The Indian Wars: Chapter Three:
“Drink The Same Water, Eat The Same Bread, Council Rocks, Dragoon Mountains, Arizona”
© 2005, 2008 Stu Jenks
Sweet Jesus, I've never been so happy to engage the 4-wheel-drive in all my life. That dirt road out of Tombstone is one of the worst washboard roads I've ever driven on. Huge standing waves of dirt and rock, and trying to drive on the shoulder, like I do up on the Navajo Rez, just doesn't work here. There is no shoulder, no ditch. Just one long carpet of washboard from edge to edge, but now after ten miles of teeth-rattling, I've turned onto the smooth gently rolling Jeep trail that leads deep into the Western side of the Dragoon Mountains.
Never been on this side of the Dragoons before, but I've felt pulled to it lately after I started researching Cochise and his Chokonen band of Chiricahua Apaches. On the outside of the Dragoons, on the eastern slope, is Cochise's Stronghold, a place I've been to a number of times over the years, but this Jeep trail on the western slope is brand new to me and that's saying something, given all the dirt roads in Southern Arizona I've driven on over the past 20 years. My U.S. Forest Service map of the area lays draped over a pillow that sits in the passenger's seat of my Pathfinder, a pillow that muffles the rattle in my right door but also serves as a place to rest my head when I take catnaps on long trips. No sleeping today though.
I stop the truck after about a half mile, and study the map. I look in the rear view mirror. No one behind. No one in front. I take a little time.
On the map there seems to be a place called White House Ruins. Doesn’t look far. And near that to the south, are something called Council Rocks. I wonder what those are? I wonder if any thing significant happened there, back in Apache times? Feels like something happened here. Just a feeling. Well, let's go see what we shall see.
[A couple of weeks later, I discovered that a lot did happen over on this side of the mountain, but I didn't know it at the time. Just had that strong feeling. My intuition was right.
In 1872, peace was finally negotiated with Cochise near Council Rocks and a few years early, further north in the Western Stronghold area, it’s said that it was there that Tom Jeffords first meet Cochise.
A little about Tom Jeffords, the man who will forever be known as Cochise's best White friend. Born in 1832, Thomas J. Jeffords was a tall, thin man with red hair and a long beard. In the 1850's, he was a sailor on the Great Lakes. He helped lay road in Kansas and Colorado after his stint as a boatman, and he prospected in New Mexico before the Civil War. In the Civil War he was a scout for the Union General E .R. S. Canby, in the area of New Mexico and Arizona. After the Civil War, things get a little foggy to say the least. It is known that he either started or managed a mail run, that traveled between Santa Fe and Tucson. He probably met the Chihennes clan of the Apaches in New Mexico before he meet Cochise and his Arizonan Chokenen band. My guess is that it was through his knowing the Chihennes that he learned to speak Apache. After not too long, he quit the mail business and went back to prospecting and trading and finally ended up in the Canada Alamosa area of New Mexico in 1869. Some evidence points that he met Cochise for the first time, in Canada Alamosa when Cochise briefly came to talk a little peace. The peace talks failed, mostly because the U.S. Government wanted him to move to New Mexico, and Cochise want to stay in his beloved Chirichaua and Dragoon Mountains. Anyway, many facts tend to point toward Jeffords meeting Cochise in New Mexico, but there are two stories that strongly contradict that notion, one of those I like to think is closer to the truth.
The first story is from Jeffords' account told to Robert Forbes in 1913 when Jeffords was his eighties, a story that was told again in the movie "Broken Arrow" and in the book "Blood Brother" by Elliott Arnold. Basically what Jeffords told Forbes was, that in the early 1860's, when according to Tom, he was running the mail through Cochise's land, he was tired of getting his couriers killed by Cochise’s people. Seems most riders never made it to Tucson from parts East, with perhaps as many as 20 of Jeffords' employees being killed running the mail on horseback, along the old Butterfield Stage road. Tom said that he took a big risk and rode alone into Cochise's camp in the Western Stronghold area of the Dragoons. He had arms but did not show them. He just walked right up to Cochise's wickiup and introduced himself. Cochise was so impressed with Jeffords' bravery and lack of fear that he spared his life and after some discussion, Cochise agreed to let Jefford's mail pass through his land unhindered.
A few problems with this story: First, only Jeffords tells this story this way. No Apaches, no troops, nobody ever heard of this story. Secondly, Apache raids on the mail continued throughout the 1860’s until the eventual peace with Cochise in 1872, and third, Jeffords probably wasn't carrying the mail at that time all. Many said that after the Civil War, Jeffords was mostly prospecting and a number of reliable sources say that Jeffords met Cochise while prospecting in the mountains of Southeastern Arizona.
