The Last of the Apache
Luke A. Fuszard, 10/4/01
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In 1872, the Chiricahua Apache leader Cochise made an agreement
with the US Army to live along the Apache Pass in southeastern Arizona, thus
ending the Apache Wars between the two sides that had waged for many years.
At this agreement, an obviously beleaguered and defeated Cochise gave a speech
to those present – mostly generals from the Army, an oration reflecting
the struggle between the Apache and the encroaching white race, and the heartfelt
frustrations experienced by the Indian people. His speech is a strikingly visual
and powerful portrayal of Indian emotion in the nineteenth century, and richly
conveys the sentiments of a civilization nearing extinction.
The term “Indian” is actually never used in Cochise’s
lecture. Instead, he refers to them as “my people” (Cochise 1487).
Obviously, he uses this because he truly is an Indian, therefore to refer to
them in the third person would seem rather distant. But calling them “my
people” as opposed to “the Indian race” or simply “Indians”
is a powerful empathetic plea. Often times the term “Indian” would
be used by those of a different race and culture to broadly encompass a group
of people that were not truly understood. Racial epithets and derogatory terms
are used in the same way. By labeling them as something other than a person,
i.e. “Indian”, the communicators of this message are taking their
humanity and treating them simply as objects. “My people” emphasizes
that yes, these truly are human beings that have the same inalienable rights
that whites do.
Cochise begins by recounting the evolutionary beginnings of “his people”:
“We were a hunting people, living on the animals that we could kill”
(Cochise 1487), he states as if he himself were actually there. For those listeners
of this speech, to hear of the long lost peoples of many years ago being referred
to as “we” by someone who they can physically see and hear is more
powerful than describing them as simply ghosts of the past.
The statement “Here we grew from the first feeble band
to be a great people, and covered the whole country like the clouds cover the
mountains” (Cochise 1487) is the most important sentence in the speech
because it sets the tone for the ensuing lecture. It is here that Cochise begins
the use of metaphor to visually paint the tale of the rise and fall of the Apache
people. The word “mountain” is used at various times throughout the
speech, symbolizing different emotions felt by the Native American people throughout
their history. The first use of mountain, referenced above, symbolizes the pinnacle
of the Indian civilization. The listeners of this speech can imagine such a
massive mountain, a symbol of greatness, towering over all that is below. With
this earthly comparison those that hear Cochise’s words can almost physically
see for themselves the great power that was the Apache territory.
From the heights of the Indian civilization follows the end
to this great empire in this tale – the introduction of the foreigners.
First the Spanish, who brought “great wonders” to the “simple”
Indian people: swords and guns. Cochise says that the Apache fought the invaders,
including the Spanish and later the Mexicans, but Cochise states, “We did
not fear them” (Cochise 1487). The Apache had faced two invading civilizations,
one that brought guns and swords – weapons of destruction completely unknown
to the Indian people, and Cochise claims the Apache did not fear them. This
implies that at one time, the Apache did fear the whites, and it shows a very
vulnerable quality about the Apache, which is emotion. This fear existed because
the Spanish or the Mexicans “never tried to drive us from our homes in
these mountains”. Earlier, Cochise spoke of “my people”. Here
he refers to the white man as “your people” (Cochise 1487). There
was a clear separation at this point between the Indians and the white man.
A war had been waged; the battle lines had been drawn. “Your people”
in this speech is used as the antagonist to the Indian.
Cochise describes the early relations between the Apache and
the white man. They lived in peace, until “your soldiers” committed
a “great wrong, and I and my whole people went to war with them” (Cochise
1488). This great wrong is in reference to Lt. George Bascom of the US Army
attempting to arrest Cochise for stealing farm animals. The Apaches lived by
raiding sheep, cattle and horses from their neighbors including the whites.
But Cochise phrases his words to sound like the Apache were forced into the
war unwillingly and makes the Indian look to be the victim, welcoming the white
man with open arms only to be trampled on later. They had no choice but to retaliate.
Cochise tries to evoke empathy from the crowd, to show the plight of the Indian
while placing the blame on the whites. He has too much pride in himself and
his people to ever admit that their actions may have been misguided. By this
time, Cochise is defeated, and he lashes out in subtle ways, a dying horse with
a few kicks still left in him.
This war pitted “your people” and “my people”,
which at first was victorious for the Apache. But then more and more soldiers
came, and the Indians “were driven to the mountain hiding places”
(Cochise 1488) – taken from their land, seeking refuge from the encroaching
soldiers. No longer does the mountain represent a feeling of power and greatness,
but has amassed a symbol of terror and fear among the Indian people, the last
resort for a fleeing race. Cochise makes the analogy that the Apache were driven
“even as the wind is now driving the clouds” (Cochise 1488), a reference
to the fact that the farther and farther Indians will be pushed, eventually
they will vanish from sight. The use of metaphor was strong among the Indian
people, and was used to make strong points in eloquent ways. Cochise himself
uses this tactic brilliantly, using strong visions such as the mountains, and
the clouds to depict his feelings about the relationship between the whites
and the Apache. Cochise uses the metaphors of the land for a poignant reason.
By using land metaphors, a sly Cochise is not only referencing the various battles
between the Apache and the whites, but also what was taken from the Indians
as well – the land, their home.
“I have come to you, not from any love for you or for your great father in Washington, or from any regard for his or your wishes, but as a conquered chief, to try to save alive the few people that still remain to me” (Cochise 1488). Here Cochise makes it seem that he has surrendered not because he wants to, but because he has the best interest of his people at heart. Cochise was a warrior, and to surrender for such a proud man was very difficult. “On me depends their [the Apaches] future, whether they shall utterly vanish from the land or that a small remnant remain for a few years to see the sun rise over these mountains, their home” (Cochise 1488). Obviously, the Indian race has not completely vanished, but what will remain will be nothing more than a small memory of when the great sun dawned on the highest mountain, when the Apaches were the rulers of the land. Once the conquerors of the land, they are now hardly more than slaves to the white man’s bidding. The remaining few Apache may see the sun rise, meaning the hopeful return of the Apache to prominence over this land. In this reference, “mountain” also represents the unknown – the future. The mountains have transformed from eminence, to a symbol for the entire country, to finally, the yet to come. A future whose top was covered in white clouds, engulfing the once prominent mountain, making it impossible to see its entirety.
Works Cited
Cochise. “I Am Alone.” Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed.
Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1999. 1487-1488.
updated 3. April 2002