The surprisingly dreary product of 15 years of painstaking
research, Sweeney's first book is a flat biography of the legendary
Apache chief. Cochise was undoubtedly one of the greatest warrior
chiefs in Native American history, fierce in battle and a capable
leader, and, as Sweeney notes, no book-length biography of this
dynamo exists-making the inadequacies of Sweeney's account all the
more unfortunate. The son of a chief, Cochise grew to maturity in
the then-Mexican-ruled Southwest during a period of relative
tranquillity. Each breach of the peace brought a swift response,
however, and rapid spirals of retaliation and revenge fed upon one
another, effectively hampering the chances for any prospects of a
lasting cease-fire. The increasing Anglo-American presence over the
years, with its own territorial claims, gave the Apaches even mote
reason to fight to retain their way of life. A particularly
misguided effort by the US Army in 1861 to recover a captive white
boy by taking Apache hostages, Cochise and his brother among them,
ended in bloodshed and executions on both sides, and Cochise's War
was on in earnest. For nearly a decade, Cochise terrorized
Americans and Mexicans in the region with assaults and ambushes,
showing consummate skill as a strategist, until finally hounded
into accepting a truce and reservation life in the early 1870's. He
died soon after, an old man at peace, even though his struggle was
taken up subsequently by Geronimo and others. Extensive notes and
full use of sources readily indicate Sweeney's depth of research,
but a frequent repetition of basic facts and lack of editorial
judgment compromise any sense of scholarly achievement. History
becomes a record of troop movements and body counts, creating the
dullest of chronologies, while hazy conjecture about Cochise's
undocumented activities proves a slippery supplement to more
concrete information. Lackluster and grindingly detailed, albeit
sympathetic toward its subject. (Kirkus Reviews)
When it acquired New Mexico and Arizona, the United States
inherited the territory of a people who had been a thorn in side of
Mexico since 1821 and Spain before that. Known collectively as
Apaches, these Indians lived in diverse, widely scattered groups
with many names--Mescaleros, Chiricahuas, and Jicarillas, to name
but three. Much has been written about them and their leaders, such
as Geronimo, Juh, Nana, Victorio, and Mangas Coloradas, but no one
wrote extensively about the greatest leader of them all: Cochise.
Now, however, Edwin R. Sweeney has remedied this deficiency with
his definitive biography.
Cochise, a Chiricahua, was said to be the most resourceful, most
brutal, most feared Apache. He and his warriors raided in both
Mexico and the United States, crossing the border both ways to
obtain sanctuary after raids for cattle, horses, and other
livestock. Once only he was captured and imprisoned; on the day he
was freed he vowed never to be taken again. From that day he gave
no quarter and asked none. Always at the head of his warriors in
battle, he led a charmed life, being wounded several times but
always surviving.
In 1861, when his brother was executed by Americans at Apache
Pass, Cochise declared war. He fought relentlessly for a decade,
and then only in the face of overwhelming military superiority did
he agree to a peace and accept the reservation. Nevertheless, even
though he was blamed for virtually every subsequent Apache
depredation in Arizona and New Mexico, he faithfully kept that
peace until his death in 1874.
Sweeney has traced Cochise's activities in exhaustive detail in
both United States and Mexican Archives. We are not likely to learn
more about Cochise than he has given us. His biography will stand
as the major source for all that is yet to be written on
Cochise.
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