Part II  ---   Cochise's War -- cont.
 

     After the Apache Pass fight, the erection of a fort in the middle of Cochise's land changed life for the Apache forever.  Nothing would ever be the same, and this Cochise must have understood implicitly.  His people could no longer return to their beloved Dragoons or Chiricahua Mountains with the same sense of security.  In fact, they were now an uprooted people with no safe haven either above or below the border.  Their on-again off-again truces with the Mexicans had never been long lived and in fact were taken for granted by both sides as temporary lulls in a centuries old hostility that was not likely to end anytime soon.

     Cochise, the ultimate protector, somehow kept his band together throughout this period and still found time to launch vicious attacks against his newest enemy, the duplicitous Americans.  This was at the very pinnacle of Cochise's influence and he had no problem drawing support from neighboring bands.  For a time, particularly during the early 1860s while the Civil War served to distract the American military, Cochise and his frequent ally Mangas Coloradas freely spread terror throughout the territories of Arizona and New Mexico, striking mining camps, ranches, stage lines and even stealing stock from under the noses of the soldiers at Fort Bowie on more than one occasion.

     In southeastern Arizona at was Cochise's name that inspired terror amongst the populace.  In New Mexico, it was Mangas Coloradas -- which is ironic since Mangas had spent considerable energy prior to the Apache Pass battle in trying to live harmoniously with the Americans, in whom he had placed an unusual degree of trust, thinking them to be possible allies in the struggle against the Mexicans.  These initial feelings fell to the wayside when Cochise was betrayed at Apache Pass.  In truth, he had already soured somewhat by that time with the greedy and often disingenuous miners who had invaded his homelands.  It took little to sway him to Cochise's cause, and his reputation as a ferocious warrior became a thing of legend in the New Mexican newspapers.

     This led to one of the most horrific events ever to befall the Apache nation.