Customer Reviews

The White Indian Boy:: The Story of Uncle Nick Among the Shoshones

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When I was a child in elementary school, 60 plus years ago, one of my favorite teachers used to read to my class for approximately 15 minutes a day out of the book, The White Indian Boy. This only occurred, however, if we were good boys and girls and did all of our work first. It was a great incentive for all of us to do our very best. I remember vividly looking forward to that magical time with great anticipation, as did the rest of the boys and girls in my class.

It was a thrilling depiction of a boy and his adventures with the Shoshone Indians, whom he eventually grew to love. It was a revealing, wonderful story of what life was actually like living among the Indians in that day, and made them, as a people, seem far less fearful to me, as a child, than I had always been lead to believe. I remember being very happy that the young boy eventually made the decision to leave his Indian friends and return to his own family in Utah.

This story was read to me in 4th grade in a small 4 room school
house in Wyoming, just about 60 miles South of the town of Wilson in Star Valley, Wyoming. My teacher read to the class for about 1/2 hour after the lunch recess to calm us down. I have never forgotten this book and at age 60 now am recommending it to a book group of women friends, most I have know for more than 30 years. We will go from the Bay Area of California, to Wyoming near where these events actually happened and review the book. We will go to Wilson, to the little town named after the author.

The book fascinated me as a child and as I have re-read it recently, I know it stirs my imagination and wonder again about the real experiences of this young boy with incredible courage and good luck. At his age I would have loved nothing more than to have done just as he did. Knowing the experiences he had, so very well expressed, I can imagine any child or adult with an active imagination for a life in the "Old West" will dream to have been this "white" Indian Boy. I recommend it as a gift for both young girls and boys to see the past from the perspective of a boy who really did go to another culture and had an incredible adventure. I wish it could of been me!

This book is about my great uncle. Growing up in South east Idaho, it really gave me a lot of insight on my heritage and the area. It is very interesting. Most of the time history books are boring, but not in this case. This book is a real page turner. Reading it seems so real that you can actually laugh out loud and imagine yourself in the great old west! I recommend this book to everyone, not only is it real history, but a great story too!

This book was written as a series of stories told by the author early in this century. It was first published in the early 1900's and has been republished multiple times since. All of the versions, variously titled "The White Indian Boy", "Uncle Nick among the Shoshones", or "Among the Shoshones" have the same text and pictures. For many years it was required reading in the Intermountain West during Elementary or Secondary School. Whenever I give a copy to someone, many of them remember loving this book when they first read it or had it read to them by a teacher 50 or more years ago.

It really is that good. The tales are direct, simple and entertaining. You will remember them 50 years later just like all of those who have read it before.

Nick Wilson ran away from his Utah pioneer home in the 1850's, soon after Utah received its first settlers. The mother of Chief Washakie, a prominent Shoshone chief, had lost her 2 other sons and dreamed they would be replaced by a white boy. Nick was an 11 year old who spent his days herding sheep, working on a farm and living on "lumpy dick" and "greens", which are just as good as they sound. He had a facility for languages and had picked up Goshiute from an Indian Boy who was his childhood friend. When Shoshone Indians heard him speaking an Indian language, they offered him a pony, adventure, venison and grouse and, best of all, no tiring farmwork.

He left without a word to anyone and spent 2 years with the Shoshone as they wandered over Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. He learned Shoshone quickly and learned Indian skills. He hunted, travelled and participated fully in Indian life. He shot arrows at grizzly bears, gathered serviceberries and was an eyewitness of a large Indian battle between the Crow and Shoshone. He met Indians who knew Lewis and Clark.

The book also includes later adventures as a trapper, original Pony Express rider, Army Scout, and many other adventures. General Albert Sydney Johnson of Civil War fame was so enamored of his skills that he tried to talk Nick into going to the Civil War with him. Kit Carson spent a winter at his cabin. Nick was even shot in the head with an arrow and left to die.

This is the authentic article, well-told and gripping. The last year of his life, Nick Wilson was bedridden and his mind began to wander. He never spoke another word of English and spoke only Shoshone until his death. He recognized the faults of his Indian brothers but loved them dearly and wasn't afraid to say that the faults were mostly on the side of the white man.

Recommended highly.

A delight for both adults and children. Accurate portrayal of Indian life. Lively storytelling in the first person. Photographs of Indians, author. Loved this book as a child and have read it to my children. A favorite and a most rare look into an accurate portrayal of a time in our western history. Highly recommended.

For those who like well-written and true-to-life biographies, this is the book! Wilson and Driggs describe a realistic view of the Shoshone Indian's interactions with white pioneer settlers. You will find the writing both captivating and enjoyable!

While growing up in northern Michigan I would stay on the farm with my grandmother in the summer. We had only kerosene lamps but I would read this book over and over. Every boy dreams of running away from home and this book helped me do it in an imaginary way. How excited I was as I turned each page to see what adventure was in store for "Yagaiki" next.

Years ago, this book was given to me by Perry Driggs, the son of William Driggs who helped Nick Wilson record his stories. I scanned it at the time, but it has only been recently that I fully read it along with my 9 year old daughter. Neither one of us could put it down. Besides fascinating stories, this book gives very interesting insights into the early pioneer life, indian culture, and the indian-white man conflict. There are even very subtle insights about the influence of the Mormon Church in the life of young Nick.

Above all, I have the strong impression that these stories were told exactly as remembered by Mr. Wilson-- without hyperbole. He shows humility in freely admitting his weaknesses throughout the book and only a scholar could have reproduced the details as he has portrayed them. Some may be offended by the seeming "political incorrectness" in this book. I find it a refreshingly honest, unsanitized look at the way things were in the old frontier.

Written in a very simple style, this book is an easy and enjoyable read for even young children.

When I was a child in elementary school, 60 plus years ago, one of my favorite teachers used to read to my class for approximately 15 minutes a day out of this book. This only occurred, however, if we were good boys and girls and did all of our work first. It was a great incentive for all of us to do our very best. I remember vividly looking forward to that magical time with great anticipation, as did the rest of the boys and girls in my class.

It is a thrilling depiction of a boy and his adventures with the Shoshone Indians, whom he eventually grew to love. It is a revealing, wonderful story of what life was actually like living among the Indians in that day, and made them, as a people, seem far less fearful to me, as a child, than I had always been lead to believe. I remember being very happy that the young boy eventually made the decision to leave his Indian friends and return to his own family in Utah.

Elijah Nicholas Wilson was my grandfather and I love to read his book over and over again. His sense of storytelling teaches the person reading about life and history without making it boring. I read this book to my children and I love to recommend it to my friends. We are so very proud of him to this day. I'm proud to call him my grandfather, and my mother instilled the sense of tradition and respect that was so alive in those days, and that we miss so much today.