As age and illness caught up with Cochise, naturally his appearance reflected his decline -- but even then, to a lesser degree than one might expect.  It was not until death drew near, in the final year of his life on the reservation he had managed to secure for his beloved people, that the strong and arrow-straight body would finally yield to overwhelming forces.  More will be discussed of this in the section Broken Arrow.

     In November of 1872, less than a month after General Howard's history-making excursion, A. P. K. Safford, Governor of the Arizona Territory, paid Cochise a visit, accompanied by agent Thomas Jeffords.  This was about a year and a half prior to Cochise's demise from some sort of chronic stomach ailment (most historians feel it could well have been cancer).  Safford wrote:
 

     In summation, though we have no actual photographs to consult we do have a very good picture of what Cochise looked like, and what kind of man he was beyond his role as Chief.  No one, upon meeting him, came away less than viscerally impressed.  His physical stature was only part of his great presence.  A line from the famous 1950 motion picture Broken Arrow (inspired by the novel Blood Brother by Elliot Arnold) said volumes.  It was spoken by an old and wise Apache, who had been trying to teach Tom Jeffords (portrayed by James Stewart) a little of the Apache ways.  As Jeffords prepares to ride unarmed and alone into Cochise's camp, the Indian gives one final heartfelt council: "Remember then, if you see him, do not lie to him.  Not in the smallest thing.  His eyes will see into your heart.  He is greater than other men."