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Cochise: The Life and Times of the Great Apache Chief
This biography provides the first Apache view of a crucial period in American history
- GenresBiography
354 pages, Hardcover
First published June 30, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 5, 2024
Throughout my adult life I often get back to reading new books describing Native American life and legends. It's a topic that I have an ongoing appetite for. The way many Native Americans thought and think - deep concepts about the nature of life and creators and gods and stewardship and harmony - moves me to tears: "They decided to convene the peace conference ... They gathered beneath the shade of a great oak whose leaves had gathered news from the wind for longer than any man there had lived. Cochise sometimes wondered what wisdom he might have gathered had he the patience to sit as long and as still as that oak, smoothed and steadied by the passage of the years." Aleshire begins each chapter with a Native American story of wisdom that relates to that segment of the life of Cochise and the Apaches.
Aleshire frequently writes in a style reflective of Native American thought and beliefs. He comments in the Preface about the extreme difficulty that arises from writing a biography about a person in a different culture: "Imagine if you had to write a biography of George Washington using only accounts written by British soldiers ... Imagine if the only primary sources describing Julius Caesar were accounts by Gauls those villages he destroyed. Imagine writing a psychological portrait of Marie Antionette using only descriptions written by French revolutionaries with at least one family member who had been executed by the king." I can't comment on the accuracy of Aleshire's accounts, but I believe he wrote this with utmost respect for Cochise and his people and presents a balanced picture of the conflicts that occurred then.
Cochise was a Chiricahua Apache (or Chokonen) who was already a respected warrior when he came into leadership of the Chiricahua Apache when several other leaders died at about the same time as each other. From the viewpoint of miners, settlers and the military, lethal raids by the Apache and other tribes were a terrible source of death, constant fear and wariness. From the Apache point of view, " ... this was more a struggle of wills ... frightening the setters away (from their cherished ancestral land)." Five years ago my son and I visited Chiricahua National Monument in Cochise County, Arizona. It's an amazingly rugged mountain landscape with odd rock formations. It's very easy to see how the Apache people felt safe and protected deep in the harsh wilderness there.
Cochise's life was an ongoing struggle with Mexican and American armies. He led war parties alongside his famous father-in-law Mangas Coloradas, and at times alongside Geronimo of the Bedonkohe people. Cochise was a fierce warrior who survived decades of brutal battles. His people believed that he had special powers of warfare that strengthened and empowered him, but also which protected him from death in battle. There are certainly numerous accounts of his bravery and of surprisingly few wounds despite close encounters with well-armed enemies in so many battles. Parenthetically, it was interesting to learn from Aleshire that as far as the Chiricahua Apache were concerned, the habit of scalping enemies was a practice taken from Sonoran Mexicans.
When one reflects on the responsibilities of a Native American leader in the days of the great conflict with Mexican and American forces, one is struck with the incredible pressure and heavy weight of decision-making that such a position entailed. A bad decision didn't just mean a project was put behind schedule, or that family finances were tightened for a while. It meant that people were killed, safe havens were lost, etc. The entire tribe would suffer.
I wasn't aware of the activities of the North and South forces in the Civil War that played out in the American Southwest during this time. Cochise was very surprised, not then being aware of the Civil War, that the White Man abandoned Fort Buchanan, Arizona, the largest and closest settlement. The North had decided that their troops were more important in California to prevent the possibility of Southern forces gaining control of California's gold and ports. Later, Northern forces drove Southern forces completely out of New Mexico as well. Aleshire goes on to point out that "the original treaty between the United States and Mexico ending the Mexican War obligated the Americans to curtail Apache raiding into Mexico, which was one reason the Mexicans were willing to cede so large an area to the United States (Arizona and New Mexico) - most of it was empty and unsettled due to the constant threat of the Apaches. Therefore, the long war between the Apache and the Mexicans may have been the crucial factor in the Southwest ending up part of the United States."
Cochise was always looking for a way to peacefully coexist with Mexicans and Americans. He did finally negotiate a peace acceptable to himself and his people that allowed them to remain in a familiar setting. Tragically, the agreement did not last long after his death.