The account that I think is probably closest to the truth is the story told by Mrs. Eve Ball, the oral historian of the Apache Tribe. She states that Jeffords didn't go find Cochise. Cochise ran across Tom while he was prospecting and due to Jefford's fearlessness, Cochise didn't kill him. Judging from what is often written about Jeffords, he was a straight shooter, didn't bullshit anyone, and told the truth no matter what others thought. But Tom was also known for keeping his mouth shut instead of lying when he wanted to withhold the truth. He also fluently spoke the Apache language. That, I believe, is incredibly significant, that he could talk directly to the Apaches and to Cochise in particular. Also, Apaches, as a people, prized candor and truthfulness as very high virtues and also believe in just being quiet rather than telling a bold faced lie (The exception to the rule being lying to your enemies in order to get him off guard so you can kill him. Makes sense to me.)
I picture Tom and Cochise's meeting, something like this. Remember: I'm just making this up.
Tom is digging a hole, looking for gold or silver or copper, maybe in the Dragoons, maybe in the Chiricahuas. I'm guessing the Dragoons. He hears a horse whinny, then another. Through the trees he sees five to ten Apaches on horseback, slowing riding toward him. He probably think he's screwed but you never know. Perhaps he speaks first:
Jeffords: (in Apache) "Hello, how are you doing?"
Cochise: (flanked by a number of his warriors, his horse stops. He's surprised a white man speaks his language. His warriors rest their rifles on their laps. They look intently at Jefford. Only Cochise speaks) "I'm well. How are you?
Jeffords: "I'm good too, Thanks."
Cochise: "My name is Cochise."
Jeffords: "Mine is Tom Jeffords."
Cochise: "So you speak my language?"
Jeffords: "Enough to get by."
Cochise: "You know this is my land, don't you?"
Jeffords: "I sure do."
Cochise: "What are you doing here?"
Jeffords: "Looking for gold, but not having any luck. Just digging a hole mostly."
Cochise (smiles) : "You also know that I've killed a lot of white men."
Jeffords: "Yep, I know that too. Seen your handiwork quite a bit."
Cochise: "Do you think I'm wrong to kill the white man, to kill the Mexicans?"
Jeffords: "I'd rather you not kill this white man." (He points to himself.)
Cochise: (smiles again) "You don't seem that frightened."
Jeffords: "Oh, I'm scared but frankly, you'll either kill me or you won't and there ain't a goddamn thing I can do to stop you. But, Cochise, truth be told, I'd prefer that you let me live."
Cochise: (laughing) "Are you always this blunt?"
Jeffords: (shrugs) "Pretty much, at least that what my friends say."
Cochise: (smiling) "I like you. I don't think I'll kill you today. Would you like to come to my camp tonight and have some dinner with me and the wives?"
Jeffords: "Thought you'd never ask."
(Both of them laugh, even the young Apache braves chuckle a bit.)
I bet you, dimes to a doughnut, this is closer to the truth, but hell if I or anyone else really knows for sure. And I don't blame Jeffords for sweetening the story when he was an old man. I'll probably be telling people, if I make it to my 80's, that those flame spiral photographs I made in my 40's were actually not created by me using a Zippo lighter but rather were the visual records of ghosts I saw in the desert moonlight. But one thing is certain. However they met, Cochise and Jeffords became fast friends. They trusted each other, cared about each other, and neither ever betrayed the other.]
This is interesting land. The huge rocks of the western slopes of the Dragoons seemed to have just tumbled down from heaven, easily coming to rest on this almost flat plain of tall grass and lush Mesquite. No foothills to speak of at all here in this part of the mountains. Just an easy rising and falling through the shallow arroyos, then back to driving my Pathfinder on the flat and smooth of the high desert. Campers are here and there, hidden in the trees, but not very many. Maybe three bunches in the hour I've been on this road. I've just past camper number three and then up ahead, I see a majestic cluster of boulders, rising to at least a thousand feet or more. Even from a mile away, I can see how I might be able to bushwhack high on those rocks Maybe not to the very top, but damn close to it. I drive a bit faster now, and with minutes, I've crossed that mile. I take a right onto a side road and quickly find a place to park the truck. As I get out, I notice that I'm parked on a flat red ant hill. I pull the Pathfinder up a few feet.
