Spanish Presence in the Southwest

Between 1540-42 another group of strangers appeared in the southwest, much lighter in complexion, wearing heavy armor and riding strange looking four legged animals (large dogs) seeking the elusive “Seven Cities of Gold.”  This expeditionary force was led by Coronado, a Spanish soldier of fortune, who traveled   from Mexico to Arizona/New Mexico, reaching indeed to the plains of Kansas before returning empty handed and dying in Mexico. In his search, many Pueblo villages were sacked and destroyed including the alleged Zuni "golden village" of Cibola. Ironically Coronado on his way to Cibola would pass through Cochise country including Sulphur Springs, Dragoon and Chiricahua Mountains.  The Dragoon and Chiricahuas today make up part of the Coronado National Forest in Arizona. For the natives of the southwest, Coronado’s expedition was nothing more than a passing dark cloud with little lasting impact.  

Spanish presence in Mexico begins with Cortez's conquest of the Aztecs in 1520 and the destruction of the beautiful Aztec capitol of Tenochtitlan with a population of 200,000. Tenochtitlan was described by one eye witness, Bernard Diaz, as breathtaking in its beauty; architect and water ways. It was twice as large as London, Rome or Venice. Though Spanish steel and arms made the Spanish conquest possible it was primarily white man’s diseases, measles, smallpox, influenza that brought Aztecs to their knees. It's estimated that native populations throughout the Americas experienced a population collapse of ninety percent by 1600. Such a loss was destructive of native culture. The Apaches too would fall victim to these diseases often seriously weakening their bands leadership and impacting their knowledge, ceremonies and ritual. 

Like Coronado the Spanish Conquistadores were motivated by “gold” and “god”. It is estimated that between 1500 and 1650, Spain extracted 20.000 tons of silver and 200 tons of gold from the “New World." This treasure house of bullion made Spain the paramount European/Global power and laid the basis for a money economy. The Presidio or military garrison was the main vehicle of controlling the indigenous populations of what later became known as “New Spain”. The Church was the other institution of control and through its Missions/missionary effort sought to exercise the indigenous populations of their "paganism" by conversion, often forceful, to Christianity. Native people were declared pagans- soulless and sub-human by the Papal Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 which divided South America between Portugal and Spain. This prejudice led natives to be ruthlessly exploited and abused by state in the mines/estates exemplified by the Encomienda system and by the Church in the Missions. Native demonization was intensified by racism and it was so destruction of Native populations that Spanish/Portuguese had to turn to the African slave trade in which millions of Africans were packed into slave ships only to perish on the Middle Passage. Historians estimate that 15-30 million people died of disease, malnutrition and chains.

Spanish North America became part of the vice royalty of “New Spain” administered from Mexico City. Spanish Conquistadores and their wealthy Rancheros counterparts, who established the great cattle ranches and sugar/cotton plantations, established by the seventeenth century a rigidly stratified social hierarchy based on the example of Madrid in which power, status and position were based on color/blood and ancestry. At the top of the social pyramid were the Peninsulares, Spaniards born in Spain, who controlled New Spain as viceroyals or governors. Closely aligned to them were the Crillos, Spaniards born in the new world, who occupied this second tier of power as mayors, military commanders, bishops and great ranchers/plantation owners. The next class in the colonial hierarchy was the Mestizos, peoples of mixed blood. Primarily European/Indian, but in some cases European/African called mulattoes. Mestizos were to be found as craftsmen, traders, merchants, shopkeepers and many as vaqueros/cowboys who worked on the large cattle haciendas. Last were the peons, mainly Indian, who had no personal property or were in debt and worked on the great estates or haciendas for paltry wages or food. Another segment of peons were zambas of Indian-African ancestry. Zambas were the most discriminated group of people in Mexico.  The power elite were fairer in complexion, blonde with blue eyes, whereas the Mestizos and peons were darker in color with brown eyes, and often experienced terrible discrimination and prejudice because of color from their ruling counterparts. Mixing of the races was an outcome of conquest and the inability of Spanish entrepreneurs/explorers to persuade Spanish women to come and build a home in the New World. The example was set by Cortez who married La Manche who some consider to be the “Mother Metaphor” for Mestizos Mexico. The Apaches certainly experienced this centuries old Spanish racial prejudice, but in their case they would be described as “los barbarous”.

