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WHAT BECAME OF THE SLAVES 
 
 ON A 
 
 GEORGIA PLANTATION? 
 
 AUCTION SALE OF SLAVES, 
 
 AT 
 
 "SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, 
 
 MARCH 2d & 3d, 1859. 
 A SEQUEL TO MRS. KEMBLE'S JOURNAL. 
 
 1863. 
 
some three miles from the city, to look over the chattels, discuss 
 their points, and make memoranda for guidance on the day of sale. 
 The buyers were generally of a rough breed, slangy, profane and 
 bearish, being for the most part from the back river and swamp 
 plantations, where the elegancies of polite life are not, perhaps, 
 developed to their fullest extent. In fact, the humanities are sadly 
 neglected by the petty tyrants of the rice-fields that border the 
 great Dismal Swamp, their knowledge of the luxuries of our best 
 society comprehending only revolvers and kindred delicacies. 
 
 Your correspondent was present at an early date; but as he 
 easily anticipated the touching welcome that would, at such a 
 time, be officiously extended to a representative of Tlte Tribune, 
 and being a modest man withal, and not desiring to be the recipient 
 of a public demonstration from the enthusiastic Southern popula- 
 tion, who at times overdo their hospitality and their guests, he did 
 not placard his mission and claim his honors. Although he kept 
 his business in the back-ground, he made himself a prominent figure 
 in the picture, and, wherever there was anything going on, there 
 was he in the midst. At the sale might have been seen a busy indi- 
 vidual, armed with pencil and catalogue, doing his littte utmost to 
 keep up all the appearance of a knowing buyer, pricing "likely nig- 
 ger fellers," talking confidentially to the smartest ebon maids, 
 chucking the round-eyed youngsters under the chin, making an 
 occasional bid for a large family, (a low bid — so low that somebody 
 always instantly raised him twenty-five dollars, when the busy man 
 would ignominiously retreat,) and otherwise conducting himself like 
 a rich planter, with forty thousand dollars where he could put his 
 finger on it. This gentleman was much condoled with by some 
 sympathizing persons, when the particularly fine lot on which he 
 had fixed his eye was sold and lost to him forever, because he hap- 
 pened to be down stairs at lunch just at the interesting moment. 
 
 WHERE THE NEGROES CAME FROM. 
 
 The negroes came from two plantations, the one a rice plantation 
 near Darien, in the State of Georgia, not far from the great Oke- 
 fonokee Swamp, and the other a cotton plantation on the extreme 
 northern point of St. Simon's Island, a little bit of an island in the 
 Atlantic, cut off from Georgia mainland by a slender arm of the sea. 
 Though the most of the stock had been accustomed only to rice and 
 cotton planting, there were among them a number of very passable 
 mechanics, who had been taught to do all the rougher sorts of 
 mechanical work on the plantations. There were coopers, carpen- 
 ters, shoemakers and blacksmiths, each one equal, in his various 
 craft, to the ordinary requirements of a plantation ; thus, the coopers 
 could make rice-tierces, and possibly, on a pinch, rude tubs and 
 buckets; the carpenter could do the rough carpentry about the 
 negro-quarters ; the shoemaker could make shoes of the fashion 
 required for the slaves, and the backsmith was adequate to the 
 
manufacture of hoes and sirailar simple tools, and to such triSinfr 
 repriirs in the blacksaiithing way as did not require too refined a 
 skill. Though probably no one of all these would be called a supe- 
 rior, or even an average workman, among the masters of the craft, 
 their knowledge of these various trades sold in some cases for nearly 
 as much as the man — that is, a man without a trade, who would be 
 valued at ^900, would readily bring §1,600 or §1,700 if he was a 
 passable blacksmith or cooper. 
 
 There were no light mulattoes in the whole lot of the Butler 
 stock, and but very few that v/ere even a shade removed from the 
 original Congo blackness. They have been little defiled by the admix- 
 ture of degenerate Anglo-Saxon blood, and, for the most part, could 
 
 boast that they were of as pure a breed as the best blood of Spain 
 
 a point in their favor in the eyes of the buyer as well as physiolo- 
 gically, for too liberal an infusion of the blood of the dominant race 
 brings a larger intelligence, a more vigorous brain, which, anon, 
 grows restless under the yoke, and is prone to inquire into the defi- 
 niiion of the word Libertj^, and the meaning of the starry Sag which 
 waves, as you may have heard, o'er the land of the free. Th? pure- 
 blooded negroes are much more docile and manageable than mulat- 
 toes. though less quick of comprehension, v»-hich makes them'preferred 
 by drivers, who can stimulate stupidity much easier than they can 
 control intelligence by the lash. 
 
 None of the Butler slaves have ever been sold before, but have 
 been on these two plantations since they were born. Here have 
 they lived their humble lives, and loved their simple loves; here were 
 they born, and here have many of them had childre.i born unto 
 them; here had their parents lived before them, and are now rest- 
 ing in quiet graves on the old plantations that ,these unhappy ones 
 are to see no more forever; here they left not only the well-known 
 scenes dear to them from very baby-hood by a thousand foid memo- 
 ries, and homes as much loved by them, perhaps,. as brighter homes 
 by men of brighter faces; but all the clinging ties that bound them 
 to living hearts were torn asunder, for'hut one-half of each of 
 these two happy little communities was sent to the shambles, to be 
 scattered to the four winds, and the other half was left behind. 
 And who can tell how closely intertwined are the affections of a little 
 band of four hundred pei'sons, living isolated from all the world 
 beside, from birth to middle age ? Do they not naturally become 
 one great family, each man a brother unto each ? 
 
