It has been believed that dead folks stayed boxed up under ground waiting—­ages perhaps—­for the last trumpet to sound to call up the sleeping billions to the surface of the earth to the final “day of judgment,” when they should all swarm up out of their graves to be let to know by the great Judge of all to which class they belong, the “sheep” or the “goats”—­there was to be only those two kinds—­sheep to go straight to heaven, all the others to be cast into hell fire to burn forever.  The air would be full of toes and fingers and legs and heads coming from all directions to join themselves to the bodies from which they had been detached in their physical life; it was understood that in every case there would be no mistakes made, no white person, minus a member of his body in life, would find himself persistently chased up by arms or legs—­especially by heads—­of a different color, and form, from what he would know were his own; but, by some unaccountable magic, some divine law of attraction each dissevered member would instantly recognize its true belonging and fly to its former familiar location.  Where this great final “round up” is to be held has not yet been made known to the “true believers.”  “Chautauqua” has been suggested, and also the lot back of the “White House” in Washington, D. C. There are objections, however, to these and some other places because of the limited area, but as “with God all things are possible” either spot might be made to answer.  The great open-air university at Chautauqua is known everywhere on earth—­and possibly beyond—­and certainly would be a good point for the saints to hail from, in their upward journey, and the “White Lot” in Washington would shorten the journey for those who are booked for the trip in the other direction.

Out of this belief has grown quite a little sect which takes it upon itself to decide upon the fate of all the world outside of its very limited number.  It is hard upon the Methodists and Presbyterians and all the other cults and sects scattered about over the whole earth that they should all be doomed to everlasting hell fires because of a little difference of opinion with these self-elected judges!  The more insane of them have ignored all the claims of citizenship, have burned their fences and their barns, and given away all their earthly belongings, and refusing to be taught by the repeated failures of the many times set for the final ending of the planet, have donned their unbleached cotton “ascension robes,” and have sat around on the hill-tops and waited long for the end of all things earthly, and the fun of seeing all the people who did not agree with them switched off into hell.