The Wrath of Cochise: The Bascom Affair and the Origins of the Apache Wars

by Terry Mort

In February 1861, the twelve-year-old son of Arizona rancher John Ward was kidnapped by Apaches. What followed would ignite a Southwestern frontier war between the Chiricahuas and the US Army that would last twenty-five years. In the days following the initial melee, innocent passersby would be taken as hostages on both sides, and almost all of them would be brutally slaughtered. Thousands of lives would be lost, the economies of Arizona and New Mexico would be devastated, and in the end, the Chiricahua way of life would essentially cease to exist. In a gripping narrative that often reads like an old-fashioned Western novel, Terry Mort explores the collision of these two radically different cultures in a masterful account of one of the bloodiest conflicts in our frontier history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Biography, Native Americans, Native American, Westerns

400 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2013

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terry Mort writes the story of the clash of two cultures which couldn't have been more different--the Chiracahua Apaches and the United States. His focus is on the Bascom Affair of 1861 which ignited a war which would last for ten years. In that incident, a young and inexperienced Lt. George Bascom met with the warrior Cochise. Cochise was accused of kidnapping a twelve-year-old boy who was an Arizona rancher's son. Cochise very likely was not responsible but Bascom took Cochise's family hostage as well as Cochise himself, to be released upon the return of the boy. Cochise managed to escape and began a war upon the U.S., a war that would end with the destruction of the Chiracahua culture. Mort reconstructs what happened in the incident. Much of the book gives a background on the two men who made the fateful meeting and then the aftermath- and what happened to the major figures involved. Some very tragic history and one is left wondering how conflict could have been avoided...

[David Eppenstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not very familiar with this area of history but a recent trip to the Southwest inspired me to acquaint myself. This book was more than I expected. Not only was it a good biography of Cochise but also a good survey of the culture, traditions, and lifestyle of his tribe. Further, as the history of the area unfolds it was necessary for the author to also delve into the history. Of the Mormons and their settling of Utah. This book was quite informative and has piqued my interest in the history of the West.

[Dralex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book simply because it was offered on special at my usual on-line book retailer, and its content lay beyond my usual reading but within my deepening interest in history. As an Australian, I was taught very little of American history at school, and I have learnt little in the decades since. I cannot comment, then, on the accuracy of the book, having no knowledge of the subject against which to assess this book. I comment, then, as an ignorant layman.

It struck me very early in reading this book that I could rest easy, as it were: I was in the secure hands of a writer who was intelligent, knowledgeable, and wrote in a manner that held interest.

That initial impression remained with me throughout the book, only diminished a little in regard to the holding of my interest, and only in the second half of the book; why that was so, I'll indicate a little further below.

I am very glad to have read the book. I certainly feel that I have learnt much, and that my interest in the matter that the book presents, and in American history more widely, has been heightened.

Mort is clearly a well-read author, and one who has done wide research for the writing of this text. He also afraid neither of expressing opinions from time to time, nor of searching for human elements and psychology in the historical figures he deals with. Most of the time this seemed to me to enhance the book, to add to the human richness of his material, and to give the book something significantly more than a historical recount; that is, without these more subjective elements, the reader would be less able to consider the relationship between the past events dealt with and the world we inhabit today.

Mort's expression of his extensive reading takes him into territory that some readers may not find as interesting as I myself did. He is clearly interested in Greek mythology; Homer is first mentioned on page 58 (a fact I could verify through the book's useful index), and on pages 274-275 Mort gives us (or perhaps indulges in) a long discursive argument that "there are surprising parallels between the Chiricahua culture and that of the Homeric Greeks as depicted in the Iliad." The last words of the book are a quote from Homer's Iliad. Since my doctoral studies were on classical Greek tragedy, this all struck me as very interesting. Other readers may have a different response.

Again, Mort is interested in words and language, and the power of words; so am I. In parts of his text, philosophy gets an airing. Consider his quote from Maj. Alfred E. Bates on page 203: "Savages cannot be civilized without first being taught to respect the power which civilization promotes, and the only argument which avails with them is the one they employ - the argument of force." Callicles' argument that might is right came to mind (Plato's Gorgias, 483-484).