In 1598, Juan de Onate inspired by the “Seven Cities of Gold” mythology led another expedition north arriving at what later would become the capitol city of New Mexico, Santa Fe. The Territory of New Mexico also included western Texas, southern Colorado, the Oklahoma Panhandle and southwestern Kansas. It was pretty desolate area except for the various tribes that inhabited it: Puebloans, Apaches, Comanche, southern Cheyenne, Arapahos, and the Buffalo herds which grazed across the southern Plains. The Spanish sought to win the support of the Puebloans by offering protection to them from the marauding Apaches in exchange for their accepting Spanish rule/ Christianity. The Spanish colony at Santa Fe saw a dramatic increase in Pueblo conversions from more than a 100 to 20,000 by 1626. Christian conversion, however, meant incessant labor on church lands at the expense of their own livelihood. By the1670’s, drought, disease and Church teaching began to alienate the Puebloans who believed that the hereafter was below, not in the heaven, and ultimately everyone, and not just baptized persons, returned to the underworld. The Franciscans, however, brooked no compromise in doctrine and targeted Puebloan medicine men that were flogged, imprisoned and executed for their recalcitrance leading to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 in which the Spaniards were driven out of Santa Fe fleeing to El Paso. The Spanish defeat was the only time that North American indigenous peoples succeeded in forcing Europeans to return large areas of territory. The Pueblo victory was pyrrhic as the Spaniards and Friars soon returned in 1692. They quickly re-established their control by appealing to the former Christian members who felt bad about their betrayal and participating in the Pueblo uprising showing how easily Westernization could break tribal unity into traditionalists and moderns.

Spanish/Mexican in Apacheria

 About 1300 CE a new people arrived in the southwest who spoke an Athapaskan language. When they first appeared, the southwest was undergoing a profound cultural change as the sophisticated world of the Anazai centering on Chaco Canyon was shattering probably for ecological reasons. Their descendants would transform themselves into a new network of Puebloans villages which encompassed much of Arizona and New Mexico, from the Colorado to the Rio Grande Rivers. These settlements among others included Hopi, Zuni, Acoma, Jemez, Santa Fe and Taos. These were essentially farming villages raising beans, corn, and squash, and living in multi-story pueblos for community and safety. It was the Puebloans who named these strangers, who began to appear in their midst, Apache which translates as enemy or stranger. The Apaches, hunters and gatherers, upon entering a strange land went through a process of acculturalization, both geographical and cultural. Because of Pueblo locations and geography the Chiricahuas Apaches became a mountain people. This was especially true of Cochise’s people, named Chiricahuas, which means “Mountain Wild Turkeys”. Cochise Band, the Chokonen Chiricahuas, ultimately settled in southeast corner of Arizona and became the people of the Dragoon/ Chiricahuas Mountains which offered them incredible variety of food and protection. The Apaches adopted many themes/customs/ beliefs from the Puebloans which in time became integrated into their oral stories about migration, Creation, and belief. In addition, they often trade with Pueblos for food stuff, cloth, pottery and turquoise. At other times, they might raid Pueblos when climate and hunting made life difficult. Pueblos had a much greater influence on the Eastern Apache Bands then the Western like Cochise’ Chokonen because of geography and proximity.

Hunting, Raiding, Horses

 Hunting/Raiding: The Spanish brought the horse to the New World and by the seventeenth century large herds began to move across the plains. The Comanche’s became the first people to domesticate the horse on the Staked Plains and their knowledge was quickly learned by other tribes including the Apaches whose attitude toward horses was pragmatic. They rode them only as long as they helped in raiding or in a conflict and would abandon them without sentimentality to fight on foot in the desert or among rocks when that proved more effective. Horses were expendable not Apaches!  Pony was similarly considered a food delicacy and often roasted. When General Howard meets with Cochise in 1872 he was feed Pony! Apache warrior training emphasized the absolute need to rely on self and not on horses or other external resources. Hunting was a significant economic activity to raiding. Apaches were great hunters and used the bow as the weapon of choice. They often used poison arrows to bring down their four legged quarry: deer, antelope, buffalo although the latter herds were actually outside Apacheria. Fall was the major time to hunt. Animals were skinned and butchered on the spot and hides were used for clothing, containers and a host of other items. Sharing of meat among the elderly, widows and orphan was prized among the Apaches as it manifested compassion. Cochise excelled at this as a mark of his leadership. Raiding was a natural extension of their hunting/gathering tradition. Raids occurred in the winter when food supplies were low. Raiding parties were small in number averaging ten and they often attacked Mexican Rancheros or American mines where there were large herds of livestock: cattle, horse, and sheep. Another goal was to take Mexican infants or young children, especially male, who would be brought back to Apacheria to be, raised Apache. Cochise had captured a young Mexican by name of Grijalva Merejildo in 1849 that he raised as his own. Ten years later he would escape and became a formidable foe scouting for US Army. (Cf, Sweeney, Merejildo Grijalva, 1992) In addition, Apaches were taught to conduct their raids with cunning/stealth by moving slowly and quietly into a Spanish, Mexican or American pueblo or town. As they approached the site they spoke in a special code, used hand signals and mirrors. Dawn was their favorite time to attack when Mexicans /Americans were still groggy from sleep. The raiding party would divide into smaller units with 2-3 responsible for running off the livestock. Once they gathered the animals they would drive them without stopping to their encampment so as to avoid capture.

