Voting Station

Cochise

Please vote to return to collections.

Native American Icon

The Resume

    (circa 1810-June 8, 1874)
    Birth name was Gochi
    Probably born in Arizona, New Mexico or Sonora, Mexico
    Chiricahua Apache chief
    Led an uprising against white settlement in the Southwestern US (1861-72)
    Son-in-law of fellow chief Mangas Coloradas
    Namesake for Cochise County, Arizona

Why he might be annoying:

    He refused to discuss his early life.
    At the end of the Bascom Affair that triggered the Apache wars, he tortured and executed three hostages (1861).
    His early successes in the Apache wars may have less to do with his military prowess than the fact that most of the US Army was otherwise occupied with the Civil War.
    When he agreed to a peace treaty with the US, several of his younger warriors refused to abide by it and rode off to join Geronimo.
    He was buried at a secret location and a band of Apache rode their horses over the grave site to eliminate any evidence of it.
    Mel Gibson calls Danny Glover 'Cochise' at least once in each 'Lethal Weapon' film.

Why he might not be annoying:

    The war with Cochise might have been avoided if Lt. George Bascom had not falsely accused him of kidnapping a rancher's son and then tried to arrest him.
    At the end of the Bascom Affair, the Americans also killed their hostages, who included Cochise's brother and two nephews.
    He was described as having 'carried himself at all times with great dignity.'
    He was said to outdo all other Apaches with a lance or a bow and arrow.
    An observer said about his control over his men, 'A private soldier would as soon think of disobeying a direct order of the President as would a Chiricahua Apache a command of Cochise.'
    He was depicted sympathetically in the films 'Fort Apache' (1948) and 'Broken Arrow' (1950).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 19 Votes: 21.05% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 12 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 55 Votes: 50.91% Annoying