Aleshire's description of the body paint designs and costumes of the 4 dancers who performed the sacred dances for 4 days of the Ga'an or Mountain Spirits made me wish to see a modern day performance. I know it would be beautiful and emotionally powerful.
Aleshire frequently writes in a style reflective of Native American thought and beliefs. He comments in the Preface about the extreme difficulty that arises from writing a biography about a person in a different culture: "Imagine if you had to write a biography of George Washington using only accounts written by British soldiers ... Imagine if the only primary sources describing Julius Caesar were accounts by Gauls those villages he destroyed. Imagine writing a psychological portrait of Marie Antionette using only descriptions written by French revolutionaries with at least one family member who had been executed by the king." I can't comment on the accuracy of Aleshire's accounts, but I believe he wrote this with utmost respect for Cochise and his people and presents a balanced picture of the conflicts that occurred then.
Cochise was a Chiricahua Apache (or Chokonen) who was already a respected warrior when he came into leadership of the Chiricahua Apache when several other leaders died at about the same time as each other. From the viewpoint of miners, settlers and the military, lethal raids by the Apache and other tribes were a terrible source of death, constant fear and wariness. From the Apache point of view, " ... this was more a struggle of wills ... frightening the setters away (from their cherished ancestral land)." Five years ago my son and I visited Chiricahua National Monument in Cochise County, Arizona. It's an amazingly rugged mountain landscape with odd rock formations. It's very easy to see how the Apache people felt safe and protected deep in the harsh wilderness there.
Cochise's life was an ongoing struggle with Mexican and American armies. He led war parties alongside his famous father-in-law Mangas Coloradas, and at times alongside Geronimo of the Bedonkohe people. Cochise was a fierce warrior who survived decades of brutal battles. His people believed that he had special powers of warfare that strengthened and empowered him, but also which protected him from death in battle. There are certainly numerous accounts of his bravery and of surprisingly few wounds despite close encounters with well-armed enemies in so many battles. Parenthetically, it was interesting to learn from Aleshire that as far as the Chiricahua Apache were concerned, the habit of scalping enemies was a practice taken from Sonoran Mexicans.
When one reflects on the responsibilities of a Native American leader in the days of the great conflict with Mexican and American forces, one is struck with the incredible pressure and heavy weight of decision-making that such a position entailed. A bad decision didn't just mean a project was put behind schedule, or that family finances were tightened for a while. It meant that people were killed, safe havens were lost, etc. The entire tribe would suffer.
I wasn't aware of the activities of the North and South forces in the Civil War that played out in the American Southwest during this time. Cochise was very surprised, not then being aware of the Civil War, that the White Man abandoned Fort Buchanan, Arizona, the largest and closest settlement. The North had decided that their troops were more important in California to prevent the possibility of Southern forces gaining control of California's gold and ports. Later, Northern forces drove Southern forces completely out of New Mexico as well. Aleshire goes on to point out that "the original treaty between the United States and Mexico ending the Mexican War obligated the Americans to curtail Apache raiding into Mexico, which was one reason the Mexicans were willing to cede so large an area to the United States (Arizona and New Mexico) - most of it was empty and unsettled due to the constant threat of the Apaches. Therefore, the long war between the Apache and the Mexicans may have been the crucial factor in the Southwest ending up part of the United States."
Cochise was always looking for a way to peacefully coexist with Mexicans and Americans. He did finally negotiate a peace acceptable to himself and his people that allowed them to remain in a familiar setting. Tragically, the agreement did not last long after his death.
Aleshire's description of the body paint designs and costumes of the 4 dancers who performed the sacred dances for 4 days of the Ga'an or Mountain Spirits made me wish to see a modern day performance. I know it would be beautiful and emotionally powerful.
October 18, 2009
Very interesting. The book is far more than a history book. It is written from the perspective of Cochise himself. The almost unbridgable differences in cultures becomes extremely clear this way. Obviously, that could lead to many errors of interpretation, but the author makes a convincing case on the basis of all the references he uses. The story in itself is an intensely sad one of course, but given the time in which it happened, it is difficult to imagine it ending in a different way...
May 3, 2013
A novel approach to writing history. Made the story flow very well.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews