Cpl. John Wild, Who Would Die at the Little Bighorn, Writes that the Summer of 1876 Will Bring an Indian War: "We Shall Have A Hard Time of It"

Background

Corporal John Wild explains how he came to enlist, describes the harsh conditions on the prairie, the imminence of Indian War, enquires after family, and writes what he hopes to do if he lives to come home.

He never meant to join the Army, he explains; in fact, the day he left Buffalo, without saying goodbye, he had no intention of even leaving home. He just went down the docks, was offered a chance to sail out, and thought he’d avail himself of a little trip before returning to work. But when he ended up someplace with friends from Buffalo, he tired of them and, impulsively, enlisted. He regrets he left without saying goodbye, and asks that his brother tell this to their mother, and to "tell Mother that she looks like a sunflower, and that I looked at her picture for more than an hour, wishing I could see herself instead of her picture..."

Marching all day and sleeping at night without shelter is awful, he says: it is fearfully cold. He is sure there will be an Indian war that summer – “same as the Modac war was in the fall of 1872 “ – and although “all the Indian are going on the war path,” what the troops really fear is the cold.

Wild says that if he ever lives to come home, they will all see a great change in him. He describes that he is now 5’11, 175 lbs, and unafraid of work. He will do almost anything now, as he has become used to doing everything. And, he says, “for being ashamed I would never let that trouble me in the least.” He suggests that his brother “let printing go to the Devil," and find work doing something else; another friend ought to drive a street car, he says. He says if he lives long enough to come home, he thinks work will be easier to come by; and if not, he plans to “soldier at Ft. Paster.”

Physical Description