aced on a platform and
his merits as a speciman of human power and ability to work was
enomerated the bidding began. Young slave girls brought high prices
because the more slave children that were born on one's plantation the
richer he would be in the future. Some slaves were kept just for this
purpose, the same as prize thorough-bred stock is kept. In many
instances slaves were treated like brutes and their places to sleep were
like barn sheds with only a little straw, on which to sleep. Mrs.
Neikirk's mother said that she distinctly remembered that the slaves she
knew of had only the roughest of food such as: corn bread molasses, and
scraps from their owner's table. Their clothing was such as their owners
saw fit to give them and the cheapest.

An old negro woman, Aunt Mandy Gibson by name, died last month, Sep. in
Middlesboro and I have heard her tell about coming here from Alabama
when the town of Middlesboro was first founded. When asked about her old
home people she would go to great lengths to explain about her people
having been slaves, but she would always add that they did not mind
slavery as they at that time knew nothing of the outdoor life and
therefore desired nothing better. She also said that the family that
owned her was a kind nature and was good to slaves.

Some of the citizens of Middlesboro today can recall stories that their
parents told them about the days when slaves were bought and sold in the
United States. Among these is one Mrs. Martha Neikirk, a daughter of an
old Union soldier now deceased. Mrs. Rhuben Gilbert, Mrs. Neikirk's
mother said that: "Once my mother and I were out in the woods picking
huckle-berries and heard a noise as of someone moaning in pain. We kept
going toward the sound and finally came to a little brook. Near the
water was a negro woman with her head bent over to the ground and
weeping as if her heart was broken. Upon asking her what had caused her
agony she finally managed to control her emotions enough to sob out her
story. The negro woman said then that her master had just sold her to a
man that was to take her far away from her present owner and incidently
her children. She said this couldn't be helped but she could ask the
good Lord to let her die and get out of the misery she was in.

It seems that such incidents were common in those days. Mrs. Sarah
Sloan, now residing in Middlesboro tells the stories her mother has told
her and she remembers one story in particu