For an Australian reader, such concepts are particularly of interest in reflecting on the European settlement of Australia and the relationship between the settlers and aboriginal inhabitants. "Savages" was a favourite word used by the settlers of the Australian aboriginals, also; and Sylvester Mowry's counsel that the Apaches "must be surrounded, starved into coming in, surprised or inveigled - by white flags, or any other method, human or divine - and then put to death" (quoted on page 67) has parallels in Australian history; there was a widespread view that the aboriginals were not human ("Before they are made christians you must make them men", wrote a correspondent to the Sydney Herald in September 1838. Some argued that those who killed aboriginals at the Myall Creek massacre of that year could not be convicted of murder, since you can only murder a human). Mort's comments on the idea of the noble savage, and on beliefs in a hierarchy of races and cultures are, likewise, relevant to Australian history. As a final note on this point, Australian readers may also find their understanding of the relationship between aboriginals and the land enriched by Mort's discussion; his quoting Basso, Wisdom Sits in Places, p62, is apt: "geographical features have served the people for centuries as indispensable mnemonic pegs on which to hand the moral teachings of their history". In respect of all this, I found this book challenging, thought-provoking, and significant.

On page 157, Mort is unfolding the back-story, telling his readers of Geroge Bascom's history leading up to his encounter with the Chiricahuas of early 1861. "Was there a girl he left behind? Let us say that there was. Going into harm's way he deserved to have someone to think about, whether she existed for real or only as a wishful product of his imagination." On page 183, "Perhaps, too, the very existence of a people like the Goshutes might have shaken a young officer's Christian faith - and in a strange way frightened him. Could these people really be a member of the human species, could they actually have been made in the image of God?" Expressions such as "most likely", "must have" and, most frequently, "would have" begin to appear more frequently.

I have said above that Mort's willingness to see life in the historical figures, to understand them as people rather than mere figures from historical recounts, is a significant positive in the book. At times, though, I found the "would have" sapped my confidence. It is, of course, a device to obfuscate the reality that a person's thoughts, or indeed certain facts, are unknown to us. Perhaps I would have found this less problematic even if the wording were slightly different, acknowledging the speculation more openly.

In the same sections, I became aware that the filling in of the historical background was taking slightly longer than my own highest level of interest was maintained.

Overall, then, this is a book from which I gained a great deal. I would happily read it again, and may indeed do so some time down the track; I would happily, also, read another book by the same author, if it seemed to fall within my own areas of interest. It is not, for me, a five-out-of-five star book, but it is a very fine one.

[Tom Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished the story about Cochise and it was excellent, the way it was written was good and the story itself was very informative. The struggle between two different cultures, one trying to enforce his way of live onto another culture who was there way longer than his. Try to get Cochise and his people to change the only way of life that they have known for centuries. Yes there was misunderstandings on both sides which led to years of savagery on both sides. But then you look at the way the white man and the government has treated the native Americans by breaking treaty after treaty (example the black hills which were sacred to the native Americans), forcing them off their land and forced relocation to so called reservations there only to have them die off from diseases. We owe the native Americans more than just lip service. If any one group deserves reparations it is the many Indian tribes through out this country.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mort gives us an academic study of the events at Apache Pass in present day Arizona that sparked a ten year long war between the Apache and the United States. He examines the background and culture of the principal participants. Cochise and Lieutenant Bascom for most of the work. The author is fond of using big words so the average reader needs to have a dictionary handy. Insight into the Apache way of life is provided.

[Christine Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

"White people store their cultural values in libraries and museums and universities; Apaches stored them in specific places in the landscape and in the stories that were rooted there and passed along from generation to generation...When something happened was not important; where it happened and what it meant were what mattered."

This book tackles the "where" and "what it meant" much more than the "when" it happened. The author tackles a single place in the book and really digs into the forces at work around that place. The scope expands beyond Apache Pass when he looks into these forces: the educational system for officers (who made the decisions), the tensions between the Mormons & army (which influenced the lives of those who made the decisions), the Apache culture (which those who made the decisions knew little about, but which directly affected the outcome of the action), and the Butterfield line history (which is why the army even cared about this dusty path in Southern Arizona).

