White Indian Boy: My Life Among the Shoshones

by Elijah Nicholas Wilson

This is a true story of a pioneer boy who crossed the plains by ox-team with his parents to a settlement south of the Great Salt Lake. Pioneer life in the 1850s was extremely difficult for the pioneers, food was scarce, work was hard, and marauding Indians keep everyone on constant alert.
With the promise of great adventure and a better life 11-year-old Nick Wilson ran away from home with an Indian who had befriended him. The mother of Chief Washakie, a prominent Shoshone chief, had lost her youngest son in an avalanche. She readily adopted the white boy as her own. Nick spent the next two years with the Shoshone learning their language and culture and developing the skills of a hunter. He participated in buffalo hunts, fought off grizzly bears, witness large scale Indian wars, and even survived being shot in the head with an arrow and left to die.
Later he became a trapper, was one of the original Pony Express riders, worked as an overland stagecoach driver, and served as an army scout and interpreter. He was often called to track down and negotiate peace with renegade Indians who had fled the reservation and threatened war. He found himself in danger numerous times and participated in many skirmishes with both Indians and outlaws. Growing up among the Shoshones taught him the skills he needed to survive the rough and wild west.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Native American, Memoir, Biography, Westerns, Autobiography

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 14, 1910

About the author

Elijah Nicholas Wilson was known as "Yagaiki" when among the Shoshones, and in his later years as "Uncle Nick" when entertaining young children with his adventurous exploits. He was a Mormon American pioneer, childhood runaway, "adopted" brother of Shoshone Chief Washakie, Pony Express rider for the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company, stagecoach driver for Ben Holloday's Overland Stage, blacksmith, prison guard, farmer, Mormon bishop, prison inmate (unlawful cohabitation), carpenter/cabinet maker, fiddler, trader, trapper, and "frontier doctor" (diphtheria and smallpox).

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author definitely knows how to tell a story. I could feel his joy on every page. This was a quick read. His accounts of running away from home just to have a pony of his own was already intriguing, but the fact that he then lived with the Shoshone for two years makes his experiences even more remarkable.

The book focuses mainly on these specific adventures, but I found myself wishing for a broader look at his entire life, which was colorful as well. While the writing wasn't polished, he absolutely succeeded in sharing his experiences in a compelling way.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. So 4 stars.

[Rculliford · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Lots of spelling errors and punctuation errors. It's kind of a choppy read but when you consider that it's an autobiography from someone who never went to school it's actually quite impressive!

Great insight into the pioneers early experiences with the Indians.

An okay read and definitely an easy one!

[TERESA LAPP · Rating 5 out of 5]

First person history

Fascinating and plain spoken first person accounts of life in the old west.Speaks to the hardiness, struggles,suffering and amazing survival of our American forefathers. Readable and hard to put down.

[Thommy MacNiff-Kolb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read

Really enjoyed this book which is actually multiple accounts of living among the American Indian. Though sometimes brutal and graphic they give a glimpse into a completely different way of life. Well worth reading,

[Heather Munz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style is different then I'm used to, so it was hard at first. But it was a fascinating read. and since I've lived in Idaho and utah, it was easier to follow all of the locations that were mentioned.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this because it's my great great grandmother's uncle and it's such an interesting read that kept me enthralled. I love his writing style and the way he makes a story come to life. Thanks "Uncle Nick" for the neat story of my family history.

[Eleni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This read deserves 4 stars for being a compelling personal account of life among the Indians, the pony express, the fur trading and many other first hand adventures in the Wild West of the late 1800s, even if the writing per se is not much!

[Mai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story, writing is a little uneven, but gives the sense of the man. Very good.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story of a boy who chose to live with the Indians. Compassionate story of the Indians. Not all treated him well, but his adopted family loved him and took good care of him.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over a decade ago, I asked my dad what his father’s favorite books were. My paternal grandfather had always been an interesting person to me. He died many years before I was born, but the stories my dad used to tell were filled with so much love, fun, mischief, and determination that I’ve always wished to know more.

As a reader, I believe favorite books reveal a lot about a person and so I wanted to know what Grandpa’s favorites were. My dad could only remember two book titles of which this book was one. (Grandpa was a farmer, an outdoorsman, a family man, and a schoolteacher so his leisure reading hours could not have been many.)