 It is true they were sold "in families;" but let us see: a man 
 and his wife were called a "family," their parents and kindred 
 were not taken into account; the man and wife mifrht be sold to 
 the pine woods of North Carolina, their brothers and sTsters be scat- 
 tered through the cotton fields of Alabama and the rice swamps of 
 Louisiana, while the parents might be left on the old plantation to 
 wear out their weary lives in heavy grief, and lay their heads in 
 far-off graves, over which ^their children might never weep. And 
 
no account could be taken of loves that were as yet unconsura- 
 mated by marriage ; and how many aching hearts have been 
 divorced by this summary proceeding no man can ever know. 
 And the separation is as utter, and is infinitely more hopeless, than 
 that made by the Angel of Death, for then the loved ones are com- 
 mitted to the care of a merciful Deity ; but in the other instance, 
 to the tender mercies of a slave-driver. These dark-skinned un- 
 fortunates are perfectly unlettered, and could not communicate by 
 writing even if they should know where to send their missives. 
 And so to each other, and to the old familiar places of their youth, 
 clung all their sympathies and aifections, not less strong, perhaps, 
 because they are so few. The blades of grass on all the Butler 
 estates are outnumbered by the tears that are poured out in agony 
 at the wreck that has been wrought in happy homes, and the crush- 
 ing grief that has been laid on loving hearts. 
 
 But, then, what business have "niggers" with tears ? Besides, 
 didn't Pierce Butler give them a silver dollar a-piece ? which will 
 appear in the sequel. And, sad as it is, it was all necessary, be- 
 cause a gentleman was not able to live on the beggarly pittance of 
 half a million, and so must needs enter into speculations which 
 turned out adversely. 
 
 HOW THEY W'ERE TREATED IN SAVANNAH. 
 
 The negroes were brought to Savannah in small lots, as many at 
 a time as could be conveniently taken care of, the last of them 
 reaching the city the Friday before the sale. They were consigned 
 to the care of Mr. J. Bryan, Auctioneer and Negro Broker, who 
 was to feed and. keep them in condition until disposed of. Imme- 
 diately on their arrival they were taken to the Race-course, and 
 there quartered in the sheds erected for the accommodation of the 
 horses and carriages of gentlemen attending the races. Into these 
 sheds they were huddled pell-mell, without any more attention to 
 their comfort than was necessary to prevent their becoming ill and 
 unsaleable. Each " family " had one or more boxes or bundles, in 
 which were stowed such scanty articles of their clothing as were 
 not brought into immediate requisition, and their tin dishes and 
 gourds for their food and drink. '' 
 
 V It is, perhaps, a fit tribute to large-handed munificence to say 
 that, when the negro man was sold, there was no extra charge for 
 the negro man's clothes ; they went with the man, and were not 
 charged in the bill. Nor is this altogether a contemptible idea, 
 for many of them had worldly wealth, in the shape of clothing and 
 other valuables, to the extent of perhaps four or five dollars; and 
 had all these been taken strictly into the account, the sum total of 
 the sale would have been increased, possibly, a thousand dollars. 
 In the North, we do not necessarily sell the harness with the horse; 
 why, in the South, should the clothes go with the negro ? 
 
 In these sheds were the chattels huddled together ou the floor, 
 
thefe being no sign of bench or table. They eat and slept on the 
 bare boards, their food being rice and beans, with occasionally a 
 bit of bacon and corn bread. Their huge bundles were scattered 
 over the floor, and thereon the slaves sat or reclined, when not 
 restlessly moving about, or gathered into sorrowful groups, discuss- 
 in<T the chances of their future fate. On the faces of all was an 
 exm-ession of heavy grief; some appeared to be resigned to the 
 hard stroke of Fortune that had torn them from their homes, and 
 were sadly trying to make the best of it ; some sat brooding moodi- 
 ly over their sorrows, their chins resting on their hands, their eyes 
 starin<T vacantly, and their bodies rocking to and fro, with a rest- 
 less motion that was never stilled ; few wept, the place was too 
 public and the drivers too -near, though some occasionally turned 
 aside to give way to a few quiet tears. They were dressed m 
 every possible variety of uncouth and fantastic garb, in every style 
 and of every imaginable color ; the texture of the garments was m 
 all cases coarse, most of the men being clothed in the rough cloth 
 that is made expressly for the slaves. The dresses assumed by the 
 negro minstrels, when they give imitations of plantation character, 
 are by no means exaggerated ; they are, instead, weak and unable 
 to come UD to the original. There was every variety of hats, with 
 every imaginable slouch; and there was every cut and styic ot 
 coat and '^pantaloons, made with every conceivable ingenuity ot 
 misfit, and tossed on with a general appearance of perfect looseness 
 that is perfectly indescribable, except to say that a Southern negro 
 always looks as if he could shake his clothes off without taking his 
 hands out of his pockets. The women, true to the feminine instmct, 
 h;^d made, in almost every case, some attempt at finery. All wore 
 gorcreous turbans, generally manufactured in an instant out of a 
 gay'^colored handkerchief by a sudden and graceful twist of the 
 fin^rers ; though there was occasionally a more elaborate turban, a 
 tm^ban complex and mysterious, got up with care, and ornamented 
 with a few beads or bright bits of ribbon. Their dresses were 
 mostly coarse stuff, though there were some gaudy calicoes ; a tew 
 bad ear-rin'^s, and one possessed the treasure of a string of yellow 
 and blue beads. The little children were always better and more 
 carefully dressed than the oiler ones, the parental pride coming 
 out in the shape of a yellow cap pointed like a mitre, or a jacket 
 with a strip of red broadcloth round the bottom. The children 
 ■ were of all sizes, the youngest being fifteen days old. The babies 
 were generally good-natured ; though when one would set up a 
 yell, the complaint soon attacked the others, and a full chorus 
 would be the result. 
 
 The slaves remained at the Race-course, some of them tor more 
 than a week, and all of them for four days before the sale, ihey 
 were brouo-ht in thus early that buyers who desired to inspect them 
 mi.-ht cnj?y that privilege, although none of them were sold at pri- 
 VAte sale. For these preliminary days their shed was constantly 
 
8 
 
 visited by speculators. The negroes were examined witli as little 
 consideration as if they had been brutes indeed ; the buyers pull- 
 ing their mouths open to see their teeth, pinching their limbs to 
 find how muscular they were, walking them up and down to detect 
 any signs of lameness, making them stoop and bend in different 
 ways that they might be certain there was no concealed rupture or 
 wound ; and in addition to all this treatment, asking them scores of 
 questions relative to their qualifications and accomplishments. All 
 these humiliations were submitted to without a murmur, and in 
 some instances with good-natured cheerfulness — where the slave 
 liked the appearance of the proposed buyer, and fancied that he 
 mii^ht prove a kind " Mas'r." 
 
