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| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 |
Most of the time, different groups of Native Americans, explorers, mountain men, soldiers and pioneers got along peacefully. Indians helped the Spanish priests and explorers find food. Indians worked to build the missions. Indian guides led explorers through Arizona, and the Pima helped the Mormon pioneers build a canal.
In turn, the Spanish priests taught the Indians to raise cattle. They opened schools for Indian children. Spanish leaders gave food to Indian families. Mountain men often married Indian women and lived in Indian camps. Pioneers and Indians traded with each other for furs, food, guns, clothes and jewelry.
Bad Times
Things were not always peaceful, however. Different tribes of Native Americans sometimes fought with each other. Indians often stole cattle and horses. White people took over the land that Indians had been living on for hundreds of years. Sometimes white people broke their promises to the Indians. New diseases such as smallpox and measles killed thousands of Indians. People on both sides were killed with guns or arrows.
The most important fact, however, was that after the Spanish and pioneers came to Arizona, life for the Indians was never the same.
Apache Raids
The Apache had lived in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico for hundreds of years. They lived by hunting and gathering, some farming and raiding. They did not like the invasion of outsiders. They wanted to keep their way of life.
The US Army
The Army came to Arizona to protect settlements and wagon trains. They sometimes tried to make peace with the Indians by giving them food and clothing. They also tried to force the Indians to live on reservations set up by the United States government. The soldiers life was dangerous, some were often killed in battles with the Indians, they suffered from heat and homesickness. Sometimes they had nothing to do in the forts.
Fort Buchanan
The army built forts to protect settlers from Indian attacks. Fort Buchanan was built in a valley near Tubac. However, mosquitoes were bad during the rainy season. The buildings were hot, and the mud roofs leaked during the wet weather.
The soldiers went into Apache country. They destroyed Indian crops and killed a few men. Then their captain offered the Apache corn and beef for signing a peace treaty. But Apaches still drove away horses and cattle from ranches, mines, and even the forts.
After the Civil War started, the soldiers left to fight the war in the East, and the forts were closed. Bands of Apaches forced nearly every rancher and miner to pack quickly and leave. Some turned to Tucson for safety.
Learn more about Fort Buchanan
Soldiers Return
After a while, both Union and Confederate soldiers came to Arizona. As Union soldiers rode through Apache Pass, Indians fired on them from behind rocks.
The Apache leaders were Mangas Coloradas (Red Sleeves) and Cochise. The Apache were finally driven out by gunfire. Sixty-six Indians were killed and others wounded. Two soldiers died. "You never would have whipped is of you had not used the wagons that shoot," Cochise said. He was talking about canons.
After that Soldiers built a fort at Apache Pass to protect wagon trains, stagecoaches and cattle herders.
View a Virtual Panorama of Fort Bowie and Apache Pass
Apache Reservations
White and Mexican settlers were tired of being afraid of the Apache. They wanted the soldiers to force all the Apache onto the reservations. A treaty was signed and all the major Apache bands but one went to live on the reservations.
The Chiricahuas were the only Apache group who did not go to live on the reservation. Their leader Cochise had fought the settlers for years. He finally agreed to the treaty and walked with his people hundreds of miles to the new reservation in New Mexico. Cochise's people were not happy on the reservation. They did not like living with different Indian bands who had been their enemies before. May escaped with Geronimo and went to Mexico. They were caught and brought back.
Small groups of Apache continued to escape again and again. Finally, after Geronimo surrendered, he and all the Chiricahuas were sent by train to Florida. They were later moved to Oklahoma but never returned to Arizona.
Geronimo
Geronimo was an important Apache warrior. When he was very old, Geronimo told the story of his life to someone who wrote it down. When he was seventeen years old, he was admitted to the council of warriors. This meant he was a man and could go to battle. He was also able to marry. For many years, Geronimo made friends with U.S. soldiers. At other times, he raided white and Mexican settlements. He and his band sometimes killed people or took them captive. One day, while he was away from his home, Mexican soldiers killed Geronimo's family. He took part in more raids against settlers and soldiers. Later he said, "I could not call back to my loved ones, but I could take revenge."
The raids went on for and US soldiers tried to put the Apache on reservations,. Geronimo was sent to a reservation in New Mexico , but he escaped with a group of Indians. Hundreds of soldiers went to find him, and he finally surrendered. He was sent to Florida and later to Oklahoma.
You have finished learning about Life in the Territorial Days. Now it is time to complete the activities for this section. Click on the Journal icon at the top of the page and complete the activities for Chapter 7. When you are done you can continue to explore Arizona.
