From the Frontier Files: The Story of Buckskin Johnny Spaulding

Do you ever get envious of someone with a really cool call sign or nickname? The movie Top Gun immediately comes to mind with the naval aviator characters of Maverick, Iceman, and Viper. 

Let me introduce you to man who lived back in the 1800s with an equally cool nickname—“Buckskin Johnny” Spaulding. 

Buckskin Johnny is a distant cousin of mine. Here’s where he and I connect: James Spaulding (1714-1790) and Anna (Underwood) Spaulding (1717-1770) were Johnny’s 2nd great-grandparents and my 6th great-grandparents.

Now for his story.

John Thomas Spaulding was born on March 21, 1849 in Springville, Wisconsin. The 1850 Census lists John, at age one, living at home with his parents Clement and Hannah (Youngman) Spaulding and siblings in Bad Ax County, Wisconsin (renamed to Vernon County in 1862). 

Johnny grew up near a community of Ojibway indigenous people—their children being his friends as he was coming of age. He learned their language, culture, and how they hunted, fished, and lived in accord with nature.¹

Johnny Spaulding was a hunter, guide, scout, and pioneer. He arrived in the Black Hills area of the Dakotas not long after the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876. He built a two-story cabin on the Lower Redwater River near Belle Fourche. Johnny cut the logs from trees near Deadwood, South Dakota and hauled them some 15 miles to his home site.^1,2 I had the opportunity to visit the area in July 2025. It was an enjoyable moment reflecting on the times of Buckskin Johnny as I walked the streets of Deadwood. Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are both buried there.

Johnny’s cabin was the first permanent dwelling in Butte County. Today, the restored cabin is open to the public on the grounds of the Tri-State Museum in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. 

How Did He Get That Name?

Spaulding earned his nickname by wearing buckskin (the soft, preserved hide of an animal, typically deer) with his wolf-skin cap.

According to his friend and journalist, R. B. Hughes, Johnny “used neither liquor nor tobacco in any form, and an obscene or profane word I never heard pass his lips.” He also didn’t like riding a horse. Johnny would say if you’re going to ride a horse in Indian country, you’re going to get killed, because they’ll follow horses.
 
So how then did he travel the Black Hills as a hunter, guide, and scout? Johnny used a pack animal (horse, mule or donkey) in the wilderness as they “stepped light” and didn’t leave as big a signature. He was always on the move, walking wherever he traveled.³

His Venturesome Friends

Buckskin Johnny had some friends with equally unique names. 
 
First there was Richard “Deadwood Dick” Clarke. He was a frontiersman, Pony Express rider, actor, and veteran. He associated with prominent western legends such as Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and Buffalo Bill Cody. Clarke traveled with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show in the late 1800s and early 1900s.⁴
 
Richard Clarke was widely considered to be the inspiration for Deadwood Dick, a fictional character who appeared in a series of dime novels, published by Edward Lytton Wheeler.⁵

Then there was Barney “Idaho Bill” Pearson. He was a rancher, bronco buster, wild animal hunter, showman, and friend of Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, and President Theodore Roosevelt. Idaho Bill was a renowned horse-breaker and dealer in bucking broncos that he rented to cowboy rodeos. He was crushed by a horse, jailed for murder, and sued for wrongful death. A natural showman, Idaho Bill was said to “never let the truth get in the way of a good story”.⁶

In the 1920s, Buckskin Johnny was invited to reunite with his pals Deadwood Dick and Idaho Bill to ride in a parade commemorating the Black Hills Gold Rush and founding of Deadwood, South Dakota in 1876. That tradition continues today with the annual “Days of 76” celebration.

The 49 Year Old Military Recruit

After living in his cabin for 20 years, Spaulding migrated west to California in 1896. 
 
