Book Synopsis
At the time Arizona Territory was created in 1863, new settlers to the region were concerned about their safety among many hostile Indians. This concern had developed steadily as settlers pushed deeper into the vast lands occupied by bands of Apaches. As early as 900 A.D., Athapascan speakers had migrated from NW Canada and occupied a wide region across West Texas, Southern Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, SE Arizona, and Northern Chihuahua and Sonora. Of the bands in SE Arizona and SW New Mexico, the most prominent were the close-knit Warm Springs and Chiricahua Apaches. For three centuries before the arrival of Anglo-Americans in the SW, the Apaches dominated the region, striking terror into the hearts of other Indian tribes, Spaniards (1776-1821), Mexicans (1821-1846), and Anglo-Americans following the War With Mexico (1846-1848). In 1886, Tombstone resident C.S. Fly photographed Chiricahua leader Geronimo's camp in Sonora before surrendering to the U.S. Army.