ky is best
shown in the relationship which generally existed between the master
and his slave. The pioneers who brought their slaves with them from
Virginia encountered many dangers not only in crossing the mountains
but after they had settled in the new State. Many were the times when
the slave proved himself a hero and even encountered death in order to
protect the master and his family. Tradition and history have handed
down many of these stories to us, but the most famous of all, as well
as the best authenticated, was the experience of Monk Estill, who was
the slave of Colonel James Estill, of Madison County. In a struggle
with the Indians in 1782 in the region where Mount Sterling is now
located Monk cried out to his master in the thick of the fray: "Don't
give way, Marse Jim; there's only twenty-five of the Injuns and you
can whip them." Colonel Estill was killed and Monk was taken prisoner
but he soon managed to escape, and after joining his comrades carried
one of the wounded men twenty-five miles. The young master was so
grateful to Monk that he gave him his freedom and kept him in the best
of comfort the rest of his life. This was the experience of what is
supposed to have been the first slave in the district of
Kentucky.[382]

Not only was the slave on a par with his master when it came to facing
dangers but even in the field of sports he had as pleasant an outing
as his overlord. While the one may have spent the day in fox hunting
or deer driving, when nightfall came the Negro was apt to emerge from
his quarters followed by his faithful dog in search of possum or coon.
While the master may have enjoyed a feast of venison at his table the
Negro was just as well satisfied with the less valuable but savory
game that graced his own meal.

With the exception of the house servants most of the slaves of the
State were employed in agricultural pursuits, but, as we have seen
elsewhere, even here they were not to be found in large droves as in
the States of the South. There were only a few big landed estates
which were cultivated by the owners under their own supervision and in
the large majority of cases the field slaves worked side by side with
the whites. Often an owner's circumstances compelled him to labor in
the fields with his slaves and when doing so he rarely demanded more
of them than he did himself. Such a condition was not only true in the
early days when there were few slaves but it extended throughout