The Woman Warrior

A wounded Apache turned out to be something else.

Darrell Duppa, the English gentleman credited with naming both Phoenix and Tempe, had a bizarre encounter in 1864. He came under attack by Yavapai warriors. During the fight, he managed to wound one of the braves who let out a painful yell and fell among the rocks. 

To his surprise Duppa noted that the fallen warrior “was a white woman, evidently about 30 years of age and dressed in all the paint and paraphernalia of the Apaches.” 

The woman died before revealing any clues as to how she came to live among the natives.