On this date in 1874 famed Apache leader Cochise died, not in battle but of probable abdominal cancer, on the Chiricahua Reservation in southwest Arizona.
It is believed he was born in 1805 probably in Sonora, Mexico. For more than 10 years during the 1860s Cochise, (Cheis in his native language) conducted numerous raids on settlers in that region and southern Arizona.
All-out war between the U.S. Government and Cochise began when the chief was accused of kidnapping the son of well-known Irish-American rancher, John Ward. Lt. George Bascom, a U.S. Army officer, offered a
friendly meeting with Cochise at a spot in Apache Pass. But Bascom instead, ordered Cochise held as a hostage until the boy was returned. Enraged by Bascom’s double cross, Cochise escaped. Following the incident, he and his warriors reigned terror on American settlements in retaliation resulting in hundreds of casualties and hundreds of thousands in property damage.
But the seeds of the conflict had been sown several decades earlier. After years of strife with the Spanish, the Apache sided with the United States in its war with Mexico, promising safe passage for U.S. troops through Apache territory.
When Mexico ceded expanses of that territory to the U.S. after its defeat in 1846, it resulted in an increasingly uneasy relationship between its native people and the influx of gold miners and settlers.
The seizure of Cochise acted as a catalyst which finally caused his resentment to boil over. The band was eventually driven into the Dragoon Mountains (above) but the chief’s retaliatory raids continued until 1872. A peace 
accord was finally reached between Cochise and General Oliver Howard (right) and the 67-year-old warrior retired to New Mexico’s Mescalero Reservation. where his descendants still reside.
General Howard went on to become perhaps best known for his relentless pursuit of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce which ended in the Battle of Bear Paw Mountain in 1877. The kidnaped boy, Felix Tellez, now a Apache scout for the U.S. Army going 
by the name Micky Free, (left) finally came forward to say his captor were not Cochise and the Mescaleros but Western Apaches.
A fictional account of the struggle in author Elliott Arnold’s 1947 novel, “Blood Brother,” greatly enhanced the Cochise legend. It reached the Silver Screen in 1950 with the Delmar Daves film “Broken Arrow..” Brooklyn-born actor Jeff Chandler portrayed Cochise as a tragic figure forced to defend his way of life against white incursions. Director John Ford also provided a sympathetic portrayal of Cochise and the Indian cause in the 1948 film, Fort Apache.
It would take more than another decade before the part of the famous chief was given to a Native American. Cochise’s grandson at age 92 portrayed his famous ancestor on the pilot episode of the 60s TV classic High Chaparral.
The Mescalero Apache Cultural Center & Museum 181 Chiricahua Plaza, Mescalero, New Mexico, features collections of clothing, tools, weapons, baskets and cultural items of the Mescalero, Chiricahua and Lipan people. 
Located two hours north of El Paso, Texas, the museum is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 4:30. Admission is free and guided tours are available on request. for more information go to mescaleroapachetribe.com, call (575) 464-4494 or write Mescalero Apache Cultural Center and Museum, P.O. Box 227, Mescalero, NM 88340. © Text Only – 2017 – Headin’ West LLC – All photos – public domain.