 The following curiously sad scene is the type of a score of others 
 that were there enacted : 
 
 '• Elisha," chattel No. 5 in the catalogue, had taken a fancy to a 
 benevolent-looking middle-aged gentleman, who was inspecting the 
 stock, and thus used his powers of persuasion to induce t'ne benevo- 
 lent man to purchase him, with his wife, boy and girl, Molly, Isi n el 
 and Sevanda, chattels Nos. 6, 7 and 8. The earnestness with 
 which the poor fellow pressed his suit, knowing, as he did, that 
 perhaps the happiness of his whole life depended on his success, 
 was touching, and the arguments he used most pathetic. He made 
 no appeal to the feelings of the buyer; he rested no hope on his 
 charity and kindness, but only strove to show how well worth his 
 doUais were the bone and blood he was entreating him to buy. 
 
 " Look at me, Mas'r ; am prime rice planter; sho' you won't find 
 a better man den me ; no better on de whole plantation ; not a bit 
 old yet ; do mo' work den ever ; do carpenter work, too, little ; 
 better buy me, Mas'r ; I'se be good sarvant, Mas'r. Molly, too, my 
 wife, Sa, fus'rate rice hand ; mos as good as me. Stan' out yer, 
 Molly, and let the gen'lm'n see." 
 
 Molly advances, with her hands crossed on her bosom, and makes 
 a quick short curtsy, and stands mute, looking appealingly in the 
 benevolent man'^ face. But Elisha talks all the faster. 
 
 " Show mas'r yer arm, Molly — good arm dat, Mas'r — she do a 
 heap of work mo' with dat arm yet. Let good Mas'r see yer teeth, 
 Molly — see dat Mas'r, teeth all reg'lar, all good — she'm young gal 
 yet. Come out yer, Israel, walk aroan' an' let the gen'lm'n see 
 how spry you be" — 
 
 Then, pointing to the three-year-old girl who stood with her chub- 
 by hand to her mouth, holding on to her mother's dress, and un- 
 certain what to make of the strange scene. 
 
 "Little A-^ardy's only a chile yet; make prime gal by-and-by. 
 Better buy us, Mas'r, we'm fus' rate bargain" — and so on. But 
 the benevolent gentleman found where he could drive a closer bar- 
 gain, and so bought somebody else. 
 
 Similar scenes were transacting all the while on every side — 
 parents praising the strength and cleverness of their children, and 
 
9 
 
 ^f<5 
 
 sboAving oft every muscle and sinew to the very best advantage, not 
 with the excusaMe ipride of other parents, but to make the°n the 
 more desirable in the eyes of the man-buyer; and, on the other 
 hand, children excusing and mitigating the age and inability of 
 parents, that they might be more marketable and fall, if possible, 
 into kind hands. Not unfrequently these representations, if borne 
 out by the facts, secured a purchaser. The women never spoke to 
 the white men unless spoken to, and then made the conference as 
 short as possible. And not one of them all, during the whole time 
 they were thus exposed to the rude questions of vulgar men, spoke 
 the first unwomanly or indelicate Avord, or conducted herself in any 
 regard otherwise than as a modest woman should do ; their conver- 
 sation and demeanor were quite as unexceptionable as they wouhl 
 have been had they been the highest ladies in the land, and through 
 all the insults to which they were subjected they conducted them- 
 selves with the most perfect decorum and self-respect. 
 
 The sentiment of the subjoined characteristic dialogue was heard 
 more than once repeated :' 
 
 " Well,^ Colonel, I seen you looking sharp at Shoemaker Bill's 
 Sally. Going to buy her ? 
 
 " Well, Major, I think not. Sally's a good, big, strapping gal, 
 and can do a heap o'work ; but it's five years since she had any 
 children. Slie% done breeding, I reckon ^ 
 
 In the intervals of more active labor, the discussion of the re- 
 opening of the slave trade was commenced, and tlie opinion seemed 
 to generally prevail that its reestablishment is a consummation 
 devoutly to be wished, and one red-faced Major or General or Cor- 
 poral clenched his remarks with the emphatic assertion that "We'll 
 have all the niggers in Africa over here in three years— we v/on't 
 leave enough for seed." 
 
 9 
 
 THE SALE. 
 
 The Race-course at Savannah is situated about three miles from 
 the city, in a pleasant spot, nearly surrounded by woods. As it 
 rained violently during the two days of the sale, the place was only 
 accessible by carriages, and the result was, that few attended but 
 actual buyers, who had come from long distances, and could not 
 afford to lose the opportunity. If the affair had come off in Yankee 
 land, there would have been a dozen omnibuses running constantly 
 between the city and the Race-course, and some speculator would 
 have bagged a nice little sum of money by the operation. But 
 nothing of the kind was thought of here, and the only gainers were 
 the livery stables, the owners of which had sufficient Yankeeism to 
 charge double and treble prices. 
 
 The conveniences for getting to the grouud were so limited that 
 there were not enough buyers to warrant the opening of the sale 
 for an hour or two after the advertised time. They dropped in, 
 however, a few at a time, and things began to look more encourao-- 
 inglv for the seller. ^ 
 
10 
 
 The negroes looked more uncomfortable than ever ; the close con- 
 finement in-doors for a number of days, and the drizzly, unpleasant 
 weather, began to tell on their condition. They moved about more 
 listlessly, and were fast losing the activity and springiness they had 
 at first shown. This morning they were all gathered into the long 
 room of the building erected as the "Grand Stand" of the Race- 
 course, that they might be immediately under the eye of the buyers. 
 The room was about a hundred feet long by twenty wide, and herein 
 were crowded the poor creatures, with much of their baggage, 
 a\v^aiting their respective calls to step upon the block and be sold 
 to the highest bidder. This morning Mr. Pierce Butler appeared 
 among his people, speaking to each one, and being recognized with 
 seeming pleasure by all. The men obsequiously pulled oif their 
 hats and made that indescribable sliding hitch with the foot which 
 passes with a negro for a bow ; and the women each dropped the 
 quick curtsy, which they seldom vouchsafe to any other than their 
 legitimate master and mistress. Occasionally, to a very old or 
 favorite servant, Mr. Butler would extend his gloved hand, which 
 mark of condescension was instantly hailed with grins cf delight 
 from all the sable witnesses. 
 
