born, like Moses, to be the deliverer of his race. She would sing to
him snatches of wild, rapturous songs, and repeat portions of prophecy
she had learned from the preachers of those times. Nat. listened with
reverence and awe, and believed every thing his mother said. He
imbibed the deep religious character of his parents, and soon
manifested a desire to preach. He was solemnly set apart to "the
Gospel Ministry" by his father, the Church, and visiting preachers. He
was quite low in stature, dark, and had the genuine African features.
His eyes were small, but sharp, and gleamed like fire when he was
talking about his "mission," or preaching from some prophetic passage
of Scripture. It is said that he never laughed. He was a dreamy sort
of a man, and avoided the crowd. Like Moses, he lived in the solitudes
of the mountains and brooded over the condition of his people. There
was something grand to him in the rugged scenery that nature had
surrounded him with. He believed that he was a prophet, a leader
raised up by God to burst the bolts of the prison-house and set the
oppressed free. The thunder, the hail, the storm-cloud, the air, the
earth, the stars, at which he would sit and gaze half the night, all
spake the language of the God of the oppressed. He was seldom seen in
a large company, and never drank a drop of ardent spirits. Like John
the Baptist, when he had delivered his message, he would retire to the
fastness of the mountain, or seek the desert, where he could meditate
upon his great work.

At length he declared that God spake to him. He began to dream dreams
and to see visions. His grandmother, a very old and superstitious
person, encouraged him in his dreaming. But, notwithstanding, he
believed that he had communion with God, and saw the most remarkable
visions, he denounced in the severest terms the familiar practices
among slaves, known as "conjuring," "gufering," and fortune-telling.
The people regarded him with mixed feelings of fear and reverence. He
preached with great power and authority. He loved the prophecies, and
drew his illustrations from nature. He presented God as the
"_All-Powerful_"; he regarded him as a great "_Warrior_." His master
soon discovered that Nat. was the acknowledged leader among the
slaves, and that his fame as "prophet" and "leader" was spreading
throughout the State. The poor slaves on distant plantations regarded
the name of Nat. Turner as very little removed from that of Go