d.
Though having never seen him, yet they believed in him as the man
under whose lead they would some time march out of the land of
bondage. His influence was equally great among the preachers, while
many white people honored and feared him. His master thought it
necessary to the safety of his property, to hire Nat. out to a most
violent and cruel man. Perhaps he thought to have him "broke." If so,
he was mistaken. Nat. Turner was the last slave to submit to an insult
given by a white man. His new master could do nothing with him. He ran
off, and spent thirty days in the swamps--but returned. He was
upbraided by some of his fellow-slaves for not seeking, as he
certainly could have done, "the land of the free." He answered by
saying, that a voice said to him: "Return to your earthly master; for
he who knoweth his Master's will and doeth it not, shall be beaten
with many stripes." It was no direction to submit to an earthly
master, but to return to him in order to carry out the will of his
Heavenly Master. He related some of the visions he saw during his
absence. "About that time I had a vision, and saw white spirits and
black spirits engaged in battle; and the sun was darkened, the thunder
rolled in the heavens, and blood flowed in streams; and I heard a
voice saying: 'Such is your luck, such are you called on to see; and
let it come, rough or smooth, you must surely bear it.' It was not
long after this when he saw another vision. He says a spirit appeared
unto him and spake as follows: "The serpent is loosened, and Christ
has laid down the yoke he has borne for the sins of men; and you must
take it up and fight against the serpent, for the time is fast
approaching when the first shall be last, and the last shall be
first." These visions and many others enthused Nat., and led him to
believe that the time was near when the Blacks would be "first" and
the whites "last."

The plot for a general uprising was laid in the month of February,
1831. He had seen the last vision. He says: "I was told I should arise
and prepare myself, and slay my enemies with their own weapons." He
was now prepared to arrange the details of his plot. He appointed a
meeting, to which he invited four trusted friends, Sam. Edwards, Hark
Travis, Henry Porter, and Nelson Williams. A wild and desolate glen
was chosen as the place of meeting, and night the time when they could
perfect their plans without being molested by the whites. They brought
with t