The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1856-12-18
Another office Of d similar character, ON

{ was respectfully informed by person il
attends nee, that the sale would take plac,
the following morning at about half.pas
lnine O'Clock. s9i.ti 'aSH ~ 5i5 51os
/ Next day set out accordingly. afte
breakfast, for the scene of operations. il
which there was now a little more life
Two or three persons were lounging abou
smoking cigars: and looking along th'
streets, observed that three red flag
were projecting from the doors of thos'
offices in which sales were to occur Or
each flag was pinned a piece o: pa
1per, Notifying the articles to be Sold
The number of lots was not great. Or
the first, was the following ammo nee
sal"Will be sold this morning athalf-pas
nineo clock, a Man and a Boy" e52
i 1t was already the appointed hour; bu
as no company had assembled, 1 entered
and took seat by the fire. The Office,
provided with few deal forms anc
chairs, desk at one of the windows, anc
book accessible by a few step, was
tenantless save by a gentleman who was
Arranging papers at the desk, and to whom
| had addressed myself on the previous
evening. Minute after minute passed
and still nobody entered. There was
clearly no hurry in going to business.
felt almost like an intruder, and had form
ed the resolution OF departing, in order
to look into other offices, when the per-
son referred to left his desk, and came
and seated himself opposite me at the
FIRE. eHe .sga g- ge
s.You are an Englishm an" said he,
looking me steadily in the face; "do you
want to purchase?
"Yes," replied, / am an Englishm an
but do not intend to purchase. l am
travelling about for information, and shall
feel obliged by your letting me know the
prices at which negro servants are sold I"
Il will do so with much pleasure .
was the answer; .'do you mean field
hands or house servants?' .Gsa ot
"All kinds" 1 replied; wish to get
all the information can 3 s. sat
With much politeness the gentlemen
stepped to his desk. and began to draw
up note of prices. This, however,
seemed to require careful consideration;
and while the note was preparing, Ian
key person, wearing wide-awake hat,
and chewing tobacco, entered and took
the seat just vacated. He had hardly
seated himself when, on looking towards
the door, observed the subject of sale
the man and boy indicated by the pa
per on the red fag-eatered together,
and quietly went to form at the back Of
the shop whence, as the day was chilly,
they edged themselves towards the fire
in the corner where l was seated. ]
was now between the two parties the
white man on the right. and the old and
young negro on the left-and / waited tc
see what would take place.
The sight Of the negroes at once attrac-
ted the attention of Wide Awake. Chew
ing with vigor he kept keenly eyeing the
pair, as ito see what they were good for
.s.4 44 -. sea7 ~z j 1.
Under this searching gaze, the man and
boy were little abashcd, but said moth
ing. Their appearance had little of the
responsiveness we are apt to associate with
the idea of slaves. They were dressed in
a gray woolen coat, pants and waistcoat,
colored neckcloths, clean shirts, coarse
woolen stockings and stout shoes. The
man wore a black hat; the boy was bare
he ded. Moved by sudden impulse,
Wide awake left his seat. and rounding
the back of my chair, began to grasp at
the man S arms, as if to feel their muscu-
lar capacity. He then examined his
hands aud fingers; and last of ALL told
him to open his mouth and show his teeth
which he did in a submissive manner
Having Finished tiuse tions.-
Wide awake resumed his seat, and chew
ed on industriously and in silence as be.
fore. san .5aa .sa 1# # @gF " a57
thought il was but fair that shoult
now have my turn Of investigation, anc
accordingly asked the older negro wha
was his age. He said he did not know
Inext inquired how old the boy was
He said he was seven years Of age. Oh
asking the man If the boy was his son, h
said he was not--he was his cousin. q
was going into other particulars. whel
the cffice keeper approached. and hande
me the note he had been preparing; a
the same time making the observation
that the market was dull at present, an
thatthere never could be more favora
BILE opportunity Of buying. 1 thanke'
him for the trouble he had taken; ant
now submit a copy of his price1currant
BestMen, 8 to 25years old 1900 to $3.50
Fair do do Y,s--'' $50 to- l05t
Boys, S feet oi assah $40 tosa 9o'
Do, A feet 8 inches i2 700 Ito 30
Do, s feet 5 inches. 500 to 60'
Do, a feet, hi9sh aass 1 375 TO 70 45i