Other tactics used by the Apaches against their superior enemies involved creating the illusion of greater numbers by racing their ponies back and forth, surprise and terror accompanied by shouting, yelling, taunting their enemies with images of a horrible death. Though outnumbered, Apaches believed that they could nevertheless win, each warrior was viewed as a self-contained fighting unit and they were masters at using the southwest landscape to their advantage. For instance, , Geronimo with only 35 warriors called “hesh-kes” or wild ones in 1885-86 held off one quarter of American military before surrendering to General Miles in Skelton Canyon. They were taught how to disappear into the sand, vanish at night ,and some leaders had special psychic powers over nature. Geronimo was known to raise dust storms which enabled him and his followers to escape pursuers. To protect the Band from attack Apaches had institutionalized the strategy of rendezvous or prearranged points where they would scatter  in case of being attack by Mexicans, Americans or miners before regathering.

      Another Chiricahua form of raiding consisted of avenging personal loss.  Apaches believed in collective guilt meaning that they held all Mexicans/ Pindah’s responsible for the losses that they experienced regardless of whether or not they had been personally involved. The death of one Apache was the responsibility of all Mexican/American, for all shared in the perception that Apaches were animals, sub-humans who should be hunted down like crazy dogs. This is certainly true of Cochise after the hanging of his brother, Coyuntura, at Apache Pass in February 1861. Cochise launched a war of revenge which would last more than 10 years in which thousands of Pindah’s paid with their lives, because of the rash act of Lieutenant George Bascom, a recent graduate from West Point, who unjustly accused Cochise of stealing a young boy, Mickey Free, adopted son of John Ward, from the Ward ranch located near Santa Cruz river. This type of raiding began with the Spanish and was intensified by the scalping of Apaches which became official Mexican policy in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua, and by the emergence of Mexican/American Bounty Hunters, who got rich seeking scalps often of children/women. Bounty Hunting was lucrative profession netting in the vicinity of $50-70,000 dollars a year. Generally the family of the dead person would demand justice by cutting their hair, slashing their arms and insisting that the spirit of the dead be revenged by relatives and friends. One of the more famous examples of this was Nana’s Raid to avenge the death of Victorio in August 1881. Nana, 80 years old, and his guerrilla band of perhaps thirty warriors travelled a thousand miles, killing 60-70 Americans/Mexicans, and were able to elude more than thousand troops before escaping into Mexico. (Cf. De Witt, Avenging Victorio , fictional account,  Sweeney, Cochise to Geronimo, pp 76-77,)

Hunting/Raidingg/Horses

Hunting/Raiding: The Spanish brought the horse to the New World and by the seventeenth century large herds began to move across the plains. The Comanche’s became the first people to domesticate the horse on the Staked Plains and their knowledge was quickly learned by other tribes including the Apaches whose attitude toward horses was pragmatic. They rode them only as long as they helped in raiding or in a conflict and would abandon them without sentimentality to fight on foot in the desert or among rocks when that proved more effective. Horses were expendable not Apaches!  Pony was similarly considered a food delicacy and often roasted. When General Howard meets with Cochise in 1872 he was feed Pony! Apache warrior training emphasized the absolute need to rely on self and not on horses or other external resources. Hunting was a significant economic activity to raiding. Apaches were great hunters and used the bow as the weapon of choice. They often used poison arrows to bring down their four legged quarry: deer, antelope, buffalo although the latter herds were actually outside Apacheria. Fall was the major time to hunt. Animals were skinned and butchered on the spot and hides were used for clothing, containers and a host of other items. Sharing of meat among the elderly, widows and orphan was prized among the Apaches as it manifested compassion. Cochise excelled at this as a mark of his leadership. Raiding was a natural extension of their hunting/gathering tradition. Raids occurred in the winter when food supplies were low. Raiding parties were small in number averaging ten and they often attacked Mexican Rancheros or American mines where there were large herds of livestock: cattle, horse, and sheep. Another goal was to take Mexican infants or young children, especially male, who would be brought back to Apacheria to be, raised Apache. Cochise had captured a young Mexican by name of Grijalva Merejildo in 1849 that he raised as his own. Ten years later he would escape and became a formidable foe scouting for US Army. (Cf, Sweeney, Merejildo Grijalva, 1992) In addition, Apaches were taught to conduct their raids with cunning/stealth by moving slowly and quietly into a Spanish, Mexican or American pueblo or town. As they approached the site they spoke in a special code, used hand signals and mirrors. Dawn was their favorite time to attack when Mexicans /Americans were still groggy from sleep. The raiding party would divide into smaller units with 2-3 responsible for running off the livestock. Once they gathered the animals they would drive them without stopping to their encampment so as to avoid capture.