Perhaps Buckskin Johnny deeply desired to join the military as he missed the chance to serve with his older brother, Jabez Y. Spaulding, during the Civil War. Why? Because when the Civil War broke out in April 1861, Johnny was just twelve years old. His brother, Jabez, served three years with the 1st Wisconsin Light Artillery Battery Regiment.⁷
 
He eventually got his chance to serve. On June 14, 1898, Private John T. Spaulding enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War. The 49 year old was assigned to Company K of the 1st California Infantry.⁸
 
Did you catch that? Private Spaulding was 49 when he enlisted! U.S. Army recruiters initially rejected him because of his age. So, what did Buckskin Johnny do? He laid down a challenge for a two-mile footrace against the best the Army could offer. Johnny went on to beat the recruiter’s champion and was sworn in to the Army that same day.¹
 
On April 25, 1898, the United States declared war on Spain following a massive explosion that sunk the battleship, USS Maine, in Havana Harbor, Cuba killing nearly three-quarters of the crew. While the exact cause of the explosion was never determined, American public opinion repeatedly blamed Spain.⁹
 
It was a short war, lasting only ten months, ending with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. As a result of the war, Spain lost its control over the remains of its overseas empire in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines, and Guam.¹⁰

During the Spanish-American War, Private Spaulding served as a sharpshooter in Company K of the 1st California Infantry in the Philippines. Those years as a hunter, guide, and scout in the Black Hills of the Dakotas uniquely prepared him for his mission.

On May 25, 1898, the 1st California Infantry steamed for the Philippines. Johnny’s unit took part in combat actions near Malate on July 31, 1898 and supported the capture of Manila on August 13, 1898. In July, his unit left the Philippines for the United States, arriving on August 24, 1899. The troops were mustered out of service on September 21, 1899.¹¹

His Romance Nightmare

Buckle up for this intriguing story!
 
At age 19, Johnny moved to Winona County, Minnesota to continue his education at a private academy. He lived in the academy headmaster’s home. He fell in love with Nettie Dobbs, a classmate who was the headmaster’s daughter. Johnny proposed to Nettie in 1871 and with her family’s blessing, she accepted. He was 22, she was 16.¹
 
After the cold winter, Johnny and Nettie decided to begin their life together in a milder climate. In 1874, Johnny journeyed west to see what he could find. Wilderness travel was a risky lifestyle in those days as Johnny and his pack horse were both bitten by rattlesnakes—Johnny almost died and the horse did.¹
 
Johnny wrote regularly to Nettie but never received letters in return. Deeply worried, he sent a letter to one of Nellie’s aunts. The aunt’s reply—Nettie moved in with another aunt who was very ill. After the sick aunt passed away, Nettie married the widowed husband!¹
 
What?
 
Johnny and Nettie were the victims of a cruel deceit. Nettie never received any of Johnny’s letters. And, none of the letters she wrote to Johnny were ever sent. 
 
How?
 
The aunt’s husband was conspiring with the local postmaster (a friend of his). With the postmaster’s help, Johnny’s letters were intercepted and destroyed.¹³ To make this deception worse, Nettie was given a phony letter stating that Johnny had married an Oglala native American girl and that he obviously “cared for Nettie no more than a dog.”¹

Not long after her aunt died, Nettie was pressured into marrying the widowed husband. Having lived together for so long, Nettie was told that “people were talking” and they would be shamed by society if they didn’t get married. Nettie capitulated.¹

Many years later, Johnny discovered the truth about Nettie’s life. Letters were exchanged between family members and Nettie then learned the dubious backstory. In October of 1927, Johnny was reunited with his long-lost sweetheart and they married a week later—after their 55-year engagement! He was 77 and she was 71—it was Johnny’s first and only marriage.¹

Read the entire story of this 55 year romance from a 1930 newspaper article in the Alturas Plaindealer HERE.¹²

The End of the Legend 

In the later years of his life, Johnny Spaulding resided at the Yountville Veterans Home for disabled soldiers in California. When admitted to the facility, he suffered from chronic rheumatism, arteriosclerosis, defective hearing, and heart problems²—likely symptoms from his rugged life in the wilderness.