 The room in which the sale actually took place immediately ad- 
 joined the room of the negroes, and communicated with it by two 
 large doors. The sale room was open to the air on one side, com- 
 manding a view of the entire Course. A small platform was raised 
 about two feet and a-half high, on which were placed the desks of 
 the entry clerks, leaving room in front of them for the auctioneer 
 and the goods. 
 
 At about 11 o'clock the business men took their places, and an- 
 nounced that the sale would begin. Mr. Bryan, the Negro Broker, 
 is a dapper little man, wearing spectacles and a yachting hat, sharp 
 and sudden in his movements, and perhaps the least bit in the world 
 obtrusively officious — as earnest in his language as he could be with- 
 out actual swearing, though acting much as if he would like to 
 swear a little at the critical moment; Mr. Br^^an did not sell the 
 goods, he merely superintended the operation, and saw that the 
 entry clerks did their duty properly. The auctioneer proper was a 
 Mr. Walsh, who deserves a word of description. In personal ap- 
 pearance he is the very opposite of Mr. Bryan, being careless in 
 his dress instead of scrupulous, a large man instead of a little one, 
 a fat man instead of a lean one, and a good-natured man instead of 
 a fierce one. He is a rollicking old boy, with an eye ever on the 
 look-out, and that never lets a bidding nod escape him ; a hearty 
 word for every bidder who cares for it, and plenty of jokes to let oft' 
 when the business gets a little slack. Mr. Walsh has a florid com- 
 plexion, not more so, perhaps, than is becoming, and possibly not 
 more so than is natural in a whiskey country. Not only is his face 
 red, but his skin has been taken off in spots by blisters of some sort, 
 giving him a peely look; so that, taking his face all in all, the peeli- 
 
/ 11 
 
 ^f^ 
 
 ness and the redness combined, lie looks much as If he had been 
 boiled in the same pot with a red cabbage. 
 
 Mr Walsh mounted the staTid and announced the terms ot the 
 sale "one-third cash, the remainder payable in two equal annual 
 instalments, bearing interest from the day of sale, to be secured by 
 approved mortgage and personal security, or approved acceptances 
 in Savannah, Ga, or Charleston, S. C. Purchasers to pay for 
 papers " The buyers, who were present to the number ot about 
 two hundred, clustered around the platform ; while the negroes, who 
 were not likely to be immediately wanted, gathared into sad groups 
 in the back-ground, to watch the progress of the selling in which 
 they were so sorrowfully interested. The wind howled outside, and 
 through the open side of the building the driving ram came pouring 
 in • the bar down stairs ceased for a short time its brisk trade ; the 
 buyers lit fresh cigars, got ready their catalogues and pencils, and 
 the first lot of human chattels was led upon the stand, not by a 
 white man, but by a sleek mulafto, himself a slave, and who seems 
 to regard the selling of his brethren, in which he so glibly assists 
 as a capital joke, ^t had been announced that the negroes would 
 be sold in "families," that is to say, a man would not be parted 
 from his wife, or a mother from a very young child. There is per- 
 haps as much policy as humanity in this arrangement, for thereby 
 many aged and unserviceable people are disposed of, who. otherwise 
 would not find a ready sale. 
 
 The first family brought out were announced on the catalogue as 
 
 ^fjE HEMARKS. 
 
 I.George, - - - -'sV- - - Fringe Cotton Planter. 
 cy ^^jg '=• . - - 2(J - - - Prune Rice Planter. 
 
 3'. Geo'r-'e, - - - - 'g - - - Boy Child. 
 4. Harry, - - - - 2 - - - Boy Child. 
 The manner of buying was announced to be bidding a certain 
 price a-piece for the whole lot. Thus, George and his family were 
 started at ^300, and were finally sold at ^S$(jOO each, being i&-^,400 
 for the four. To get an idea of the relative value of each one, we 
 must suppose George worth $1,200, Sue worth $900, Little George 
 worth $200, and Harry worth $100. Owing, however, to some mis- 
 apprehension on the part of the buyer, as to the manner ot bidding, 
 he did not take the family at this figure, and they were put up and 
 sold again, on the second day, when they brought $620 each, or 
 $2 48(J for the whole— an advance of $80 over the first sale. 
 
 Robert, and Luna his wife, who were announced as having 
 "croitre, otherwise very prime," brought the round sum ot li?l,UUD 
 ea'ch. But that your readers may have an idea of the exact man- 
 ner in which things are done, I append a couple of pages ot the 
 catalogue used on this occasion, which you can print verbatim : 
 99_Kate's John, aged 30; rice, prime man. 
 100 — BetBev, 20; rice, unsound. 
 101— Kate," 6. 
 102— Violet, 3 montlis. 
 
 Sold for $510 each. 
 
12 
 
 103— Wooster, 45 ; rice hand, and fair mason. 
 104 — Mary, 40; cotton hand. 
 
 Sold for $300 each, » 
 
 105 — Commodore Bob, aged; rice hand. 
 lOG — Kate, aged ; cotton. 
 
 107 — Linda, 19; cotton, prime young woman. 
 108 — Joe, 13 ; rice, pi-ime boy. 
 
 Sold for $000 each. 
 109— Bob, 30 ; rice. 
 110 — Mary, 25; rice, prime woman. 
 
 Sold for $1,135 each. 
 Ill — Anson, 49; rice — ruptured, one eye. 
 112 — Violet, 55 ; rice hand. 
 
 Sold for $250 each. 
 113 — Allen Jeflrey, 40; rice hand and sawyer in steam mill. 
 114 — Sikey, 43 ; rice hand. 
 115 — Watty, 5 ; infirm legs. 
 
 Sold for $520 each. 
 116 — Rina, 18; rice, prime young woman. 
 117 — Lena, 1. , 
 
 Sold for 8045 each. 
 118 — Pompey, 31 ; rice — lame in one foot. 
 110 — Kitty, 30; rice, prime woman. 
 120 — Pompey, Jr., 10; prime boy. 
 121— John, 7. 
 122— Noble, 1 ; boy. 
 
