trained as a Warrior

He was just 11 years old when the Apaches took him. But instead of dying in the wild, Herman Lehmann was reborn—as a warrior. Captured during a raid, young Lehmann was torn from his home and thrust into the harsh world of the Apache. He endured brutal initiation rites, hunger, punishment—and emerged transformed. Over nine years, he learned their ways, rode on raids, fought enemies, and even hunted his own people. His story isn’t romanticized—it’s raw, violent, and astonishingly real. Through his own words, we glimpse a vanishing world of survival, honor, and the blurred lines between captor and kin. How did an 11-year-old boy survive life among the Apache and Comanche—and what happens when a warrior is asked to return to the world he left behind? The campfire is ready, so stay with me tonight; the story is about to start. My name is Sam, and this is Wild America. ———————————————————————————————————————————————— CHAPTERS: 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:06 - Chapter I 00:08:18 - Chapter II 00:12:23 - Chapter III 00:16:13 - Chapter IV 00:21:14 - Chapter V 00:25:19 - Chapter VI 00:29:29 - Chapter VII 00:36:23 - Chapter VIII 00:43:12 - Chapter IX 00:48:56 - Chapter X 00:57:02 - Chapter XI 01:00:35 - Chapter XII 01:12:22 - Chapter XIII 01:18:02 - Chapter XIV 01:25:41 - Chapter XV 01:38:28 - Chapter XVI 01:42:27 - Chapter XVII 01:46:58 - Chapter XVIII 01:50:14 - Chapter XIX 01:56:33 - Chapter XX 02:04:22 - Chapter XXI 02:15:30 - Chapter XXII 02:24:49 - Chapter XXIII 02:30:59 - Chapter XXIV 02:38:20 - Chapter XXV 02:49:32 - Chapter XXVI 02:57:27 - Chapter XXVII 03:02:24 - Chapter XXVIII 03:09:22 - Chapter XXIX 03:15:33 - Chapter XXX 03:22:03 - Chapter XXXI 03:26:55 - Chapter XXXII 03:30:03 - Chapter XXXIII 03:37:46 - Chapter XXXIV 03:40:05 - Chapter XXXV 03:43:50 - Chapter XXXVI 03:48:50 - Chapter XXXVII 03:54:40 - Chapter XXXVIII 04:00:07 - Chapter XXXIX 04:05:10 - Chapter XL 04:09:30 - Chapter XLI 04:19:21 - Chapter XLII 04:27:20 - Chapter XLIII 04:32:18 - Chapter XLIV 04:53:36 - Chapter XLV 04:54:59 - Chapter XLVI ———————————————————————————————————————————————— All materials in these videos are used for educational purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement is intended. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of said material, please contact me via my email in the "about" page on my channel. ———————————————————————————————————————————————— As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Wild America sometimes utilizes similar historical images, AI representations and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Wild America is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are American history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. ————————————————————————————————————————————————