March 2019 20 Three Great Apache Chiefs continued from page 18 on him in retaliation. The Lieutenant broke camp and returned to the stage station, where he had the station’s stone walls for protection. Long War Begins Cochise appeared at the station the next morning with a white flag of truce. Bascom took Wallace, a stage station employee who spoke Apache, station keeper culver and his assistant Walsh out with him to meet Cochise. Francisco, chief of the Coyoteros, was with Cochise. The two sides met some 150 years from the stage station. The talks got nowhere. Cochise gave Bascom some of his own medicine, cutting off the return of Bascom and his group to the station. Cochise captured Wallace. Culver and Walsh broke free and ran back to the station, which Bascom had already reached. Culver was hit by Apache fire as he reached the door and was badly wounded. Bascom’s troops in the stone corral heard gunfire and saw Walsh running for their position. Mistaking him for an Apache, they opened fire. A bullet hit Walsh in the head killing him instantly. Cochise left the scene with Wallace as his prisoner. Barter Material A couple of days later, Cochise attacked a nine wagon freight train and captured two Americans named Lyons and Jordan. The Apaches killed all eight of the Mexicans with the train. He was already holding Wallace and with Lyons and Jordan, he had three Americans to barter with for the release of his family. He offered to exchange the three Americans for his relatives held by Bascom. The Lieutenant refused, demanding Cochise turn over Felix Ward first. Frustrated, Cochise killed the three American prisoners. William Oury, the Tucson agent for Butterfield, and a party made their way to the stage station where Bascom was holding the hostages. On the way, they found the three mutilated Americans and buried them. They decided that in retaliation, they should hang all of the Apache hostages Bascom was holding prisoner. Hanging Bascom was holding six Apache men, including the brother and the two nephews of Cochise, a woman, and a boy. It later was learned that the woman was Cochise’s wife and the boy was his infant son Naiche. After reaching the station, Oury and the troops with him joined Bascom’s detachment and they rode back to Fort Buchanan. When they reached the spot where the three Americans had been buried, the six Apache men were lynched. Cochise’s wife and infant son watched the hanging then were taken to Fort Buchanan. 11 Years of War Cochise and Mangas Coloradas joined forces to war on the Americans following the Bascom treachery. For two years, until the murder of Mangas, these combined forces, joined by several other Apache tribes, raided throughout New Mexico and Arizona Territories along the Mexican border, evading troops by slipping south across the border to long-standing hideouts in the Sierra Madres. Across the southern regions of New Mexico and Arizona Territories, miners and settlers were forced to abandon their mines, farms, and ranches in the face of constant Apache raids. Virtually all settlers abandoned their Sonoita Valley homesteads. RV, Diesel and Automotive Repair Please call 623-376-6791 for details or to be added to our reservation list for RV Valet & Concierge Storage services. Super Sized with 18 Bays and 12 Lifts Including 2 for RV’s Expanded Service Center to Accommodate More RV and Diesel Vehicles Additional Services for Commercial Vehicle Maintenance Repair RV Valet and Concierge Services The Civil War caused the removal of what few troops were in the area and the Apache had free reign in 1862 and 63. In one commander’s words “It appears that all of the tribes this side of the Rio Grande are united.” The Chokonen were joined by the Chihennes led by Mangas and by the Bedonkohes. Geronimo was a top warrior of the Bedonkohes, a small tribe that ranged between the Chokonen to the south and the Chihennes to the north. Battle at Apache Pass California Volunteers under Brigadier General James Carleton moved into the Tucson region in the summer of 1862 to drive back to Texas a column of Confederates that had invaded what was to become Arizona Territory. Carleton’s route went through Apache Pass between the Dragoon and Chiricahua mountains. The arrogant George Nicholas Bascom held Cochise's family prisoner for something Cochise was innocent for. Tom Jeffords earned Cochise's trust and friendship. Jeffords was also the only white man who knew his final resting place. continued on page 23