I enjoyed learning about all of these things, especially as one who has grown up in the desert Southwest. There is much about my part of the earth that I do not know, and there is much history that must be left out of history classes because the school semester is short. I had heard the name Cochise, and I've visited Glorieta Pass, but I knew little else about the history covered in this book. The author has done a fine job of digging into that history and unearthing some of the forces at work on that fateful day in that fateful pass.

[Mario Olgin · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst historical books I have read. Mort gives too much background on the march westward of American settlers. The Bascom Affair garners 10 pages at most. Author relies too much on quotes from noted historical authors. Mort speculates plenty on what Cochise and Bascom may have been thinking in their daily lives, not to mention the Bascom Affair.

Although he introduces Cochise at the beginning of the book, he does not get into the specifics of Cochise until midpoint of the book. The Mormons get more attention than Cochise.

[CJ Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Another fine example of cause and effect in the profession of arms. Bascom was a fool, and his actions caused unnecessary bloodshed that lasted for over two decades. But being a fool was as much the fault of his leadership who failed to recognize that he was ill-prepared to lead his men. Uneducated leaders are uninspiring leaders; that can only lead to trouble.

[Pamela Okano · Rating 3 out of 5]

A so-so book on the background leading to the Apache Wars, this volume contains a lot of pure speculation, which the author admits. At the end, there's a small bit about how the Civil War was fought in the southwest.

[Hari Brandl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing with extensive bibliography, footnotes and first sources. Includes a fair amount of the history of Mormonism, not especially flattering. Heartbreaking.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Along with Neither Wolf nor Dog, this book changes my perspective of Native Americans. The realistic view of the soldiers was enlightening too.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Culture clash in the Old Southwest between Mexicans, United States and the Apaches especially Cochise and Lt. George Bascom.

[Mark Bolle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book that goes into Apache culture and the history of that time. It does a great job of showing the events and attitudes that lead up to the start of the Apache wars.

[Lance Holter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough read when you consider it was the might of colonialists against families of indigenous peoples. They fought and made peace and were betrayed over and over. At the whim of westward expansion.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I was exposed to a lot of new information, but the book strayed off topic at times.

[Karl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terrible book. It was mostly focused on the background. Not on the main subject.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read, well researched when the author reported known historical facts. The book was less interesting when the author speculated on various psychological and social matters.

[Anthony Contreras · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t usually write reviews but I got some comments on this one. The story of Cochise and what happened between him and Lieutenant Bascom is an incident that stands out in a fascinating and complex period of American history. I think the author does a great job of spending time delving deep into the Apache culture and way of life in the beginning of the book and comparing that to the way of life and values instilled on young Army officers of the time by West Point and their experiences in their frontier assignments. However, this book spends way too much time on random tangents that add little to no substance or this comparison, which is meant to be the overarching theme of the book. For example, the author spends about 60 pages in the middle of the book talking about the Mormons move to Utah and the subsequent tensions with the US government. Instead of simply saying, “Bascom’s first experience on the frontier was in Utah because of increasing potential for conflict with the Mormons” the author takes up a significant chunk of the book explaining the background for the situation, a situation that is not related to what is supposed to be the main focus of the book (and main reason I picked this book up). I think this book should have spent much more time on the subsequent conflicts between the Apaches and US Army (which is only briefly summarized in the last two chapters), or, if the author wanted to mainly focus on the Bascom incident itself (which he explains in a very detailed manner), should have eliminated the unrelated tangents and as a result been about 80 pages shorter.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not the place to explain the concept of Manifest Destiny which may have united more of the USA during the 19th Century than any religion or political party. It provided the vision for the march of citizens and immigrants west across the continent.

In the 1840s, it justified the Mexican War and resulted in the largest addition to the USA since the Louisiana Purchase. But it wasn't sufficient. It wasn't easy enough for the railroads to lay their track. So, in the 1850s, there was pressure to make a deal, and Mexico was too weak to resist. It became the last major addition to the continental USA. What wasn't calculated were the Native Americans that came with the territory.

This book focuses on an incident involving a kidnapping, a counter-kidnapping and the resulting 20 years of major (and avoidable) conflict with Chiricahua Apaches. My knowledge of this history had been limited to assiduous research in the files of Hollywood epics. You, too, may be familiar with the names, Cochise and Geronimo, from TV and pictures.

