The Core of Johnny Appleseed - Swedenborg Foundation

Johnny was especially concerned about abandoned horses:“It frequently happened that the long journey into the wildernesswould cause the new settlers to be encumbered withlame and broken-down horses that were turned loose to die.” 38Whenever Johnny saw this, or heard about it, he refused to letthe horses be slaughtered, abandoned, or mistreated in any way.Instead, he would make arrangements for their care and shelterwith local settlers, paying them for their efforts. When thehorses recovered, Johnny gave them to needy families, under thecondition that the horses would be treated well. As one personrecalls, “he was never known to hurt any animal or give pain toany living thing.” 39In brief, Johnny was one of those rare individuals who didnot believe that the world belonged to him; rather, he believedthat he belonged to the world. 40 And he provedit by his life, immortalized, and often exaggerated,in the legends that followed him—many of which he may have started himself!the Peel 35