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CHIRICAHUA LIFEWAYS
The Chiricahua probably did not plant crops in the Stronghold, although they did use corn. Instead, they relied heavily on hunting and gathering wild plants.
Deer were the main game animals. Antelope were also important, and wood rats, squirrels, cottontail rabbits, and opossums were taken. A successful hunter was expected to share his game with neighbors and the needy as well as his family. In 1872 Captain Sladen observed:
They were always generous with each other in the matter of food. So long as there was any food in camp all shared it alike and none went hungry. When Cochise returned from his hunting trip, the antelope brought back was cut up and divided among all present , the Chief's wife reserving only some choice parts for the chief's own use.
Success in hunting, and sharing the results, was an important element of leadership. Leadership was conferred by popular consent, and was usually exercised by respected elder men. They became leaders through a reputation for sound decision-making as well as providing for the local group.
Important wild plants included mescal, prepared by roasting the crowns of the agave (
Century Plant). Roasting pits for agave are found throughout the Stronghold. Yucca fruit, acorns, walnuts, mesquite beans, juniper berries, grass and sunflower seeds were also eaten. Captain Sladen commented on a typical meal:
I did not question its character, but set to with a relish, and though it did not fill the void it proved very palatable, and refreshing. It was mescal, beaten with water into a pulp, and mixed with the mesquite bean, and cracked walnuts, the latter with shells and all.
This was followed by a piece of baked mescal, a succulent mass of starchy, sugary substance interspersed with fiber.
Settlement and mining reduced populations of game and food plants. Suspicion and hostility on the part of the settlers made it safer for Chiricahua Apaches to take supplies in raids than to hunt or gather. By the 1850's, raiding had become a necessity to obtain the resources for survival, setting the stage for the emergence of Cochise into the spotlight of history.