The Denver star., 1915-08-28
By JOHN E. BRUCE crit.


stood with uncovered and bowed head
on the spot in Southampton county
Va, where glorious old Nat Turner
was executed for daring to strike a
blow for liberty for himself and for
his race. l shall never forget the SEN
sation OF that moment as long as l
live. Nat Turner was Virgfnia's great
est Negro and was one of the three
Negroes in America-Vesey and Sa-
briel being the two others-who al
most single handed and alone, shook
the slave oligarchy of the south from
it's center to its circumference.
II we had now few Negroes with
the courage and manhood Of those
men and fewer Judases to betray
them, as each Of these were. the great
battle for manhood rights which we
are now waging against the forces Of
evil ana error would soon be won.
Pauline Darlington Bowie, in her
book Their Shadows Before" deals
with the Turner insurrection in South
ampton county in a most engaging and
interesting manner. Turner b shown
to have been a man Of wonderful
genius for organization and possessed
a magnetic influence over his follow
ers. He was far above the average Of
his race, for he could read and write
and understood something Of chemis-
try. He was not the kind OF man to
be a slave, for men Of his mental grasp
could not long endure the calling
chains Of slavery. Turner seemed to
be able to see the end from the begin
ming. And whenever he spoke of the
wrongs of his race men shuddered
while processing to scout at his ia
natical utterances."
A Mr. Mortimer, northern man, who
visited Nat Turner in jail on the morn
ing Of the day Of his execution. said
to him. Don't you see now that you
were wrong. that what you thought
was your mission was a failure"
| Quick as flash Turner answered:
WAS Jesus effort failure? They
killed him too" ''The work of Christ
lived on and was accomplished after
him." said Mr.. Mortimer. Rising to his
full height. Turner replied: And mine
is just begun. say to you what was
begun In blood shall be accomplished
by blood
The closing scene in the life Of this
remarkable Negro is thus described by
an eyewitness: We were directly Op-
posite the scaffold. which hitherto had
been out of our range of vision. Fas-
cinated with the horror of this sight,
| gazed fxedly at the instrument Of
death as motiOnless as "a statue. There
was a stir at its base, and In an In
I stant Nat Turner. followed by Mfr.
lawson, quickly mounted the few steps
to the platform and with command
ing gesture faced the multitude. Mas
tiers, may speak?'
Gag him" called a brutal voice from
the crowd. But the sheriff called for
silence. The shouts nad jeers died
into hush. and the loud. clear voice
continued: What IL dOue this day Will
not alter what will come to pass. That
which | was sent to do ] have done.
but the end Is not yet. Three times
ten years shall come to pass before de-
iiverance shall Ike. In vision Of the
future the Lord has shown me. Ma
thaniel his prophet, u freed nation and
river Of blood. White men. there
y
land and blood shall be shed. and the
bonds shall be broken. ! have done my
work. What the Lord begins he shall
surely finish. I saw battles. fire, blood.
freedom"
Turner's prophecy that three times
ten years shall come to pass before de-
liverance shall be" was fulfilled almost
to the letter. He was executed In
1881 or 1888, and in 1853 deliverance
did come to bis race. 80 that his VI
sion of freed nation and a river Of
blood, Of battles, Hre and freedom IL
now part Of the contemporaneous his
tory Of America. His prophetic words.
white men. there shall arise one OF
be shed and the bonds shall be broken"
show him to have been wiser and keen
er Of vision than the rabble that cried
Gag himr'
For one Of their race did arise in .
far land, who In the words of the He
brew prophet. "Loosed the bond of the
captive and let the oppressed go fres"
after a river Of blood had been shed on
the battleHelds Of the nation, whose
OVID life went out In blood at the hands
Of a cowardly assassin, and the deep
da mnation Of his taking OF set the
world in tears Nat Turner was no
fanatic; he was a seer, and. like old
John Brown Of Osawattomie, the eyes
Of his understanding were full orbed.
He suffered martyrdOm for the cause
Of freedom and died AZ only martyrs
can die In the cause of liberty and
righteousness. The time will come
when the names Of John Brown and
Nat Turner will be among the most H.
iustrfous in American history. Poster
ity will accord them a place in the
temple of fame-amOn1 tha immnrtn1s