Buckskin Johnny died on January 18, 1932 at the Yountville Veterans Home at age 82 receiving military honors at his burial service. He’s buried at the Veterans Memorial Grove Cemetery in section H, row 12, site 22. 

It’s heartbreaking to think that meddling family members stood in the way of Johnny and Nettie’s chance to marry young, raise a family, and carry on his legacy. I’m filled with gratitude to have discovered this distant Spaulding cousin. His adventurous life still speaks across generations, and sharing his story helps ensure his legacy lives on.

“Buckskin Johnny Spaulding of Bad Ax County”—now that’s a name to remember!

NOTES

1. Gevik, Brian. South Dakota Public Broadcasting. The 1876 Johnny Spaulding Cabin – Belle Fourche. Accessed from https://www.sdpb.org/blogs/images-of-the-past/the-1876-johnny-spaulding-cabin-belle-fourche/ on May 29, 2025.
2. Tri-State Museum. The Johnny Spaulding Cabin. Accessed from https://www.thetristatemuseum.com/johnny-spaulding-cabin/ on May 26, 2025. 
3. Davis, Vernon. 2012. Spearfish Area Historical Society. Buckskin Johnny and the Spearfish Stockade. Accessed from https://www.spearfishhistory.org/2012/01/buckskin-johnny-and-spearfish-stockade.html on May 30, 2025. 
4. Wikipedia. Richard Clarke (frontiersman). Accessed from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Clarke_(frontiersman) on May 30, 2025. 
5. Wikipedia. Deadwood Dick. Accessed from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadwood_Dick  on May 30, 2025. 
6. McCord, Monty. Trust West: History of the American Frontier. Idaho Bill. Accessed from  https://truewestmagazine.com/article/idaho-bill/  on May 30, 2025. 
7. Wisconsin Genealogy Trails. Wisconsin Civil War Regiments. 1st Wisconsin Light Artillery Battery. Accessed from http://genealogytrails.com/wis/military/cw/1stWILightArtilleryBatReg.html on My 26, 2025. 
8. Bachelder, Horace. Illustrated Roster of the California Volunteer Soldiers in the War with Spain. (Bonetell & Co., San Francisco, 1898). P. 59
9. Naval History and Heritage Command. Spanish American War. Accessed from https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/spanish-american-war/sinking-of-uss-maine.html on May 28, 2025.  
10. Library of Congress. World of 1898: International Perspectives on the Spanish American War. Accessed from https://guides.loc.gov/world-of-1898 on May 24, 2025. 
11. The Spanish-American War Centennial Website. The Experiences of the First California Volunteer Infantry. Accessed from https://www.spanamwar.com/1stCAinf.htm on May 28, 2025. 
12. Alturas Plaindealer. Volume XXXV. Indian Scout and Fiancée Wed at Last, October 17, 1930, p. 6.

IMAGES

13. Featured Image: The Johnny Spaulding Cabin. Accessed from https://www.thetristatemuseum.com/johnny-spaulding-cabin/ on June 3, 2025.
14. FindaGrave.com. Buckskin Johnny Spaulding. Accessed from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21793878/john-thomas-spaulding#view-photo=151577806 on June 3, 2025.
15. Buffalo Bill Center of the West. People Shaking Hands. Accessed from http://library.centerofthewest.org/digital/collection/WHC/id/832/ on June 3, 2025. 
16. South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Private Johnny Spaulding. Accessed from https://www.sdpb.org/blogs/images-of-the-past/the-1876-johnny-spaulding-cabin-belle-fourche/ on June 3, 2025. 
17. South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Johnny and Nettie Spaulding. Accessed from https://www.sdpb.org/blogs/images-of-the-past/the-1876-johnny-spaulding-cabin-belle-fourche/ on June 3, 2025.