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Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings
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CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL MONUMENT
Arizona
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Location: Cochise County, accessible via Ariz. 186 and
Ariz. 181, about 36 miles southeast of Willcox; address: 13063 E. Bonita
Canyon Rd., Willcox, AZ 85643-9737.
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This national monument on the western flank of the
Chiricahua Mountains is a 17-square-mile wonderland of pinnacles,
ridges, canyons, and unique volcanic rock formations. The mountains,
rising sharply from the dry grasslands of southeastern Arizona and
southwestern New Mexico, are a verdant island of trees, plants, and
wildlife in a sea of brown desert. Although primarily significant for
its geological features, Chiricahua National Monument is located in an
area that was the haunt of the Chiricahua Apaches and is also pertinent
to the phases of history discussed in this volume.
The mountain ranges of the Southwest were the home of
the nomadic Apaches and earlier men. Following the coming of the
Spaniards to the Southwest in the 16th century, the Apaches moved into
the Chiricahua Mountains and the Dragoon Mountains to the west and
descended to plunder cattle, horses, and grain. Beginning in 1693 the
Spaniards sent punitive expeditions into the mountains, but as the
Spanish frontier receded and in 1821 passed into the possession of
Mexico the Chiricahua Apaches felt less pressure.
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Upper Rhyolite Canyon,
Chiricahua National Monument. From haunts in the Chiricahua and Dragoon
Mountains, the Chiricahuas lashed at the invaders of their homeland.
(photo by H. Parent, National Park Service) |
After the U.S. acquisition of the Southwest in 1848,
gold seekers, settlers, and troops became a new threat. The Chiricahuas,
led by Cochise, Natchez, and Geronimo, courageously resisted until late
in the 19th century. They clashed regularly with troops from Fort Bowie,
about 15 miles to the northwest of the present national monument, and
attacked wagon trains and stagecoaches passing through Apache Pass.
Patrols from the fort fought many battles in the Chiricahua Mountains,
near which the agency for the Chiricahua Reservation (1872-76) was
situated at several different sites. But various bands of Chiricahuas
escaped from the reservation and the White Mountain (Fort Apache)
Reservation, some 125 miles north of Fort Bowie, to which the
Chiricahuas were relocated in 1876. Often hiding in the Chiricahua
Mountains, they terrorized settlers and eluded troops in Arizona, New
Mexico, and Mexico until Geronimo's surrender in 1886 ended the Apache
wars. "Big Foot" Massai, however, staged several one-man escapades in
later years.
Exhibits at the monument headquarters, about a mile
east of the entrance, interpret the natural history and history of the
area. Cochise Head, Massai Point, and Massai Canyon immortalize the
names of the Chiricahua Apache leaders. Massai Point Exhibit Building,
at the far eastern side of the monument, presents geological exhibits.
More than 15 miles of trail, many self-guiding, provide access by foot
or horseback to unusual natural features.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/soldier-brave/sitea2.htm
Last Updated: 19-Aug-2005
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