Other tactics used by the Apaches against their superior enemies involved creating the illusion of greater numbers by racing their ponies back and forth, surprise and terror accompanied by shouting, yelling, taunting their enemies with images of a horrible death. Though outnumbered, Apaches believed that they could nevertheless win, each warrior was viewed as a self-contained fighting unit and they were masters at using the southwest landscape to their advantage. For instance, , Geronimo with only 35 warriors called “hesh-kes” or wild ones in 1885-86 held off one quarter of American military before surrendering to General Miles in Skelton Canyon. They were taught how to disappear into the sand, vanish at night ,and some leaders had special psychic powers over nature. Geronimo was known to raise dust storms which enabled him and his followers to escape pursuers. To protect the Band from attack Apaches had institutionalized the strategy of rendezvous or prearranged points where they would scatter  in case of being attack by Mexicans, Americans or miners before regathering.

      Another Chiricahua form of raiding consisted of avenging personal loss.  Apaches believed in collective guilt meaning that they held all Mexicans/ Pindah’s responsible for the losses that they experienced regardless of whether or not they had been personally involved. The death of one Apache was the responsibility of all Mexican/American, for all shared in the perception that Apaches were animals, sub-humans who should be hunted down like crazy dogs. This is certainly true of Cochise after the hanging of his brother, Coyuntura, at Apache Pass in February 1861. Cochise launched a war of revenge which would last more than 10 years in which thousands of Pindah’s paid with their lives, because of the rash act of Lieutenant George Bascom, a recent graduate from West Point, who unjustly accused Cochise of stealing a young boy, Mickey Free, adopted son of John Ward, from the Ward ranch located near Santa Cruz river. This type of raiding began with the Spanish and was intensified by the scalping of Apaches which became official Mexican policy in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua, and by the emergence of Mexican/American Bounty Hunters, who got rich seeking scalps often of children/women. Bounty Hunting was lucrative profession netting in the vicinity of $50-70,000 dollars a year. Generally the family of the dead person would demand justice by cutting their hair, slashing their arms and insisting that the spirit of the dead be revenged by relatives and friends. One of the more famous examples of this was Nana’s Raid to avenge the death of Victorio in August 1881. Nana, 80 years old, and his guerrilla band of perhaps thirty warriors travelled a thousand miles, killing 60-70 Americans/Mexicans, and were able to elude more than thousand troops before escaping into Mexico. (Cf. De Witt, Avenging Victorio , fictional account,  Sweeney, Cochise to Geronimo, pp 76-77,)

Warrior Training

Training of Warriors began at age of 6 or 7.  Young boys were taken under the wing of a male relative: father, grandfather, paternal uncle and given a bow/arrow and taught how to wrestle. The basic philosophy of Apache training was that even if outgunned or outnumbered they should never be outfought or outmaneuvered.  Training was crucial for survival as it was essential to minimize warrior losses in light of the larger populations of their enemies.  Death was to be avoided.  It was better to fight another day than to die meaninglessly.  Sometimes it was better to end a conflict with two combatants fighting to death than to take useless losses by risking the lives of five or six.  Novices were disciplined by games to enhance their endurance from racing before dawn for ten miles without swallowing any water, or learning to swim in icy water, to activities that increased strength/agility including hand-to-hand combat, wrestling, and developing dexterity in horsemanship.  Apache coordination/flexibility was facilitated by shooting arrows/stones through a rolling hoop or at birds, squirrels, rabbits, or organizing sling shot battles amongst themselves.  From age 10-12 Cochise’s training regimen became more psychological as he was taught to rely only on himself:

“My son, you know no one will help you in this world.
You run to that mountain and come back.

That will make you strong.

