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Cochise County
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Fort Bowie National Historic Site - "The Bascom Affair" - Spring
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On February 4, 1861 Second Lieutenant George Bascom, leading a detachment of 54 soldiers, encamped on this meadow. It was here, in Bascom's tent, that the lieutenant confronted Chiricahua Apache Indian Chief Cochise and demanded the return of a kidnapped boy and some livestock that were thought to have been taken by the Apache. Cochise denied having been involved and fled the tent. Cochise succeeded in escaping but all six of his party were captured. The two sides skirmished for sixteen days in Apache Pass. During the tumult the stage depot was used as a refuge for the soldiers. Following the massacre of a wagon train the Apache prisoners were executed. Eleven years of bitter warfare between Cochise and the United States followed.
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"Cochise was as fine a looking Indian as one ever saw.
He was about six feet tall and straight as an arrow, built
from the ground up. Perfect as any man could be."
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James Tevis, Apache Pass Stage Depot Keeper.
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