Bascom affair

[1] Ward reported the raid to the nearby military authority, Lt. Col. Morrison, the commandant of Fort Buchanan, Arizona, who directed Lt. George Nicholas Bascom and a large group of infantry to attempt to recover the boy.

Bascom, Ward and 54 soldiers journeyed east to Apache Pass, arriving on February 3, 1861, and met Sgt.

Suspicious of Bascom's intentions, Cochise brought with him his brother Coyuntwa, two nephews, his wife and his two children.

[3] The following day, Cochise and a large party of Apaches attacked a group of unaware American and Mexican teamsters.

After torturing and killing the nine Mexicans, he took the three Americans hostage, offering them in exchange for his family, but Bascom maintained that he would accept nothing other than the return of the boy and cattle.

Several days later, on February 19, 1861, Lt. Isaiah Moore, who had led a relief party of cavalry to Apache Pass, hanged Cochise's brother and nephews before he and his soldiers began their journey home.