20 SLAVE LIFE IN GEORGIA.
During the time I staid there, which was two
weeks, Finney used to take out his slaves every
day, to try and sell them, bringing those back
whom he failed to dispose of. Those who did not
go out with Finney, for the market, were made
to work in Tarver's cotton-fields, but they did not
get any thing extra to eat, though he profited by
their labour. In these two weeks Finney disposed
of a good many of his drove, and he became
anxious to sell the rest, for he wanted to take
another journey into Virginia, on a fresh specula¬
tion. One day I was dressed in a new pair of
pantaloons and a new shirt, made from part of the
tilt of a waggon in which we children sometimes
slept. I soon found out why I was made so
smart, for I was taken to Millidgeville, with some
other lads, and there put up at auction.
This happened to me some time in the month of
March. The sale took place in a kind of shed.
The auctioneer did not like my appearance. He
told Finney in private, who was holding me by the
hand, that I was old and hard-looking, and not well
growai, and that I should not fetch a price. In
truth I was not much to look at. I was worn
down by fatigue and poor living till my bones
stuck up almost through my skin, and my hair was
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