 Sold for $580 each. 
 341 — Goin, 39 ; rice hand. 
 342 — Cassander, 35; cotton hand — has Cit». 
 343 — Emiline, 19; cotton, prime young woman. 
 344 — Judy, 11 ; cotton, prime girl. 
 
 Sold for $400 each. 
 345 — Dorcas, 17 ; cotton, prime woman. 
 340 — Joe, 3 months. 
 
 Sold for $1,200 each. 
 347_Tom, 22 ; cotton hand. Sold for $1,200. __ 
 348 — Judge Will, 55 ; rice hand. Sold for $325. 
 349 — Lowden, 54; cotton hand. 
 350 — Hagar, 50 ; cotton hand. 
 351 — Lowden, 15; cotton, prime boy. 
 352 — Silas, 13; cotton, prime boy. 
 353 — Lettia, 11; cotton, prime girl. 
 
 Sold for $300 each, 
 354 — Fielding, 21; cotton, prime young man. 
 355 — Abel, 19; cotton, prime young man. 
 
 Sold for $1,295 each.' 
 35G— Smith's Bill, aged; sore leg. 
 357 — Leah, 40 ; cotton hand. 
 358— Sally. 9. 
 
 Withdrawn. 
 359 — Adam, 24; rice, prime man. 
 360 — Charlotte, 22; rice, prime woman. 
 361— Lesh, 1. 
 
 Sold for $750 each. 
 302 — Maria, 47; rice hand. 
 363 — Luna, 22; rice, prime woman. 
 364 — Clementina, 17 ; rice, prime young woman. 
 
 Sold for $950 each. 
 365 — Tom. 48; rice hand. 
 386 — Harriet, 41 ; rice hand 
 367 — Wanney, 19; rice hand, prime young man. 
 
IS 
 
 J-fJ 
 
 3G8— Deborah, 6. 
 SOU— Infant, 3 months. 
 
 Sold for §700 each. 
 
 It seems as if every shade of char<acter capable of being impli- 
 cated in the sale of human flesh and blood was represented among 
 the buyers. There was the Georgia fast young man, with his panta- 
 loons tucked into his boots, his velvet cap jauntily dragged over to 
 one side, his cheek full of tobacco, which he bites from a huge plug, 
 that resembles more than anything else an old bit of a rusty wagon 
 tire, and who is altogether an animal of quite a different breed from 
 your New York fast man. His ready revolver, or his convenient 
 knife, is ready for instant use in case of a heated argument. White- 
 neck-clothed, gold-spectacled, and silver-haired old men were there, 
 resembling in appearance that noxious breed of sanctimonious dea- 
 cons we have at the North, who are perpetually leaving documents 
 at your door that you never read, and the business of whose mendi- 
 cant life it is to eternally solicit subscriptions for charitable associa- 
 tions, of which they are treasurers. These gentry, with quiet step 
 and subdued voice, moved carefully about among the live stock, 
 ignoring, as a general rule, the men, but tormenting the v.'omen 
 with, questions which, when accidentally overheard by the disinte- 
 rested spectator, bred in that spectator's mind an almost irresistible 
 desire to knock somebody down. And then, all imaginable varie- 
 ties of rough, backwoods rowdies, who began the day in a spirited 
 manner, but who, as its hours progressed, and their practice at the 
 bar became more prolific in results, waxed louder and talkier and 
 more violent, were present, and added a characteristic feature to 
 the assemblage. Those of your readers who have read " Uncle 
 Tom," — and who has not? — will remember, with peculiar feelings, 
 Legree, the slave-driver and woman-whipper. That that character 
 is not been overdrawn, or too highly colored, there is abundant 
 testimony. Witness the subjoined dialogue : A party of men were 
 conversing on the fruitful subject of managing refractory "niggers;" 
 some were for severe whipping, some recommending branding, one 
 or two advocated other modes of torture, but one huge brute of a 
 man, who had not taken an active part in the discussion, save to 
 assent, with approving nod, to any unusually barbarous proposition, 
 at last broke his silence by saying, in an oracu.lar way, "You may 
 say what you like about managing niggers ; I'm a driver myself, 
 and I've had some experience, and I ought to know. Y'^ou can man- 
 age ordinary niggers by lickin' 'em, and givin' 'em a taste of the 
 hot iron once in awhile when they're extra ugly ; but if a nigger 
 really sets himself up against me, I can't never have any patience 
 with him. I just get my pistol and shoot him right down ; and 
 that's the best way." 
 
 And this brute was talking to gentlemen, and hfs remarks were 
 listened to with attention, ajtid his assertions assented to by more 
 than one in the knot of listeners. But all this time the sale v/as 
 going on, and the merry Mr. Walsh, with many a quip and jest, was 
 
u 
 
 beguiling the time when the bidding was slow. The expression on 
 the faces of all who stepped on the block was always the same, and 
 told of more anguish than it is in the power of words to express. 
 Blighted homes, crushed hopes and broken hearts, was the sad story 
 to be read in all the anxious faces. Some of them regarded the 
 sale with perfect indiiference, never making a motion, save to turn 
 from one side to the other at the word of the dapper Mr. Bryan, 
 that all the crowd might have a fair view of their proportions, and 
 then, when the sale was accomplished, stepped down from the block 
 without caring to cast even a look at the buyer, who now held all 
 their happiness in his hands. Others, again, strained their eyes 
 with eager glances from one buyer to another as the bidding went 
 on, trying with earnest attention to follow the rapid voice of the 
 auctioneer. Sometimes, two persons only would be bidding for the 
 same chattel, all the others having resigned the contest, and then 
 the poor creature on the block, conceiving an instantaneous prefer- 
 ence for one of the buyers over the other, would regard the rivalry 
 with the intensest interest, the expression of his face changing with 
 every bid, settling into a half smile of joy if the favorite buyer per- 
 severed unto the end and secured the property, and settling down 
 into a look of hopeless despair if the other won the victory. 
 
 daphney's baby. 
 
