Apache Pass - Bascom Affair

Bascom Affair

This set the stage for an incident that was the predominant factor in starting Cochise’s eleven year war against the United States, and was a formative element in the long and hard-fought struggle between the Chiricahuas and the United States even after Cochise made his own peace. A detachment of troops under Lt. George H. Bascom attempted to arrest the Indian leader at their camp near the spring and the resulting stand-off lasting several days ended with the deaths of hostages on both sides. The affront angered Cochise so much that he entered into his fight with the Americans, that ended only with a treaty facilitated by his only white friend, a former teamster named Tom Jeffords, and Gen. Oliver O. Howard. But the residual anger of other Apaches for many years resulted in the Apache Wars, a direct result of Bascom's rash actions.