White Indian Boy

At age 12 Elijah Nicholas Wilson ran away from his family. Fighting off the constraints of his Mormon upbringing he found a new home with a Shoshone Indian tribe. Under their guidance, particularly of the Great Chief Washakie, he learned how to live and survive in the wild lands of the far west. When Elijah turned fourteen, to prevent reprisals against his tribe for his 'abduction,' he returned to his white family. He then worked as a Pony Express rider, stagecoach driver, trapper, translator, hostler, Indian agent, and whatever else was required to support himself and his family.

Elijah 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. The White Indian Boy is his story.