In December 1894, after ending up on the losing side of a bitter election in Gonzales County, Wes retired to the home of a friend in Gillett, where he and Jane had married in 1872, and began writing the story of his life. He found the work harder than he had anticipated and struggled to write it, but his labor produced the book "The Life of John Wesley Hardin by John Wesley Hardin." Soon after beginning the book, he received word from his brother Jefferson Davis Hardin, who was living in Junction, Texas, urging him to come there, open a law office, and start his life over again. Wes liked the idea and before long set out for Junction and a new beginning. Before leaving, he made one last visit to Jane's grave and then rode to the Duderstadt ranch to tell his old friend Fred and his children goodbye. He rode out of the Mound Creek area and headed north, never to return.