Gouyen, meaning Wise Woman, was born in Arizona into Chief Victorio’s (Lozen’s brother) Warm Springs Apache band in the 1850’s. She was famous among her allies for never getting injured or harmed in any way during battle, even when overwhelmed by the numbers of soldiers and their bullets.

On October 15, 1880, while the group was resting near Tres Castillos, New Mexico, they were attacked by Mexicans. When the offensive was over, seventy-eight Apaches had been murdered and only seventeen had escaped, including Gouyen and her young son, Kaywaykla , later known as James, whose interviews later in life would provide a great deal of information about running with Victorio and the region. Her small daughter, however, was murdered and shortly afterwards her husband was killed in a Comanche raid while visiting the Mescalero Apaches.

A legendary tale is told about the revenge of Gouyen. One night following her husband’s death, she put on her buckskin ceremony dress and left the camp carrying a water jug, dried meat, and a bone awl with sinew for repairing her moccasins. She found the Commance chief who had killed her husband engaged in a Victory Dance around a bonfire with her husband’s scalp hanging from his belt. Gouyen slipped into the circle of dancers, seduced the Chief an led him off into the high grass. At first she had hoped to get the Chiefs knife, but ended up attacking his throat with her teeth. They grappled and fought but eventually she won. Gouyen scalped the Commanche, cut his beaded breechcloth from his body, tore off his moccasins, then stole his horse. When she returned to her camp she was exhausted but managed to present her in-laws with the Comanche leader’s scalp, along with his clothing and footwear.

Gouyen remarried an Apache warrior named Ka-ya-ten-nae. Later, she and her family were taken prisoner by the U.S. Army and held at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where she died.