I gaze up at the majestic rocks. I wonder if this is Council Rocks? Are the White House Ruins nearby? I suddenly don't care. I'm here. Those boulders are there. I want to get as high up on them as I can. I stow my Brownie in my water pack, shoulder them and head for the base of those rocks.
[By 1872, Cochise was ready to stop fighting the Americans. Many of his warriors were dead. The women and children of his clan were terribly hungry. And my guess is that the resentments he carried over his brother’s and his father-in-law’s deaths at the hands of the Americans were just too much for him to bear anymore, at the expense of his people. He was ready for peace.
But, two U.S. Generals of greatly opposing ideas on how to solve the ‘Indian Problem’ jockeyed for power. First there was General George Crook, a man who had been fighting the Apaches all across Southern Arizona for the last year. He was not for the placement of Indians on reservations. He wanted to defeat them, kill them, and kill them some more. But then another General arrived in 1872 and he outranked Crook.
O.O. Howard was a deeply Christian man who lost an arm in the Civil War. Howard saw the Indians as people, not as vermin to be exterminated and he had a mandate from Washington, to do anything he could, to bring peace to the area and to lead the Apaches onto a reservation.
General Howard arrived in New Mexico and soon found out that a man, a white man, was a close friend of Cochise's. He summoned Tom Jeffords to his camp and employed him to find Cochise and invite him to come to Howard's camp and talk peace. Tom was straightforward and direct as ever, telling Howard that Cochise would never come to Howard, but he would be happy to take Howard to see Cochise. Jeffords also said that they must not come with force, but to come unarmed. Howard agreed to that, and in the coming days before their journey to find Cochise, O.O. was so taken by Tom Jeffords, that he appointed him to be the agent of the 'The Cochise Reservation', if and when it was formed. Within a few days, Howard, Jeffords and three other men began their trek to find Cochise.
With the help of some Apaches along the way and a bit of luck, The Howard-Jeffords party found Cochise in the Western Stronghold of the Dragoons. Accompanying the party were two of Cochise's relatives, Ponce and Chie. Ponce and Chie burned smoke signals the day before their arrival, to say who they were and why they were coming. Cochise's scouts had been seeing the progress of this group for days, but the knowledge of the presence of relatives really helped the cause. Jeffords' being there as well gave Howard the extra clout he needed too.
Jeffords, Howard, Ponce, Chie and the others camped that night near the Stronghold, and the next day, Cochise came to see them. Cochise immediately hugged Jeffords and Jeffords then introduced Howard to him.
"This is the man," Jeffords said to Howard.
"Buenos dios, Senor," Cochise said, shaking Howard's hand. (Many Apaches knew Spanish. It was often the common language between Apaches and Americans.)
Cochise then pulled his friend Jeffords aside.
"Do you think the General and his men will be honest and do as they say they will do?" asked Cochise.
"Well, I don't know," said Jeffords, "I think they will, but I will see that they don't promise too much."
After briefly talking with Ponce and Chie, Cochise went to Howard and asked why he was here.
"I have come from Washington to meet your people and to make peace, and I will stay as long as it is necessary," said Howard.
Cochise then said, "Nobody wants peace more than I do. I have done no mischief since I came from Canada Alamosa, but I am poor, my horses are poor, and I have but a few horses left. I might have gotten more horses by raiding the Tucson road but I did not do that."
Howard then proposed his idea of a reservation at Canada Alamosa in New Mexico.
"I'll go, but I am sure it would break my band," said Cochise, knowing his people would not agree to that.
Then it is said, to everyone’s surprise, Cochise said, "Why not give me Apache Pass? Give me that and I will protect all the roads. I will see that nobody's property is taken by Indians. But I need to talk this over with my captains, and most of them are out making a living." (By the way, 'Making Living' was Cochise’s way of saying they were out stealing livestock in Mexico.)
Howard agreed to wait until Cochise had talked with his leadership. Cochise, however, asked that Howard go to Fort Bowie and tell them that a truce was in place and not to fight with his captains as they came to the Western Dragoons. Howard first wanted to send Lt. Sladen but Cochise insisted that Howard go himself. That night with the help of Chie, Howard made his way to Fort Bowie. Howard later talked about the tough crossing of the Dragoons, how he tore his coat to shreds, riding in the dark. Howard got to Fort Bowie the next morning, delivered the message of truce, and left the fort around 2 p.m. to make his way back to the Dragoons. The next day, Howard arrived after having traveled 80 miles in just a couple of days.
