Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1867-08-22
Established December 18th, 1850.

@A 10y IA NO4S = OSA04O =
4 Colored Prophet Fore
tells the Woes Of Hi,
4 People---the White Mar
shall Join witha Strange
j Nation.
I A correspondent living in TIA
wanda county, Mississippi, ha
sent us a curious prophecy recent
ly made by a colored preache.
named Lewis Saxto., De Costa
and causing, it is'said,- immense
sensation among the blacks il
that part Of Mississippi. DE Costs
is a very old man, who claims X
be the son of African parents
his father, who was a prince, hav
ing been, with Saxton's mother:
kidnapped some distance up the
Niger, by SLAYER, who sold them
to Pedro Blanco, the great trader,
at the Gallinas. They subse-
quently belonged to the De Costa
estate, in Florida, where Lewis
was raised. After forty years of
slavery, he got his freedom by
saving from a burning building
the children of his mistress. He
is said to be man of remarkable
purity of life, and an army officer
Captain Van Vleet) who heard
him preach in Georgia, declares
he was the most eloquent man
he ever heard in his life. During
the war he could not be induced
to give aid to either the Federal
or Confederate side, his unvarying
reply being that it was his mission
to comfort the hearts of his peo-
pie. Widely known and every
where regarded with extreme ven
Grafton by the blacks, it is not
strange that they should be deep
ly moved by his words.
Lo! my eyes are opened and /
see clearly. For many days /
tasted and prayed | put away all
malice and strove to make my
heart clear, my life pure before
God. Alas, the heart of man is
prone to evil. Like the dumb OK,
he learns wisdom slowly. I con-
fessed my sins; I trusted not in
myself. Then wisdom came; my
eyes saw the present and the fu-
ture. The great book of time
was opened. So profound was
my astonishment that ] hungered
not, although Ihad tasted long
/ asked the one who stood by me
"what means these records?"
The shining one sai1, "They
are the lives of nstions-mighty
people that passed away and left
no trace" Il
"Don't God always raise up
those who have been debased ?"
| asked. 'No," he replied, "more
often debasement goes before ex-
open thine eyes and see
the future Of thy people. They
are proud. They trust in them
selves rather than in God. They
have forgotten the gospel rule,
Bless your enemies, pray for
those who wrong you.' They
speak bitterly. They are led toI
hate. They are led to stand in
hostile array. Look abroad now
and see the vision of the future"
Then I was lifted up, and
through the blue skyof a summer
day saw all my people, I saw
them working on plantations and
in shops-I saw them in schools
and churches. They were some
times wronged, sometimes cheat
ed, sometimes shamefully abused
because they were black, but men
wanted their labor, and they were
slowly rising above wrong and
eer.t ye i
Then there went forth two
bearing vials Of wrath, and these
they poured out upon the whole
land. Then the sound of busy
life became hushed.i Ny people
left the field and the workshop.
Weeds choked up the cotton. The
weeds smothered the corn. The
workshops slept. Some men lay
all day under the shade trees in
the vain hope of some time taking
all the property of the white man.
Others crowded into liquor stores
and spent their time in speaking
of the bad past and wish
ing for revenge. . i
The white people upon whom
the yials Of wrath we're poured