Apache Pass: Difference between revisions

| photo_caption = Apache Pass viewed from [[Fort Bowie]], facing north.

| elevation_ref = ./1558 m.

| location = [[Cochise County, Arizona]], {{USA}}[[United States]]

'''Apache Pass''', (namedalso forknown the [[Apache]] people),by its earlier Spanish name was '''"Puerto del Dado"''', ("Pass of the Die"), meaning one was rolling dice, takingis a chancehistoric to enter the[[mountain pass. Apache Pass is a historic passage]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Arizona]] between the [[Dos Cabezas Mountains]] and [[Chiricahua Mountains]] at an elevation of {{convert|5110 |ft|m}}., It is approximately 32 km ({{convert|20 |mi)|km}} Eeast-SEsoutheast of [[Willcox, Arizona]]., in [[Cochise County]].

A nearbynatural [[freshwater]] [[spring (hydrosphere)|spring]], Apache Spring, wasemerges oncefrom ana importantgeological waterfault sourceline forrunning travelers inthrough the [[desert]] landscapepass. The history of Apache Pass beganbegins with this spring – as the spring—itonly wasreliable awater wateringsource placefor inmany miles, the harshspring desertserved ofas whata becamecritical southernresupply Arizonapoint andfor thereforeearly atravelers crossroadsthrough the area.<ref>Trimble, Marshall. (2004) ''Roadside History of Arizona, Second Edition.'' Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company. {{ISBN |0-87842-471-7}}. p.64.</ref> Indigenous peoples wereand dependentwestward formigrants theiralike survivaldepended on regularthe accessspring. toFor waterthe holeslocal [[Apache]] people, so the spring at Apache Pass wasbecame a naturalsort stoppingof place for them. The Apache used the springs at Apache Passcrossroads, with many trailtrails from different directions converging on the site. The great Chiricahua Apache leader [[Cochise]], who, along with many of his followers, favored the area around the spring as a camping spot in winter and spring. There were often hundreds of Chiricahuas living in the areanearby.<ref>Trimble p.65</ref> A little higher than the surrounding desert terrain, itthe pass was cooler on hot days, and the waterarea wasaround therethe andspring there wasprovided abundant game and firewood in the area.

After the Spanish and MexicansMexican settlers began traveling invisiting the area, the spring andat Apache Pass quickly became a flash point for conflictsconflict betweenwith thesethe rivalresident Apache culturestribes, leading to its origialoriginal Spanish name "''Puerto del Dado"'', the "Door (or Pass) of the Die", referingmeaning to"pass of chance", which compared the chancyrisky nature of crossing thisthe pass to a game of chance, like one played by soldiers with dice.

Later inIn the 1830's1830s, some American fur trappers are believed to have passedtraveled through it.Apache Pass. In 1846, [[Philip St. George Cooke]], leading the [[Mormon Battalion]] that was surveying and constructing what became [[Cooke's Wagon Road]], bypassed itthe area, despite Cooke's awareness of its existence from his guides, because details of the route andthrough the pass, including its extent and locationthe availability of other nearby water sources on the route, were unknown, comparedin contrast to the longer route to the south that was eventually chosen. It subsequently fell to a party of [[California Gold Rush#Forty-Ninerniners|Forty-Niners]]s led by [[John Coffee Hays]] to pioneer a shorter route between Messila[[Mesilla, New Mexico|Mesilla]] and [[Tucson]], called the The [[Tucson Cutoff]], overthat thetook Pass,advantage inof 1849,the pass. Hays followingfollowed the guidance of Mexican soldiers he encountered at Ojo Ynez on the [[CowBurro SpringsCienega]] Ranch|Cowin [[New SpringsMexico]]. ThisThe cutoff emerged as part of the [[Southern Emigrant Trail]], which became the major southern east west route of east-west travel for wagons and stagecoaches until the coming of the railroads, known as the [[Southern Emigrant Trail]].<ref>

[httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=-43zbKl-pGcC&pg=PA193&lpg=#v=onepage&q&f=false Leland J. Hanchett, Editor, Crossing Arizona, Pine Rim Publishing LLC, Jan 1, 2002 , p.193-203, Chapter 14, The Tucson Cutoff]</ref>

In 1858, the [[Butterfield Overland Mail]] (stage) Company began stagecoach service between [[Saint Louis, Missouri]] and [[San Francisco, California]] using a bow-shaped route down through Texas and the New Mexico Territory and on into southern California. They built a stoneway station out of stone on the eastern side of Apache Pass, where they could rest their horses and utilize the water from the spring. (perhapsIt and the only station onat the[[Dragoon entireSprings, routeArizona]] that waswere made from such durable material, a possiblean acknowledgement of the danger they felt from the local Apache)Apaches.<ref>Gerald T. Ahnert, ''The Butterfield Trail and Overland Mail Company in Arizona, 1858-1861'', 2011, Canastota Press, Canastota, New York.</ref>