 The family of Primus, plantation carpenter, consisting of Daph- 
 ney his w^ife, with her young babe, and Dido, a girl of three years 
 old, were reached in due course of time. Daphney had a large 
 shawl, which she kept carefully wrapped round her infant and her- 
 self. This unusual proceeding attracted much attention, and pro- 
 voked many remarks, such as these : 
 
 " What do you keep your nigger covered up for ? Pull off her 
 blanket. " 
 
 " What's the matter with the gal ? Has she got the head- 
 ache ? " 
 
 " What's the fault of the gal ? Ain't she sound ? Pull off her 
 rags and let us see her. 
 
 '• AVho's going to bid on that nigger, if you keep her covered 
 up. Let's see her face. " 
 
 And a loud chorus of similar remarks, emphasized Avith profanity, 
 and mingled with sayings too indecent and obscene to be even 
 hinted at here, went up from the crowd of chivalrous Southern 
 gentlemen. 
 
 At last the auctioneer obtained a hearing long enough to explain 
 that there was no attempt to practise any deception in the case — 
 the parties were not to be wronged in any way ; he had no desire 
 to palm off on them an inferior article ; but the truth of the matter 
 was that Daphuey had been confined only fifteen days ago, and he 
 thought that on that account she was entitled to the slight indul- 
 gence of a blanket, to keep from herself and child the chill air and 
 the driving rain. 
 
 Will your lady readers look at the circumstances of this case ? 
 
15 
 
 The day was the 2d day of March. Daphney's baby was born into 
 the world on St. Valentine's happy day, the 14th of February. 
 
 Since her confinement, Daphney had traveled from the_ planta- 
 tion to Savannah, where she had been kept in a shed for six days. 
 On the sixth or seventh day after her sickness, she had left her 
 bed, taken a railroad journey across the country to the shambles, 
 was there exposed for six days to the questionings and insults of 
 the negro speculators, and then on the fifteenth day after her 
 confinement was put up on the block, with her husband and her 
 other child, and, with her new-born baby in her arras, sold to the 
 highest bidder. 
 
 It Avas very considerate of Daphney to be sick befote the sale, 
 for her wailing babe was wortli to Mr. Butler all of a hundred 
 dollars. The family sold for ^625 a-piece, or ^2,500 for the four. 
 
 BOB AND MARY. 
 
 This was a couple not quite a year married, and were down in 
 the catalogue as "prime. " They had no children yet; Mary, 
 with a reprehensible lack of that tender interest in Mr. Butler's 
 aftairs that had been exibited in so eminent a degree by Daphney, 
 had disappointed that worthy man's expectations, and the baby as 
 yet Avas not. But Bob and Mary sold for $1,135 a-piecc, for all 
 that. 
 
 In another instance, Margaret, the wife of Doctor George, who 
 was confined on February 16, though the name of herself and 
 family were inserted in the catalogue, did not come to the sale, 
 and consequently, they were not disposed of at all. As Margaret's 
 baby was fully four days old at the time she was required to start 
 on her journey to Savannah, we can only look at her refusal to go 
 as a most culpable instance of perversity. Margaret should be 
 whipped, and branded, and otherwise kindly admonished of her 
 great sin in thus disappointing the reasonable expectations of ^ so 
 kind a master. But Mr. Butler bore with her in a truly Christian 
 spirit, and uttered no reproach — in public at least. It Avas the 
 more unkind of Margaret, too, because there Avere six in the family 
 who would have brought probably $4,000, and all were detained 
 from the sale by the contumacy of misguided Ma)-garet. 
 
 While on the subject of babies, it may be mentioned that Amity, 
 chattel No. 316, wife of Prince, chattel No. 315, had testified her 
 earnest desire to contribute all in her power to the worldly Avealth 
 of her master by bringing into the world at one time chatties Nos. 
 317 and 318, being a fine pair of twin boys, just a year old. It is 
 not in evidence that Amity received from her master pny testi- 
 monial of his appreciating her good behavior on this occasion, but 
 it is certain that she brought a great price, the four, Prince,^ Amity 
 and the twins selling for $670 a-piece, being a total of $2,680. 
 
 Many other babies, of all ages of baby-hood, were sold, but there 
 was nothing particularly interesting about them. There were some 
 thirty babies in the lot ; they are esteemed worth to the master a 
 
16 
 
 hundred dollars the day they are born, and to increase in value at 
 the rate of a hundred dollars a year till they are sixteen or seven- 
 teen years old, at which age they bring the best prices. 
 
 THE LOVE STORY OF JEFFREY AND DORCAS. 
 
 Jeffrey, chattel No. 319, marked as a "prime cotton hand," 
 aged 23 years, was put up. Jeffrey being a likely lad, the compe- 
 tition was high. The first bid was f 1,100, and he was finally sold 
 for ^1,310. Jeffrey was sold alone ; he had no incumbrance in the 
 shape of an aged father or mother, who must necessarily be sold 
 with him; nor 'had he any children, for Jeffrey was not married. 
 But Jeffrey, chattel No. 319, being human in his affections, had 
 dared to cherish a love for Dorcas, chattel No. 278 ; and Dorcas, 
 not having the fear of her master before her eyes, had given her 
 heart to Jeffrey. Whether what followed was a just retribution on 
 Jeffrey and Dorcas, for daring to take such liberties with their 
 master's property as to exchange hearts, or whether it only goes to 
 prove that with black as with white the saying holds, that '• the 
 course of true love never did run smooth," cannot now be told. 
 Certain it is that these two lovers were not to realize the consum- 
 mation of their hopes in happy wedlock. Jeffrey and Dorcas had 
 told their loves, had exchanged their simple vows, and were be- 
 trothed, each to the other as dear, and each by the other as fondly 
 beloved as though their skins had been of fairer color. And who 
 shall say that, in the sight of Heaven and all holy angels, these 
 two humble hearts were not as closely wedded as any two of the 
 prouder race that call them slaves ? 
 