My son, you know no one is your friend, not even your sister, your father or your mother.
Your legs are your friends; your brain is your friend;
Your eyesight is your friend; your hair is your friend; your hands are your friends; you must do something with them.
When you grow up you live with these things and think about it.”

Other principles Cochise was taught were:  “You must have your arrows and your bows where you can grab them.  Keep your knife beside you.  Have your moccasins ready.  Be on alert in peace or war.  Don’t spend all your time sleeping.  Get up when the morning star comes out.  Watch for that star.  Don’t let it get up before you do.”

At fourteen, Cochise like others before him became a warrior novice.  The training regimen became more psychological focused on quieting the mind and the importance of obedience and silence.  At this time, under the guidance of a medicine man, Cochise would embark on a four day Vision Quest to acquire clarity about his identity as well as insights into his dark side or fears so that they could be mastered.  Cochise, during fasting, would fall in and out of altered states of consciousness.  Within these dream states, he received insights into his power medicine through the appearance of animal messengers who would instruct him how to prepare for battle and what to wear to protect him from the enemy.  Cochise’s novitiate ended by participating in four raids.  During this time, Cochise invoked the persona of “Child of Water” and reenacted the ancient Creation Story of “slaying of monsters.” Sexual intercourse was taboo!  On the raid, only cold food was allowed, avoiding horse injuries emphasized, and water was drunk through a special straw.  These rituals were established to develop greater self-control in battle.  Generally on these raids Cochise’s role was limited to that of gathering wood, watching horses, and clearing the camp sites.  Cochise, upon successfully completing his last raid, would be accepted by the warriors as a member.  On these raids, Cochise learned never to travel in the desert daylight as it raised too much dust, to approach water springs only in the stillness of night, to rest at night in hollows where the enemy would never think to look, and when caught in the open he was instructed to imitate the lizard by covering self with sand.  Cochise similarly learned how to read track signs as every track is uniquely different in size and weight, and instructed to move away from gunfire by circling around like a hawk.  Cochise excelled with the spear, a symbol of leadership, which was appropriate to his role as leader of Chokonens.

Apache Women

Apache Women were central to the culture because of the fragility of life in the southwest. In fact it can be stated that women were regarded as the mainstay of their culture. Surprisingly in light of the warrior ethos of the Apaches the culture was actually matrilineal and matriarchal! In the Apache culture, women were viewed as superior to men, sexism was absent. Their centrality flowed from the Creation Story revolving around “White Painted Lady”, their role in sowing and gathering food and in sustaining the future of the tribe through child birth. In fall they dug roots, prickly pears gathered, acorns, pinion nuts, bean of mesquite and banana like fruit of the yucca. In spring/summer they filled their baskets, light shallow trays or tall flat bottom called burden baskets for transporting or storing with wild onions, greens, grass seeds, berries and cactus fruit. In short it was the women who provided for the welfare of the tribe; they knew every source of precious water, planned clan movements on the basis of ripening plants or abundance of small game including prairie dogs and rabbits and their word was law superseding even the hunting and raiding of men! Women also provided spiritual support by praying for good fortune when their men were away on raids; whenever they pulled a pot from a camp fire there was a silent remembrance or reflection. They were careful in stacking wood as it was a belief that scattered kindling brought bad luck! Occasionally women acted as healers/herbalist and all were skilled in defending themselves against attack being familiar with the warrior arts of knives, bows/arrows/ spears/guns. Self-defense was important especially after scalp hunting became a Mexican/American policy. Bounty hunters, soldiers, trappers often decorated their saddles with scalps and sold Apache women into bondage. They were learned in the tactic of rendezvous, camouflage, tracking, riding of horses. There is a story of how a group of captured Apache women were able to escape from central Mexico and work their way back to Apacheria by traveling at night and staying off the main arteries and living off the land showing a keen geographic understanding as well as manifesting a survival instinct equal to any warrior. Lozen the younger sister of Victoria was a women warrior without equal who constantly fought. Lozen was described by James Kaywaykla as a “… magnificent women on a beautiful horse” urging the women and children to cross the treacherous Rio Grande River after Victoria’s band fled from the hated San Carlos Reservation. She never married and had the gift of clairvoyance being able to determine where the enemy was by a tingling in her palm. As she stated: “I see as one from a height sees in every direction.” Unfortunately Lozen was not there when Victorio was surrounded by Mexican troops in October 1880. Her life spans the Apache Wars from the conflict with Mexico to the annexation of Apacheria by the Pindah to the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 which she negotiated. Lozen was exiled to the East where she died of tuberculosis in Alabama in 1890. (Cf, Aleshire, Warrior Women, pp.54-57.)