Gouyen
Encyclopedia
Gouyen (c. 1857-1903, was a 19th-century Apache
woman noted for her heroism.
's Warm Springs Apache or Chihenne band of Chiricahua Apache. She married as a young woman.
. She tracked to his camp the Comanche
chief who scalped
her husband. There she found the chief watching a victory dance around a bonfire, and he was wearing her husband's scalp from his belt.
Gouyen donned a buckskin puberty ceremony dress and slipped into the circle of dancers. She seduced the drunken chief to go with her to a secluded spot. After a struggle, she stabbed the Comanche to death with his own knife, scalped him, and took his beaded breechcloth
and moccasin
s. Stealing a horse, Gouyen rode back to her camp. She presented her in-laws with the Comanche leader's scalp and clothing as evidence of her triumphant revenge.
and Geronimo
's band during the early 1880s. He and Gouyen escaped with Geronimo from the San Carlos Reservation in 1883.
During their maneuvers to evade capture, Gouyen saved Kaytennae's life by killing a man who was trying to ambush him. In 1886, Gouyen and her family were taken prisoner by the U.S. Army, along with others in Geronimo's band. They were held as prisoners of war at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where she died in 1903.
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
woman noted for her heroism.
Early life and education
Góyą́ń (Gouyen) was born circa 1857 into Chief VictorioVictorio
Victorio was a warrior and chief of the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apaches in what is now the American states of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua....
's Warm Springs Apache or Chihenne band of Chiricahua Apache. She married as a young woman.
Vendetta against the Comanche
Gouyen's first husband was killed in a Comanche raid in the 1870s. She took heroic actions to avenge his death, which have become legendary in Apache oral historyOral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
. She tracked to his camp the Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
chief who scalped
Scalping
Scalping is the act of removing another person's scalp or a portion of their scalp, either from a dead body or from a living person. The initial purpose of scalping was to provide a trophy of battle or portable proof of a combatant's prowess in war...
her husband. There she found the chief watching a victory dance around a bonfire, and he was wearing her husband's scalp from his belt.
Gouyen donned a buckskin puberty ceremony dress and slipped into the circle of dancers. She seduced the drunken chief to go with her to a secluded spot. After a struggle, she stabbed the Comanche to death with his own knife, scalped him, and took his beaded breechcloth
Breechcloth
A breechcloth, or breechclout, is a form of loincloth consisting in a strip of material – usually a narrow rectangle – passed between the thighs and held up in front and behind by a belt or string. Often, the flaps hang down in front and back.- Native Americans :In most Native American...
and moccasin
Moccasin
A Moccasin is a form of shoe worn by Native Americans, as well as by hunters, traders, and settlers in the frontier regions of North America.Moccasin may also refer to:* Moccasin , an American Thoroughbred racehorse-Places:...
s. Stealing a horse, Gouyen rode back to her camp. She presented her in-laws with the Comanche leader's scalp and clothing as evidence of her triumphant revenge.
Battle of Tres Castillos
Gouyen was a member of Victorio's band during their final days evading U.S. and Mexican troops along the U.S.-Mexican border. On October 14, 1880, the group was resting at Tres Castillos, Mexico when they were surrounded and attacked by Mexican soldiers. Victorio and 77 other Apache were killed, and several taken prisoner. Only 17 Apache escaped, including Gouyen and her young son Kaywaykla. Her infant daughter was said to have been killed in the attack.Later life
Gouyen married a second time, to an Apache warrior named Kaytennae. He also escaped during the Battle of Tres Castillos. Afterward, Kaytennae was a member of NanaNana (Apache)
Kas-tziden or Haškɛnadɨltla , more widely known by his mexican-spanish appellation Nana , was a warrior and chief of the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apache...
and Geronimo
Geronimo
Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
's band during the early 1880s. He and Gouyen escaped with Geronimo from the San Carlos Reservation in 1883.
During their maneuvers to evade capture, Gouyen saved Kaytennae's life by killing a man who was trying to ambush him. In 1886, Gouyen and her family were taken prisoner by the U.S. Army, along with others in Geronimo's band. They were held as prisoners of war at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where she died in 1903.
External links
- Eve Ball, "The Vengeance of Gouyen", Southwestern Crossroads
- Jay W. Sharp, "Profile of an Apache Woman", Desert USA