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Story of Chief
Cochise ~
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Today
was the greatest day of Cochise's life! The young brave was to be
made Chief of his Apache tribe.
The other braves followed him out of his tent, and along the path
to where the Wisemen stood.
The big moment came, and the Chief's cloak was laid on his shoulders.
Next, the stunning headdress that only the Chief can wear, was placed
on his own head. And at this magical moment, the words of his Grandfather
came into his mind. This is what he had said:
"To be a great Chief you must always
tell the truth, for if you lie, our people won't trust you to lead
them. Be truthful and you'll also be happy."
Well, time passed, and Cochise gained people's trust, just as
his grandfather had taught. He never lied to anyone.
One day, as he sat on his horse on a high hill, he saw the white settlers
moving west. He went to their local Army headquarters and told them
that he and his people wished to live in peace with the settlers.
"If my people are allowed to move freely
on our ancient lands, we'll have no reason to fight your soldiers,"
he said.
The colonel respected that, and he and Cochise tried to keep peace
between the people. But the settlers put up fences and blocked the
Indian hunting trails. Sadly, the settlers and the Indians started
fighting.
This happened to be the time of the American Civil War, and next thing,
all the soldiers were called away from Apache territory.
One day, during the continuing unrest, a settler called Tom Jeffords
found a young injured Apache boy. Despite the danger, Tom returned
him to Cochise's tribal village. Though others were fighting, Tom's
care for the injured brave outweighed his fear.
Cochise was most grateful and he and Tom became friends. They found
they could trust each other.
"Why can't more people be like
Tom? Then we could all live in peace together," Cochise thought.
But the fighting continued, until the President himself, sent General
Howard to try and make peace between the settlers and the Apache Indians.
Tom met the general and told him that he and Cochise were good friends
and trusted each other. So the general sent Tom with a message for
Cochise. Off he rode. When he reached the Indian village, Tom dismounted
and asked to see Chief Cochise. He said:
"The general is ready to make peace with
your people. You can trust him just as you can trust me, for he is
truthful. He wants you and your warriors to come and meet him."
When Chief Cochise heard that General Howard was a truthful man, he
agreed to meet him.
After that meeting, Cochise gathered all the other Apache Chiefs together
and talked to them. Most of them decided to trust the general, and
they signed a Treaty which said that the Tribes would be given their
ancient lands to live on. So everyone was able to get along at last.
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