 Be that as it may, Jeffrey was sold. He finds out liis new mas- 
 ter ; and, hat in hand, the big tears standing in his eyes, and his 
 voice trembling with emotion, he stands before that master and 
 tells his simple story, praying that his betrothed may be bought 
 with him. Though his voice trembles, there is no embarrassment 
 in his manner; his fears have killed all the bashfulness that would 
 naturally attend such a recital to a stranger, and before unsympa- 
 thizing witnesses ; he feels that he is pleading for the happiness of 
 her he loves, as well as for his own, and his tale is told in a fiank 
 and manly way. 
 
 "I loves Dorcas, young Mas'r; I loves her well an' true; she 
 says she loves me, and I know she does ; de good Lord knows I 
 loves her better than I loves any one in de wide world — never can 
 love another woman half so Avell. Please buy Dorcas, Mas'r. 
 "We're be good sarvants to you long as we live. We're be married 
 right soon, young Mas'r, and de chill un will be healthy and strong, 
 Mas'r, and dey'll be good sarvants, too. Please buy Dorcas, young 
 Mas'r. We loves each other a heap — do, really true, Mas'r." 
 
 Jeffrey then remembers that no loves and hopes of his are to en- 
 ter into the bargain at all, but in the earnestness of his love he has 
 forgotten to base his plea on other ground till now, when he bethinks 
 him and continues, with his voice not trembling now, save with 
 
17 ^ 
 
 eagerness to prove how -n-orthy of many dollars is the maiden of his 
 heart : 
 
 "Young Mas'r, Dorcas prime woman — Al woman, sa. Tali 
 gal, sir ; long arms, strong, healthy, and can do a heap of work in 
 a day. She is one of de best rice hands on de whole plantation; 
 worth ^1,200 easy, Mas'r, an' fus'rate bargain at that." 
 
 The man seems touched by Jeffrey's last remarks, and bids him 
 fetch out his "gal, and let's see what she looks like." 
 
 Jeffrey goes into the long room, and presently returns with Dor- 
 cas, looking very sad and self-possessed, without a particle of em- 
 barrassment at the trying position in ^Yhich she is placed. She makes 
 the accustomed curtsy, and stands meekly with her hands clasped 
 across her bosom, waiting the result. The buyer regards her with 
 a critical eye, and growls in a low voice that the " gal has good 
 p'ints." Then he goes on to a more minute and careful examina- 
 tion of her w^orking abilities. He turns her around, niiskes her 
 stoop, and walk ; and then he takes off her turban to look at her 
 head that no Avound or disease be concea,led by the gay handker- 
 chief ; he looks at her teeth, and feels of her arms, and "at last an- 
 nounces himself pleased with the result of his observations, whereat 
 Jeffrey, who has stood near, trembling with eager hope, is over- 
 joyed, and he smiles for the first time. The buyer then crowns 
 Jeffrey's happiness by making a promise that he will buy her, if 
 the price isn't run up too high. And the two lovers step aside and 
 congratulate each other on their good fortune. But Dorcas is not 
 to be sold till the next day, and there are twenty-four long hours of 
 feverish expectation. 
 
 Early next morning is Jeffrey alert, and, hat in hand, encouraged 
 to unusual freedom by the greatness of the stake for which he phrys, 
 he addresses every buyer, and of all who will listen he begs the bo'^on 
 of a word to be spoken to his new master to encourage him to buy 
 Dorcas. And all the long morning he speaks in his homely way with 
 all who know him, that they will intercede to save his sweetheart 
 from being sold away from him forever. No one has the heart to 
 deny a word of promise and encouragement to the poor fellow, and, 
 joyous with so much kindness, his hopes and spirits gradually rise 
 until he feels almost certain that the wish of heart will bo accom- 
 plished. And Dorcas, too, is smiling, for is not Jeffrey's happiness 
 her owa ? 
 
 At last comes the trying moment, and Dorcas steps up on the 
 stand. 
 
 But now a most unexpected feature in the drama is for the first 
 time unmasked: Dorcas is not to be sold alone, but with a family of 
 four others. Full of dismay, Jeffrey looks to his master, who 
 shakes his head, for, although he might be induced to buy Dorcas 
 alone, he has no use for the rest of the family. Jeffrey reads his 
 doom in his master's look, and turns away, the tears streaming 
 down his honest face. 
 
 So Dorcas is sold, and her toiling life is to be spent in the cotton 
 
18 
 
 fields of South Carolina, while Jeffrey goes to the rice plantation of 
 the Great Swamp, 
 
 And to-morrow, Jeffrey and Dorcas are to say their tearful fare- 
 well, and go their separate ways in life, to meet no more as mortal 
 beings. 
 
 But didn't Mr. Pierce Butler give them a silver dollar a-picce ? 
 Who shall say there is no magnanimity in slave-owners ? 
 
 In another hour I see Dorcas in the long room, sitting motionless 
 as a statute, with her head covered with a shawl. And I see Jeffrey, 
 who goes to his new master, pulls off his hat and says : " I'se very 
 much obliged, Mas'r, to you for tryin' to help me. I knows you 
 would have done it if you could — thank you, Mas'r — thank j^ou — 
 but — its — berry — hard " — and hear the poor fellow breaks down 
 entirely and walks avv'ay, covering his face with his battered hat, 
 and sobbing like a very child. 
 
 He is soon surrounded by a group of his colored friends, who, 
 with an instinctive delicacy most unlooked for, stand quiet, and 
 with uncovered heads, about him. 
 
 Anson and Violet, chattels Nos. Ill and 112, were sold for ^250 
 each, both being old, and Anson being down in the catalogue as 
 " ruptured and as having one eye." Violet was sold as being sick. 
 Her disease Avas probably consumption, which supposition gave rise 
 to the following feeling conversation between tAVO buyers : 
 
 " Cheap gal, that, Major!" 
 
 " Don't think so. They may talk about her being sick ; it's no 
 easy sickness see's got. She's got consumption, and the man that 
 buys her '11 have to be a doctrin' her all the time, and she'll die in 
 less than three months. I won't have anything to do with her — 
 don't want any half dead niggers about me." 
 
 THE MARKET VALUE OF AN EYE. 
 
