Elijah Nicholas Wilson

Elijah Nicholas Wilson (April 8, 1842 - December 26, 1915) 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).

For other people named Nicholas Wilson, see Nicholas Wilson (disambiguation).
Elijah Nicholas Wilson
Portrait of Wilson
Born(1842-04-08)April 8, 1842
DiedDecember 26, 1915(1915-12-26) (aged 73)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Mormon pioneer, author
Notable workAmong the Shoshones

In 1859, Wilson was guide to General Albert Sidney Johnston when he led a company from Camp Floyd to hunt down Western Shoshone people in retaliation for a raid on a caravan. According to Wilson's account, Johnston's army massacred 350 men and an unknown number of women and children in the Spring Valley Massacre.[1]

Wilson is remembered today due to the publication of derivative works based upon, and later-day republications of, his 1910 autobiography entitled Among the Shoshones,[2] such as The White Indian Boy: The Story of Uncle Nick Among the Shoshones[3] (a volume of the World Book Company's In Pioneer Life Series), The White Indian Boy, and its sequel The Return of the White Indian.[4] He founded Wilson, Wyoming. His life was highlighted in the 2000 movie Wind River.[5][6]

References
  1. "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Bahsahwahbee" (PDF). National Park Service. June 30, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  2. Wilson, Elijah Nicholas "Uncle Nick" (c. 1910). Among the Shoshones. Salt Lake City: Skelton publishing company. LCCN 10002970.
  3. Wilson, E. N. (1919). Driggs, Howard R. (ed.). The White Indian Boy: The Story of Uncle Nick Among the Shoshones. Pioneer Life Series. Illustrated by F. N. Wilson. Yonkers-on-Hudson, NY: World Book Company. LCCN 19019487.
  4. Elijah Nicholas Wilson and Charles Alma Wilson. The White Indian Boy; and its Sequel, The Return of the White Indian. Rapid City, SD: Fenske Printing, Inc., 1985. Library of Congress Control Number 86127837
  5. Wind River. Dir. Tom Shell. Perfs. Blake Heron, A Martinez, Karen Allen, Russell Means, Tim Griffin, Patricia Van Ingen, Devon Gummersall, Wes Studi. 2000. DVD. Lions Gate Entertainment, 2001.
  6. Wind River at IMDb

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