died June 8, 1874, Chiricahua Apache Reservation, Ariz.Terr., U.S.
Chiricahua Apache chief who led the resistance to white incursions into the American Southwest.
Nothing is known of his birth or early life. His people remained at peace with white settlers through the 1850s, but in 1861 skirmishes and eventually all-out war broke out between the Apache and the U.S. Army. Cochise and his followers eluded capture for 10 years. By 1872, however, most Apache, including Cochise, had agreed to move onto reservations.