It took me a long time to read a book I was so eager to know about. The cover and the title made me squirm with discomfort. Would the book be fair to the rights and wrongs of the various views of those in all the conflicts? It was much better than I thought and I read it in an intense focus in one afternoon.

The chapters detailing his years living with a Shoshone tribe and family were by far the most interesting parts, but it was all a fascinating tale of a most active life. Knowing what I do of my grandpa (and my dad), it makes perfect sense that this is a book my dad remembered his father enjoyed.

[Pam Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Autobiography of Elijah Nicholas Wilson (1842 - 1915). Born in Illinois, and walked to Utah in 1850 with his pioneer family. They settled in Grantsville, out in the desert. They had little to eat and were starving. Their clothes were worn out. They met a Gosiute family and Nick became friends with their son, Pantsuk. Nick quickly learned his language. He had a gift for learning tribal languages. Not yet twelve years of age, he left home to join the Indians. He did not tell his family. He describes his new family, travels, meeting other tribes, hunting, wars, etc. Years later he saw his birth family. He was a trapper, a hunter, an explorer, rode for the Pony Express, drove for the Overland Stage, explored Jackson's Hole, founded the town of Wilson, Wyoming and died there.

[Patricia Bourque · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is better than any Hollywood version of the old west.

I really enjoyed this book! Being that it's a first person narrative, you get an actual sense of what life was like in the 1800's for pioneers and Indians alike. With all that Uncle Nick went through, I'm surprised he lived to tell about it. We get a much more fair and honest portrait of the different Indian tribes, how the government really 'spoke with a forked tongue' making promises they didn't keep which often provoked the Indians to war. Lots of adventures and subsistence living, waist deep snow storms; to say it was not an easy life is an understatement. It kept me turning pages.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a bit partial because Elijah Wilson is my ancestor, but I find his stories fascinating and entertaining. Elijah led quite an independent and exciting life! The strength and resiliency of the pioneers is truly inspiring to me. I have read this with each of my boys and I enjoy his stories every time I re-read it.

[David Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book of 2022! Happy I got to read a well written and true story about one’s experience living amongst a Native American tribe, for one of my reading goals this year is to read more about my indigenous roots. Elijah Wilson is a great story teller.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those autobiographys where you scratch your head and wonder how one person could be involved in so many adventures and live to tell all about them. It's truely so crazy that it must be true, no one could make this stuff up!

[Babs M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read of the early Wests tribulations. He certainly led a varied and exciting life. Particularly interesting was the section of when he worked for the Pony Express. I love reading about the people who were hardcore enough to make it and help this country develop.

[Maya Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is actually totally fascinating. it seems relatively unedited from whatever this guy originally wrote, and is a really cool account of his very crazy life. while it is obviously quite racist, it's not as racist as it might be, for what it is.

[Bev Workman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enlightening

I learned from this book. Its adventurous, interesting, and an easy read. It held my interest. If you're familiar with the northwest area it covers it's even more fun to read.

[Minetta Slattery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always give biographies 5 stars, but someone's story shouldn't be marked down.

Great story written by a man who never went to school. These are the kind of histories that are often lost. I am glad he took the time to tell his story.

[Vince Pillig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't realize it was three books and one

Wilson's life is interesting read . The other two books are questionable what a fun read . Historical fiction is not my favorite .

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story I'd been told my whole life as it happened around where my dad grew up. I finally found the book.

[Tracy Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

This book is a simple first hand life experiences in living and associating with the Native American people before they were all out on the reservations.

[Tiffany L · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of good stories from settling the Wild West.

[Kris Havice]

Very enjoyable

[Terrell Baldwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read about Elijah Wilson of Wilson, Wyoming.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was entertaining and informative. If you have an interest in stories about the pioneer and Indian years, this is a must read !

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book when I was younger. I then found out Glenn is related to the main character. Putting this on the list for books I want my boys to read.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting read about a fascinating character and time in American History.

[Rich barnone Varela · Rating 4 out of 5]

True to life

Extremely entertaining and exciting tale of the real west with believable characters and settings. Further adventures of this daring soul would be a good read.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing is a bit crude, however this adds some authenticity to the book. Very interesting story.