Indian Wars Of The Old West: Arizona, Part 2

Cibeque, Arizona

Located on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, the Battle of Cibecue, August 30, 1881, was brought on by the influence of a shaman, Nockadelklinne, who preached a doctrine of raising the dead and removing the white interlopers from Arizona.

Alarmed civilians and military personnel wanted the shaman arrested. Fighting erupted shortly after Nockadelklinne’s arrest along Cibecue Creek.

The Prophet, as he was called, died in the aftermath, as did several soldiers under Col. Eugene Asa Carr.

Most of Carr’s casualties resulted from the mutiny of the White Mountain Apache scouts.

The Cibecue affair touched off a general outbreak that saw Chiricahua and Warm Springs Apaches such as Naiche, Juh, and Geronimo bolt the reservation and plunge Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico into two years of turmoil.

Cibecue battlefield is located in the village of Cibecue. No marker denotes the site.

Apache Pass, Fort Bowie, Arizona

Located in forbidding Apache Pass, a landmark on the Overland Stage road, Fort Bowie played a significant role in the wars with the Chiracahua Apaches.

Here in February 1861, even before the fort was established, Lt. George Bascom faced Cochise in a dramatic confrontation that touched off a quarter-century of bloody hostilities between the Chiricahuas and white invaders, and a personal ten-year war between Cochise and the U.S. Army. General James H. Carleton, leading a Federal army eastward in 1862 to head off the Confederate invasion of New Mexico, founded Fort Bowie, and fought for two days, July 15 and 16, a battle with the Apaches for control of the nearby Apache Springs.

Capt. George Randall, leading a small force including Apache scouts, surprised a rancheria ensconced near the crest of Turret Peak. The battle at Turret Peak proved to the Indians that there was no sanctuary from the soldiers.

Thereafter, until the final surrender of Geronimo, the post operated as a base for scouts, patrols, and major offensives against the Apaches. Most notably, Fort Bowie served as headquarters of Gen. George Crook and his successor Nelson A. Miles in the campaigns deep into Mexico that brought about the surrender of Geronimo and his band.

From the Fort Bowie parade grounds in September 1886, Geronimo and his people started on their journey to Florida and imprisonment. The site is operated by the National Park Service.