Leonora came that afternoon and brought Dr. Samuel Bennet to remove the ball in John’s hip. John wanted no whiskey as an anesthetic. He would bear the pain. In fact the cutting was a relief to the agony he suffered. The bullet near his knee remained the rest of his life.


Because of his wounds and loss of blood, John remained in Carthage for several days, unable to return to Nauvoo in a carriage or wagon. The pain would be too great. But he longed to return home. Carthage seemed a dangerous place. Would a mob kill him also?

The Saints didn’t attack Carthage so the people came back to their homes. They thought about keeping John as a hostage. If he was in Carthage, the Saints wouldn’t retaliate.

But John wanted to go home. Several men hooked a sleigh to the back of a wagon and laid John carefully on it. Sliding across the prairie grass with Leonora at his side filled him with thankfulness. He would be back with the people he loved.