Way down South - Fort Bowie

Seventeen Jerry Sule decided he had had enough of adventure, sleeping in the tent and roaming around the South West with no plan in mind; or perhaps he was simply homesick for Green Bay, Wisconsin. So we decided to drive him to the nearest Greyhound Bus station which was in El Paso, Texas. We could have found one closer to Deming but I felt like taking a trip as far south as i could get and this gave me an opportunity; so i can say I was in the state of Texas once or that we crossed the Rio Grande from New Mexico into Texas.

After dropping Jerry off at the bus station i set off on my own headed West on Highway 10 towards Tucson in Arizona. Along the way I would camp along the roadside most of the time hidden from the Highway in some bushes when evening fell.
One of my memorable experience while camping off the road was sitting by a small river there in front of me was a small hot spring; just a small hole alongside the river bed enough for a body to lie in it. As the sun set and darkness fell I sat facing a small fire I had built and after sometime I began to feel like i was being watched from behind. on both sides of the the river were low hills with tall grass like vegetation and the light from the fire had lit up the surrounding area and it was surrealistic in beauty. I was afraid for sometime to turn my head and look what was behind me but eventually mastering my fear I turned and what i saw gave a startle as there were six pairs of eyes staring back at me from the hill slope. In a neat line six deer stood perfectly still staring back at me. We stared at each other for some time and then as I reached for my camera the deer family bounded up into the darkness of the hill. When they left i felt alone, me and the sound of running water and a fire slowly burning out.

 my next major stopover was the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is located in southern Arizona, south of Ajo, west of Tucson, and east of Yuma. I dont remember whee i got the idea in those days but I had the understanding that this was where the great Chiricahua Indian Chiefs  Cochis, Naches and Chato had their camps and so i was bound and determine to pay my respects to my old Heroes. The whole area of tall boulders standing upright really reminded one of Organ Pipes. There were small dried river beds which I believe during a rainfall in the area flash floods were frequent. I sat and did some sketching of the area and took many pictures. Meditating in the wilderness like this was what i had traveled for, I wanted to feel rather than see what was there. It is sad that I have lost most of my notes and pictures of my journey but somethings once experienced can never be forgotten.

Biography
Cochise (or "Cheis") was one of the most famous Apache leaders (along with Geronimo and Mangas Coloradas) to resist intrusions by Americans during the 19th century. He was described as a large man (for the time), with a muscular frame, classical features, and long black hair which he wore in traditional Apache style. He was about 1.78 m (5'10") tall and weighed about 175 lbs.^[2] In his own language, his name "Cheis" meant "having the quality or strength of oak."^[3]
Cochise and the Chokonen-Chiricahua lived in the area that is now the northern Mexican region of Sonora, New Mexico, and Arizona, which they had moved into sometime before the coming of the Europeans.^[4] As Spain and later Mexico attempted to gain dominion over their lands, the various Chiricahua groups became increasingly resistant. Cycles of warfare developed, which the Apaches mostly won. Eventually, the Spanish tried a different approach; they tried to make the Apaches dependent (thereby placating them) upon poor-quality firearms and liquor rations issued by the colonial government (this was called the "Galvez Peace Policy"). After Mexico wrested control of the territory from Spain, and didn't have the resources (and/or possibly the will) to continue it, the practice was ended. It had worked for quite a number of years, but the various Chiricahua bands resumed traditional raiding to acquire what they needed after the Mexicans no longer made provisions for them (in the 1830s).
As a result, the Mexican government began a series of military operations in order to either capture or neutralize the Chiricahuas, but they were fought to a standstill by the Apaches. As part of their attempts at controlling the Chiricahuas, Mexican forces began to kill Apache civilians. Oftentimes this would be accomplished with the help of American and Native American mercenaries, and paying bounties for scalps was not uncommon. Cochise's father was one of these victims. This hardened Cochise's resolve and gave the Chiricahuas Apaches more rationale for vengeance. Mexican forces did capture Cochise at one point in 1848 during an Apache raid on Fronteras, Sonora, but they exchanged him for nearly a dozen Mexican prisoners.


My next destination was Fort Bowie where i was told there was a grave site for Geronimo's wife and child killed by the the Whiteman. The trip itself was long and beautiful as i drove with the Sonoran desert laid out on my left and the mountains on my right. I felt like an adventurer making a long journey of discovery in the deep southwest of the United States; my and my Chevy Impala. The whether was not too hot as it was in winter and driving along with the windows rolled down I felt freedom.


  Naches Son of Cochise

Fort Bowie was a 19th century outpost of the United States Army located in southeastern Arizona 
near the present day town of Willcox, Arizona.

Fort Bowie was established in 1862 after a series of engagements between the U.S. Military
 and the Chiricahua Apaches. The most violent of which was the Battle of Apache Pass.
The fort was named in honor of Colonel George Washington Bowie commander of the 5th California Infantry
who first established the fort. The first Fort Bowie resembled more of a temporary camp than
a permanent army post. In 1868, a second, more substantial Fort Bowie was built which included
adobe barracks, houses, corrals, a trading post, and a hospital. The second Fort Bowie was built
 on a plateau about 300 yards (270 m) to the southeast of the first site. For more than 30 years
 Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were the focal point of military operations eventually culminating
 in the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama.
The fort was abandoned in 1894.

I must apologize for having to depend on the information provided by the Wikipedia as mentioned earlier most of what I had captured through pictures and sketches have long gone missing.my feelings as i stood over the small insignificantly marked graves of Geronimo's wife and son was etched into my mind as to the sadness and the pain of struggle these indigenous people must have endured. The Chiricahuan nation survived the harshness of their environment but succumbed  to the onslaught of the Whiteman

"Oh the History books tells it, they tell it so well,

The Calvary charge, the Indians Fell,

The Calvary charge the Indians died,

But the country was young then,

With God on its side."

                                                                         Lyrics by Bob Dylan