This book concerns "The Bascom Affair" and the reader will learn in all its detail. How Lt. George Bascom, a Mormon, made the decisions that affected a generation and resulted in much hardship and avoidable death. The background to this is fascinating and represents a great deal of research. Thus, it plods. The reward is an understand of some of the issues that persisted into the 20th Century and color relations in the Southwest even until today.

Now, if you excuse me, I will go back to watching Broken Arrow with Jimmy Stewart.

[John Bascom · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting if at times tedious account of events and encounters leading up to the worst of the conflicts with the Apache Indians in Arizona in the mid to late 19th century. This book was of interest to me in that one of the key historical characters, Lt. George Bascom, was a distant relative of mine. Mr. Mort is nothing if not detailed, sometimes deviating into barely relevant and only loosely related historic events such as the Mormon wars in Utah. The author's writing itself is workman-like if uninspired. It is also quite repetitive at times. To its great credit, the book avoids the patronizing and maudlin characterization of the Apaches as gentle victims seen so often in contemporary if politically correct portrayals, and brings out instead the overwhelming belligerence and cruelty of which they were capable. Given their behavior, one cannot imagine another outcome other than that which occurred: their complete extermination as a people. Overall an interesting read, although I don't smell a Pulitzer Prize here.

[Tzi Alexander · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Wrath of Cochise: The Bascom Affair and the Origins of the Apache Wars by Terry Mort was one of the worst historical biographies I have ever had the unfortunate ability to read. Terry Mort who has no credentials in which to write a book about Cochise focused entirely too much on the idea of Bascom and too little of Cochise the subject topic. Detailing the details of Bascom's life while interesting is not useful in a book called the Wrath of Cochise.

Terry Mort is a boring author with no credentials to write historical biographies and has a very monotone way of writing. His writing style is like reading a series of bad thesi and extremely boring books like In His Steps.

I would only recommend this book to those that want something to put them sleep. A horrid, boring, warped read, I would never wish this book on anyone. Do not read it.

[Karyl Krug · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lessons of the clash between the White people and the Indians apparently did not stick. In 1848, the U.S. Army considered Indians savages because they were not men of science. Imagine what they would think of so many Americans' hostility to science today. Neither side took a nuanced view of the other, lumping the violent Apache in with more peaceful tribes. The Indians resented the mining Whites were doing in their sacred mountains. Even today, Americans have to fight off industrialists to prevent the mining and destruction of our national parks. Whites sought to convert Indians to Christianity, when the Whites were consumed by their love of golden idols. No lessons have been learned from our own history. Splitting and demonizing of "the other" continues apace.

[Steve Meier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terry Mort is an excellent writer and quite an interesting read. It is really more of a book about the desert Southwest and overall environment and culture clash which led to the Apache War. The writing is easy to read but Terry uses some challenging words so good for those who want to extend their vocabulary. I enjoyed this because I have visited the Chiricahua Mtns and understand the terrain.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was suggested by my friend Ron Gossen as part of a two-book read, including Robert Utley's Geronimo. The clash between Cochise and Lt. George Bascom characterizes our military's approach to the Native American civil war. Mort's book details how Bascom and Cochise ended up face-to-face in Apache Pass, and sparked a generation of bloodshed.

[Mike Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times while reading this book I thought the story was reaching into areas that had little to do with Cochiese or LT Bascom, but patient reading reveals why the author included historical forays into Mormons, the Utah War, the Civil War and government corruption and other areas of interest as well. This was good history, thoroughly covered and not dusty or dry.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the Apache Pass event was significant and interesting in understanding Cochise and Gascom but the author really overdoes the history, lessons learned and Indian culture. Could have been 200 pages shorter.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book were very interesting. I have never even heard of the Utah War! And others parts got a little bogged down. However, it was an interesting read and I did learn more about Apache culture & customs.

[Cheryl Schibley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Apaches were raiders, the Mormons were killers. Together they teamed up to kill a lot of people in the late 1800's. Fascinating account of the War of Utah and the rise of the Mormons and the demise of native Americans.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author spent a lot of time writing about general historical events in the "Indian wars" and development of the west. I expected a more detailed account of the actual apache wars, especially the war started by the Bascom affair but I was disappointed.