The Black Legend: George Bascom, Cochise, and the Start of the Apache Wars [Hardcover]

In 1861, war between the U.S. and the hostile Chiricahua Apaches seemed inevitable. When a young boy was kidnapped, Lieutenant George Bascom confronted Apache leader Cochisean act some blamed for setting the smoldering conflict ablaze. This book analyzes that legend, versus what really happened, within the historical context of the Indian Wars.In 1861, war between the United States and the Chiricahua seemed inevitable. The Apache band lived on a heavily traveled Emigrant and Overland Mail Trail and routinely raided it, organized by their leader, the prudent, not friendly Cochise. When a young boy was kidnapped from his stepfathers ranch, Lieutenant George Bascom confronted Cochise even though there was no proof that the Chiricahua were responsible. After a series of missteps, Cochise exacted a short-lived revenge. Despite modern accounts based on spurious evidence, Bascoms performance in a difficult situation was admirable. This book examines the legend and provides a new analysis of Bascoms and Cochises behavior, putting it in the larger context of the Indian Wars that followed the American Civil War.Doug Hocking was born on Long Island. While still young, Hocking was transplanted to the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in New Mexico where he grew up forming close friendships with Native Americans and Mexican Americans learning the peoples, cultures, and terrain of the Southwest. Hocking currently lives in Sierra Vista, Arizona, where he has frequently visited the site of Forts Buchanan and Breckenridge, Cochises Stronghold, Johnny Wards Ranch, and Apache Pass, seeing them through the eyes of historian, ethnographer, and archaeologist.Reading line: Debunking the myths about what sparked the Apache WarsIn 1861, war between the United States and the Chiricahua seemed inevitable. The Apache band lived on a heavily traveled Emigrant and Overland Mail Trail and routinely raided it, organized by their leader, the prudent, not friendly Cochise. When a young boy was kidl³%