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Source: Church History Vol. 2 Chapter 15 Page: 308 (~1839)

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308 door was jerked open, and in a moment all three of us were out and rushing down the stairs. The foremost, Mr. Phelps, was clinched by the jailer; both tumbled down the stairs, through the entry and out into the dooryard, when Phelps cleared himself without injuring the jailer, and all of us leaped several fences, ran through the fields towards the thicket, where we expected to find our friends and horses. In the meantime the town was alarmed and many were seen rushing after us, some on horseback and some on foot, prepared with dogs, guns, and whatever came to hand. But the flag of liberty with its eagle still floated on high in the distance, and under its banner our nerves seemed to strengthen at every step. We gained the horses, mounted, and dashed into the wilderness, each his own way. After a few jumps of my horse I was hailed by an armed man at pistol shot distance, crying, 'D-n you, stop, or I'll shoot you.' I rushed onward deeper in the forest, while the cry was repeated in close pursuit, crying, 'D-n you, stop, or I'll shoot you,'' at every step, till at length it died away in the distance.

"I plunged a mile into the forest-came to a halt-tied my horse in a thicket-went a distance, and climbed a tree to await the approaching darkness. Being so little used to exercise, I fainted through overexertion, and remained so faint for nearly an hour that I could not get down from the tree. But calling on the Lord, he strengthened me, and I came down from the tree. But my horse had got loose and gone. I then made my way on foot for several days and nights, principally without food, and scarcely suffering myself to be seen. After five days of dreadful suffering with fatigue and hunger, I crossed the Mississippi and found myself once more in a land of freedom. Hundreds of my friends crowded around me, and many of the citizens of Illinois, although strangers to me, received and welcomed me as one who had escaped from a persecution almost unparalleled in modern history. I was everywhere invited to preach the gospel, and gave many public addresses, but no attempt has ever been made to retake myself and fellow prisoners."-Persecution of the Saints, pp. 164-169.

(page 308)

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