I began my search almost as soon as I had gotten settled into my new home, striking out with enthusiasm and determination and armed with a sense of discovery.  I was confident that the site would not be hard to find.  After all, the photo Ed had sent, though contrasty (it was in fact a Xerox copy), contained clues in the form of unique rock shapes that shouldn't be hard to spot.  I was also quite certain that the site in the photo would lie somewhere in the vicinity of the site of the Forbes photo.  Ed's book ("Making Peace With Cochise") places the Forbes site "just south of the mouth of the West Stronghold Canyon".  I drove to the spot where the Forest Service road enters the canyon and set out on foot, hopes high, eager to run across the Forbes photo site.

      About four hours into my first days' search, it began to dawn on me that finding even that was not going to be easy.  A few days later I placed a call to Ed Sweeney to ask him for better directions.  It had been years since he had been shown the site, on one of his many research trips, and he could not come up with anything more specific.  The area is miles from any major road (though, ironically, it is easily visible from Interstate 10 just as it enters Texas Canyon, if you know where to look).   There is a meandering Forest Service road that snakes along the west foothills of the Dragoons, but Ed told me the Forbes site is only accessible by foot.  I returned to the area dozens of times in the ensuing months without success.  I could find neither the Forbes site nor the campsite depicted in the "new" unpublished photo.  Discouragement was setting in.

      A year passed, then longer.  I had acquired a new respect for the immensity of the area and was learning why Cochise had chosen it for his famous stronghold.  The endless sprawl of huge boulders and blind passages create ready-made, easily defensible positions.  Canyons criss-cross, leading to hidden valleys.  Spurs jutting from the foothills protect flat grassy plains that would make ideal camping for a small band, with a plethora of escape routes within easy reach.

      While my search had yet to yield success, I gained a deep fondness for this country.  There is a peacefulness inherent in the silent rocks creating a mood of reverence.  Thankfully our culture has yet to impinge to any great degree on Cochise's west stronghold.  Aside from a horse ranch, owned by good family that deeply respects the history there, the place is at was a hundred or more years ago.  One has to gaze far in the distance, out over the San Pedro Valley, to see the footprint of civilization.  It is a good place to spend time.