Fort Bowie

Today we drove out to Fort Bowie.  This is pronounced boo-ee.  It’s named after a Colonel George Washington Bowie, not Jim Bowie.  The famous Chiricahua Apaches Cochise and Geronimo lived and fought in this area.  The story we heard was that the soldiers falsely accused Cochise of kidnapping a white boy.  Cochise was able to escape, but the soldiers took hostages.  Things escalated with more hostages taken and then killed.  The hostilities continued for 11 years. The fort was built to protect an important pass and spring from the Apaches.

This was a great place to visit.  First you have to drive 13 miles out on a small road.  Then you park and walk 1-1/2 miles over hills and along washes to get to the fort.  Along the way there are lots of signs giving you the history of the area.  You see ruins of a Butterfield Coach station (a trail from St. Louis to San Francisco), the spring, and places where different attacks occurred.  We only saw 5 cars in the parking lot.  With the long walk and secluded area only 10,000 or so people make it out to the fort.  So we feel like we accomplished something!

Geronimo’s son was one who was kidnapped and died.  He is buried in the fort cemetery.