I enjoyed a quiet night sky, before sleeping in the stronghold of Cochise, who was, in the words of Tom Morello, “the last great American Indian chief to die free and absolutely unconquered,” The night he died, his warriors painted his body yellow, black, and vermilion, and took him deep into the Dragoon Mountains. They lowered his body and weapons into a rocky crevice, the exact location of which remains unknown.
Today, however, that section of the Dragoon Mountains, deep within the Coronado National Forest, is known as Cochise’s Stronghold. I can see why this area would have made a great Apache stronghold. Remote access to an easily defensible, high ground position, with beautiful running creeks and rock formations… and deer (see it?) And if you look real close, you might see Cochise, himself, starin’ at you, through the trees.
From the campground I stayed at, there were plenty of hiking trails that would have been great to explore, but I needed to be on the opposite side of the Dragoon Mountains for my next stop, one of the most in-tact ruins found on the entire Southwestern leg of the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach Mail Route… But first, my travels would find a chance encounter In the delightful area of Dragoon Springs, where I met Woody Adams at his ‘What-Not Shoppe’.
Woody told me the unique history of the area and the Butterfield Trail , as only the locals know. I was fortunate enough to have captured some of that oral history on recording, and will share it with you as it was intended to be heard now, unedited. Woody then told me the “scenic – route”; I set off into the Dragoon Mountains, this time on the northern side, to find the ruins of the Dragoon Springs Station. I also wanted to share the preserved and thinly-sliced cactus that Woody had cut.
On May 5, 1862, a small band of mounted Confederates escorting Union prisoners to Texas were encamped at the old Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach station when they were ambushed and skirmished with A force of about 100 Chiricahua Apache warriors, commanded by the aforementioned Cochise and other legendary Apache Chief, Francisco Three Confederate soldiers and a young Mexican stock herder were killed.
The Apaches succeeded in capturing a large number of livestock and horses. This minor skirmish is also the Confederacy’s westernmost battle deaths, and is the only known engagement in which Confederate soldiers were killed within the modern confines of Arizona. It is often included as a part of the Apache Wars fought between Apaches and Americans between 1851-1900. A short walk from the sign, you are taken to a fenced in area and immediately are presented with the remaining structure of a Butterfield Overland Mail Swing station, home to the Chiricahua Apaches, Spanish, Mexicans, and finally the Americans showed up to the Dragoon Springs, because every wanted the water from the springs.
Just as this spring was a contested, strategic resource in the region, the station itself was no stranger to controversy Additionally, it was around this point of the trip that I did some quick troubleshooting and got my drone up and working again…