Then came the long wait until all of Cochise's captains came to the Western Stronghold area. Lt. Sladen is our best witness of that week in Cochise's camp. Sadly, little was known by whites of how the Apaches lived until these peace talks. Not even a accurate physical description of Cochise, post-Civil War, was available until the Sladen accounts of this meeting. Many thought Cochise was old and beat down, when in reality, he was still strong, relatively young and the best groomed of all, white and Indian alike.
During that week, Sladen witnessed Cochise getting drunk and having a fight with one of his wives, and saw Jeffords stepping in to calm down this domestic dispute. Another time Sladen heard Cochise singing and praying over the wounded body of one of his warriors. Sladen had medical training and Howard offered Salden services to Cochise. Cochise thanked them but refused. He told Sladen that the warrior was very ill, and if he died, and his people knew that Sladen had worked on him, they might think that Sladen had given him bad medicine, hastening his death and they would then want to kill Sladen. Sladen agreed with Cochise and didn't treat the warrior. The man died a few days later.
One by one, the Apache captains arrived throughout that week, twelve all total, with two others absent who they were off raiding in Sonora, Mexico. The following day, the captains and Cochise held a council to decide if they wanted peace. General Howard wanted to sit in, but Jeffords dissuaded him from this, saying that they would know soon enough by the sounds that came from the council camp. Sure enough, soon Cochise returned to where Jeffords and Howard were camped and stated that they were ready to decide on the specific terms of peace.
The terms were simple. Even though Howard initially wished for Cochise and his people to go to New Mexico, he acquested and agreed to Cochise's terms that the reservation be on land that was beloved by Cochise and his people, namely the Chiricahuas Mountains, the Dragoons, and most of Southeastern Arizona, down to the border with Mexico. The U.S Government also agreed to provide provisions of food and clothing. Cochise agree to protect the roads and to keep them safely open to travel. And finally, Tom Jeffords would be the Apaches' Indian agent on the reservation, representing their needs to the U.S. Army and to the Federal Government. I believe that without Jeffords' willingness to perform this role, the peace would have never happened.
During the negotiations with Jeffords and Howard, Cochise is quoted as saying that "Hereafter, the White Man and the Indian are to drink from the same water, eat of the same bread, and be at peace."
A couple of days later, everyone went home, except for Cochise who was already home. There were concerns if the peace would last, especially among the officers who had not come to the Council from Fort Bowie. The fort would now be at the center of the reservation. But the biggest concern was Mexico to the south. The Apaches would likely raid across the border, taken cattle whenever they wished. Cochise himself said that "the Mexicans are on one side of this matter and the Americans are on another. I made peace with the Americans, but the Mexicans did not come to ask peace from me."
But that matter would come home to roost later. This peace with the Apaches was strong and significant and Cochise and his people would stay at peace with the Americans for the remainder of his life. Cochise never again fought with the U.S. Army nor did he himself raid Mexico again (even though a number of his people did). General Crook was furious when he heard the conditions of the treaty, but he had very little power to change anything. And as the peace continued to hold, Howard began to not only get support from the newspapers in Tucson but also from the ranchers and miners of Southern Arizona.
Peace had finally come, negotiated by an old trio of men: A one-armed Christian General, a straight-shooting loyal ex-prospector, and a tall, fastidiously dressed, Apache Indian Chief.]
I'm guessing I'm about 800 feet above the valley floor. Off a ways, I can see Chesapeake, my truck, parked in a turnaround. Further west is the gently rising silhouette of the Whetstone range, and to the southwest, the large blue mass of the Huachuca Mountains.
I sit, cradled in this space that’s made by numerous large granite boulders. There’s a sheltering feeling to this place. Also, the granite hasn't be worn by cattle hoofs or by hiking boots, the stone rough like five-grade sandpaper. A middle-aged Juniper tree struggles for purchase in a crack of a boulder, the tree’s width wider than its height, knurled by the westerly winds. There is no soil to speak of, for the tree. Just fine granite dust and pebbles. Life does find a way.
I take out my Kodak Brownie and squeeze off a couple of diptych shoots of that three foot Juniper tree. I look around for some other images to shoot but I feel a little caught in the moment and decide to put down the camera. Sometimes, taking pictures gets in the way. I grab my water and drink deep. It tastes so good. I begin to wander around my large stone cradle. I walk more lightly than I usually do. I'm so aware of how virgin this landscape is, how perhaps a hiker or two over the years may have come up here, but it isn't really that dramatic to draw most folks up to these rocks. I wouldn't be surprised if the last person up here wasn't Apache.
I sit back down again, and look toward the tall stone tower to the south. I can see why Cochise loved these mountains so well.