Bell rack - Mobile, Alabama]

Caption on item: Bell rack showing inscription. This bell rack, now displayed in the Federal Museum of Mobile, was found in a thicket near the head of Pidgeon Creek, Butler County, Alabama. The use of this rack was unusual and few Alabamians ever heard of a slave owner who employed such a device. It was believed to have been used by an ingenious slave owner to correct the run-away habits of some unusually persistent wanderer. In some quarters credence is given to the theory that it was a memento of early Spanish occupation rather than a relic of plantation slave days.