Making Peace With Cochise: The 1872 Journal of Captain Joseph Alton Sladen

by Edwin R. Sweeney (Editor)

"Cochise" was a name that struck terror into hearts across the Southwest. Yet in the autumn of 1872, Brigadier General Oliver Otis Howard and his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Joseph Alton Sladen, entered Arizona's rocky Dragoon Mountains in search of the elusive Chiricahua Apache chief. Accompanied only by a guide and two Apache scouts, they sought to convince Cochise that the bloody fighting between his people and the Americans must stop. After twelve years of war, Cochise had already reached that conclusion, but he had found no American official he could trust.Known as the "Christian general" during the Civil War, General Howard was a man of courage, honesty, and compassion. When he went bravely to visit Cochise, who later recalled that "to do so might have caused his death", he won the Indian's sincere respect. Howard's devoted aide, Joseph Sladen, maintained a journal during their two-month quest from Fort Tularosa, New Mexico, to Cochise's stronghold. During the time he spent with Cochise and his Chokonen band, Sladen had the opportunity to observe the chief among his people. A student of medicine and human nature, Sladen found much to admire in Apache culture. His anecdotes about Cochise offer a perspective on the man that no other account provides.

Joseph Sladen's journal is a unique source on Chiricahua lifeways and an engrossing tale of travel and adventure. Enriched by Edwin R. Sweeney's introduction, epilogue, and lively notes, Making Peace with Cochise is both a tribute to the legendary chief and his people and a remembrance of two courageous officers who helped change the course of Apache-American relations.

179 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Cathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In preparation for an upcoming trip to the Chiricahuas, I wanted to learn more about Cochise and the Apaches. This journal, from the 1872 expedition, describes the challenges of the landscape, the tension between the native Apaches, American settlers and miners, and Mexicans, and the hesitations on behalf of the Apaches and the Whites to make the meeting with Cochise happen. Captain Sladen uses language typical of the time, describing the Apaches as blood thirsty, raiding savages, but also acknowledges the many treacherous actions by Whites and Mexicans that were equally, if not more, violent towards Cochise’s people. His descriptions, after spending two weeks with Cochise and his closest circle of family and friends, are tender, open-minded, and even affectionate. While the peace lasted only a few years before being broken by the Whites and US government, it was a remarkable negotiation, with much mutual respect on both sides for the men who permitted it to happen.