Apache Pass Station, ({{coordscoord|32|8|56|N|109|26|58|W|display=inline}},) was originally 35 miles west of [[Stein's Peak Station]] in [[Doubtful Canyon]], in what is now [[New Mexico]]. It was originallyand 49 miles east of [[Dragoon Springs Station]], with no water onalong the route except at these three stations.<ref>[httphttps://querytimesmachine.nytimes.com/memtimesmachine/archive-free1858/10/14/78877651.pdf?res=F20A10F93A551B7493C6A8178BD95F4C8584F9 List of Stations from New York Times, October 14 1858, Itinerary of the Route]</ref> Later In latein 1858, two new stations were built between these older stations, so that the Apache Pass Station was located 19 miles west of [[San Simon, Arizona|San Simon Station]] on the [[San Simon River (Arizona)|San Simon River]] and 15 miles from [[Ewell Station]] at Ewell Spring, which shortened the route by nine miles between Apache Pass and Dragoon Springs, and provided water midway on both sections.<ref>The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Vol. L, United States. War Dept, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1897, p.121-122</ref> It is likely that theCochise's band ofprovided Cochisethe providedstage themtravelers with firewood when he was in the area.<ref>Roberts, David. (1993). ''Once They Moved Like the Wind'' New York: Simon & Schuster. {{ISBN |0-671-70221-1}} p.22.</ref>

ThisThe construction of the stage station and the increasing use of the pass by white settlers set the stage for an [[Bascom Affair|incident]] thatoften wasconsidered the predominantstarting factorpoint inof starting Cochise’sCochise's eleven-year war against the United States, and which was a formative element in the longmuch and hard-foughtlonger struggle between theApache Chiricahuaspeoples and theAmerican United Statessettlers even after Cochise made his own peace. In AFebruary 1861, a detachment of federal troops under Lt. [[George HNicholas Bascom|George N. Bascom]] attemptedmade camp in Apache Pass, near the spring and the stage station, hoping to arrestnegotiate with Cochise and his Chiricahua Apaches for the Indianreturn leaderof ata theirkidnapped campchild. When Cochise agreed to meet near the springcamp, Bascom attempted to arrest him and several other Apaches; the resulting stand-off, lasting several days, ended with the deaths of hostages on both sides. The affront angeredsparked a war between Cochise soand muchthe Americans that heincluded enteredthe into[[Battle hisof fightApache withPass]] thein Americans1862, thatand endedwhich only ended eleven years later with a treaty facilitated by hisGeneral only[[Oliver whiteO. friend,Howard]] and a formerwhite teamster namedand [[Tomfriend Jeffords]],of andCochise's Gen.named [[OliverTom O. HowardJeffords]]. ButStill, the residual anger of other ApachesApache tribes continued for many years resulted in the [[Apache Wars]], a direct result of Bascom's rash actions.<ref>Thrapp, Dan L. (1988). ''The Conquest of Apacheria.'' Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. {{ISBN |0-8061-1286-7}} p.17-8.</ref>

TheAfter treatythe between[[Battle Cochiseof andApache GeneralPass]] Howardin providedJuly for1862, a reservationUnited toStates bemilitary set aside at Apache Passpost, adjacent to [[Fort Bowie]].<ref>Thrapp p.168.</ref> The Army post, was constructedbuilt thereto afterprotect the [[Battlepass of Apache Pass]] in 1862 to protectand the spring; at. firstFirst, a rudimentary post was constructed near the spring, then later, a more permanent post was constructed a little higher on nearby table-land. Ultimately, Fort Bowie became the headquarters for the fight against the Chiricahua Apaches.<ref>Roberts p.39.</ref> When Cochise and General Howard finally made peace, the resulting treaty provided for a large reservation to be set aside encompassing most of what is now [[Cochise County]], Arizona, and centered around Apache Pass, with the Indian agency adjacent to [[Fort Bowie]].<ref>Thrapp p.168.</ref> The Chiricahua reservation lasted about 4 years,; butwith after Cochise’sCochise's death in 1874 and the dearth of leadership that followed, tensions (and possibly depredations) increased and the Chiricahuas were moved north to the [[San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation]] and consolidated there under Agent [[John Clum]], so that they could be better managed.<ref>Roberts p.155-7.</ref>

Apache Pass continued to play a major role in frontier American history until after the final surrender of [[Geronimo]] and his band of renegades in September, 1886. Then, inIn the early 1890s, with the close of the Apache warsWars, theFort fort thereBowie was decommissioned and abandoned. Travelers now bypassed the area on the railroad, built a few miles to the north. The only thing left behind at Apache Pass after the local ranchers scavenged the ruins for building materials were a few adobe walls, bleaching white in the sun and slowly washing away in the infrequent rains, and the memories of those who had lived through their experiences there.

Apache Pass is now located within the [[Fort Bowie National Historic Site]], managed and interpreted by the [[National Park Service]], and, along with the surrounding peaks, stands like a mute guard over its unique history. The few remaining building walls in the area have been “stabilized”"stabilized" for preservation purposes, but will not be restored. The area is managed and interpreted by National Park Service rangers. Visitors who hike along the trails and drive along Apache Pass Road can see the remains of the Butterfield stage station (consisting of the stone foundation), the ruins of the Chiricahua Reservation’sReservation's agency building, a cemetery, and the remnants of the two forts that were constructed there. The route of the stage trail can still be seen, as well as the sites near the top of the pass where Lt. Bascom executed his Apache hostages, and Cochise's followers burned his. TheApache springSpring still flows, although it has become a mere trickle. relative to its former volume. Today's calm and quiet there belies the bustle and excitement that was characteristic of the spot morefrom thanthe 1251860s yearsto the ago1890s.

[[Category:San Antonio-SanAntonio–San Diego Mail Line]]

[[Category:StagecoachAmerican stopsfrontier]]

[[Category:AmericanStagecoach Oldstops Westin the United States]]