Signs and mysteries

And most generally it starts up a great to-do and excitement among the niggers or in a part of them anyhow. You can say what you want to, about the niggers, but they're a mighty religious race. The only thing is that what they believe the ordinary run of them is so mighty strange and different from other folks. They won't ever tell about it much, if they can help it only fool you. But sometimes, when you get one right, you can get him to tell you some things they really do believe, way down under.

They believe, every one of them, they're God's people, just like the old Jews. And they believe, in a kind of way, that the Old Bible is talking about them when it talks about the Jews. And King Solomon was a black man. They'll show you that right there in the Bible. And some of them, I know for certain, say Christ was black ; and I believe yes, I know there's plenty of them think that God is black a big black God, watching specially after His black people, and punishing their enemies and oppressors.

And every now and then, there's one of them, like I say, gets up and prophesies a woman generally. And a big cloud's coming up, and the winds will blow and the trumpets. And the black angels will rise out of the ground, and the sinful city will be destroyed; or the old sinful world will come to an end and the great black God will sort out the wicked and righteous forever. For Heaven's right there, they think, right over your head a lot nearer than Texas is on the railroad train. And any time that black hand's liable to reach out of a thunder cloud up over you and close up heaven and earth together, like a fan.