 Guy, chattel No. 419, " a prime young man," sold for SI, 280, 
 being without blemish ; his age was twenty years, and he was alto- 
 gether a fine article. His next-door neighbor, Andrew, chattel No. 
 420, was his very counterpart in all marketable points, in size, age, 
 skill, and everything save that he had lost his right eye. Andrew 
 sold for only $1,040, from which we argue that the market value of 
 the right eye in the Southern country is i^240. 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MARRIAGE. 
 
 When the family of Mingo, consisting of his wife, two sons and a 
 daughter, was called for, it Avas announced by the auctioneer that 
 chattel No. 322, Denibo, the eldest son, aged 20, had the evening 
 before procured tlie services of a minister, and been joined in wed- 
 lock to chattel No. 404, Frances, and that he should be compelled 
 to put up the bride and groom in one lot. They were called up, 
 and, as Avas to be expected, their appearance was the signal for a 
 volley of coarse jokes from the auctioneer, and of ribald remarks 
 from the surrounding croAvd. The newly-married pair bore it 
 
jSi9 
 
 19 
 
 bravely, although one refined gentleman took hold of Frances's 
 lips and pulled them apart, to see her age. 
 
 This sort of thing it is that makes Northern blood boil, and 
 Northern fists clench -with a laudable desire to hit somebody. It 
 •was almost too much for endurance to stand and see those brutal 
 slave-drivers pushing the women about, pulling their lips apart with 
 their not too cleanly hands, and committing many another indecent 
 act, while the husbands, fathers and brothers of those women were 
 compelled to witness these things, without the power to resent 
 the outrage. 
 
 Dembo and Frances were at last struck off for $1,320 each, and 
 went to spend their honey-moon on a cotton plantation in Alabama. 
 
 THE CASE OF JOSHUA's MOLLY. 
 
 The auctioneer brought up .Joshua's Molly and family. He 
 announced that Molly insisted that she was lame in her left foot, 
 and perversely would vs'alk lame, although for his part, he did not 
 believe a word of it. He had caused her to be examined by an 
 eminent physician in Savannah, which medical light had declared 
 that Joshua's Molly was not lame, but was only shamming. How- 
 ever, the gentlemen must judge for themselves and bid accordingly. 
 So Molly was put through her paces, and compelled to trot up and 
 down along the stage, to go up and down the steps, and to exercise 
 her feet in various waj'^s, but always with the same result, the left 
 foot ivould be lame. She was finally sold for $695. 
 
 Whether she really was lame or not no one knows but herself, 
 but it must be remembered that to a slave a lameness, or anything 
 that decreases his market value, is a thing to be rejoiced over. A 
 man in the prime of life, worth $1,600 or thereabouts, can have 
 little hope of ever being able, by any little savings of his own, to 
 purchase his liberty. But let him have a rupture, or lose a limb, 
 or sustain any other injury that 2enders him of much less service 
 to his owner.'and reduces 'his value to $300 or $400, and he may 
 hope to accumulate that sum, and eventually to purchase his 
 liberty. Freedom without health is infinitely sweeter than health 
 without freedom. 
 
 And so the Great Sale went on for two long days, during which 
 time there were sold 429 men, women and children. There were 
 436 announced to be sold, but a few were detained on the plan- 
 tations by sickness. 
 
 At the close of the sale, on the last day, several baskets of cham- 
 pagne were produced, and all were invited to partake, the wine 
 being at the expense of the broker, Mr. Bryan. 
 
 The total amount of the sale foots up $303,850— the proceeds 
 of the first day being $161,480, and of the second day $142,370. 
 
 The highest sum paid for any one family was given for Sally 
 Walker and her five children, who were mostly grown up. The 
 price was $6,180. 
 
20 ' 
 
 The highest price paid for a single man was $1,760, which was 
 given for William, a "fair carpenter '.and caulker." 
 
 The highest price paid for a woman was ^1,250, which was given 
 for Jane, "cotton hand and house servant." 
 
 The lowest price paid was for Anson and Violet, a gray-haired 
 couple, each having numbered more than fifty years ; they brought 
 but |260 a piece. 
 
 MR. PIERCE BUTLKR GIVES HIS PEOPLE A DOLLAR A-PIECE. 
 
 Leaving the Race buildings, where the scenes we have described 
 took place, a crowd of negroes were seen gathered eagerly about a 
 white man. That man was Pierce M. Butler, of the free City of 
 Philadelphia, who was solacing the wounded hearts of the people he 
 had sold from their firesides and their homes, by doling out to them 
 small change at the rate of a dollar a head. To every negro he had 
 sold, who presented his claim for the paltry pittance, he gave the 
 munificent stipend of one whole dollar, in specie; he being provided 
 with two canvas bags of 25 cent pieces, fresh from the mint, to give 
 an additional glitter to his generosity. 
 
 And now come the scenes of the last partings — of the final sepa- 
 rations of those who were akin, or who had been such dear friends 
 from youth that no ties of kindred could bind them closer — of those 
 who were all in all to each other, and for whose bleeding hearts 
 there shall be no earthly comfort — the parting of parents and chil- 
 dren, of brother from brother, and the rending of sister from a sis- 
 ter's bosom ; and ! hardest, cruellest of all, the tearing asunder 
 of loving hearts, wedded in all save the one ceremony of the Churcb 
 — these scenes pass all description ; it is not meet for pen to meddle 
 with tears so holy. 
 
 As the last family stepped down from the block, the rain ceased, 
 for the first time in four days the clouds broke away, and the soft 
 sunlight fell on the scene. The unhappy slaves had many of them 
 been already removed, and others were now departing with their 
 new masters. 
 
 That night, not a steamer left that Southern port, not a train of 
 cars sped away from that cruel city, that did not bear each its own 
 sad burden of those unhappy ones, whose only crime is that they are 
 not strong and wise. Some of them maimed and wounded, some 
 scarred and gashed, by acci^lent, or by the hand of ruthless drivers 
 — all sad and sorrowful as human hearts can be. 
 
 But the stars shone out as brightly as if such things had never 
 been, the blushing fruit-trees poured iheir fragrance on the evening 
 air, and the scene was as calmly sweet and quiet as if Man had 
 never marred the glorious beauties of Earth by deeds of cruelty 
 and wi'ong;. 
 
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