Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1859-03-25

invoked him in difficulties which resulted IN
enormous losses. To relieve himself from hls
financial reverses. large portion of bis prop.
eFiy in aud uboet Philadelphia hiss already
been disposed Of, and the sale reported below
r-s efseted Cor tie same object. W,lou:
further preface we give lbe 1ri5u.,e'a report OF
the Grca: Slave Sale
/! The largest aalle Of buman ehattels tha, has
! been nlSSaiv n the Star-Spaugled America for
several years took place on "Wednesday aud
Thursday of last week. at the Race Course near
the City OF Savannah, Georgi1. The lot con
sisted of four hundred and tAiriy-six men,
women, children aad Infants, being that baif Of
tie negro stock remaining 90 the old Major
/ Butler plantations which fell to one OF tie two
heirs 10 that estate. Major Butter dying, LET'S
/ q property valued at more than IoIllion of
dollars, the major part OF whica was invested
/ III rice and cotton plantations, aud tba slaves
thereon, all ot which immense fortune des ,oad-
e3 TO ihe heirs, his sons, SIR. Johu Butler,
sometime deceased, ana Mr. Pierce Butler,
sail living, aud resident in the City 81 Pnia-
delPhia, in the free S;a,a of Pennsylvania
/ Losses ID the grand crash of 1878, and oiher
exigencics Of oas;ness, have itupeIled tue latter
! gentleman 10 realize on his 89g,'fern invest
incnts, tb4t he may satisfy suadry pressing
/ creditors, and 5e enabled 10 resume business
/ With tie surplus. if any. Tie necessity led TO
u partition Of the negro stock on the Georgia
plantations between himself ana the reprssen-
=! tatiye of the other bei2, the widow Of the late
j Ohm Butler, and the negroes that were brought
/ TO the hammer last week we're the property Of
! Mr.. Pierce Butler, of Philadelphia, aud were
( in fa:l sold TO pay Mc. Pierce Buffers debts.
4 The creditors We're represented by Gen. Cad
wa.der, While Alr. Butter was present in person,
attended by as business sgest, to attend to his
oEa interests.
! The sale had beeu advertised largely for
lany weeks though the name Of Mr Butler
/ gcs rot u4eb::oBod-- aud ~ the negroes wcrc
, A8ovB "a le ch9;cs lot aud .vety dosI st!e
/ property, lie 4,teudance Of bayerS vas large.
Iha-hsa4 Iin sa- ri an cd fasgi;g oslatc Is u
uncommon al occurrence tu&t tbe affair WAS
1 reg. .rGed with angsnal AIoreS; throughout the
South. For several days before the sale every
/ hotel in S2vsuGah was crowded glih Negro
! spectators from North and South Carolina.
1 Virginia, Georg1, Alabama aud Louisiana, who
had been attracted thitheE by the prospects of
making good bargains. Nothing was heard fo-
! dsys, IN the bar-rooms, but talk of the great
sale. criticisms &c the business affairs of Mr..
/ BEtier, and srcculat;ons as 10 the probable
| prices iae stock would briug The Office of
! Joseph Bryan, The negro broker VINO had the
mana cement OF the sale, was thIonced every
lay by eager iGquirers in search OF informa
| tiou and by some who were anxious to buy, bpt
we're uncertain as TO whether their securities
/ would pioye acceptable. Little parties were
nero made up FROM the various hotels every day
| to visi tho Race Course, distant some three
| miles from the city, to lock over the cha,tels,
discuss their points, and make menorauda for
guidance on tho day OF sale. The buyers were
generally Of Q rough breed, slapgy, pgofane
and bearish, Icing fol the most part from the
back river aud swamp pIaptstioas, where tie
eiacancicy oe polite life are not perhaps doyei-
oped TO tdeir fullest cxteut IL f4c, the hu-
manties arc sadly neglected By tie petty
,Yrauts Of the rice fields that border the great
Dismal Swamp, their knowledge Of the luxu-
riea Of our best society conpfeAendiug ouly
regolvers and kinared delicacies.
Your correspondent was present ai an carly
date, but as he easily anticipated lLe touch
ing welcome that would, at such tiuc, be
officiogsly extended 10 a representative Of tic
Ii7buas, and being . modest man witbal, and
not desiring to be the recipient OF public Dc
molsiration froia the enthusiastic SVu.ie4n
population, who at times overdo their hospi-
tality aud their guests, he did not placard his
mission and claim his honors. Although lie
kept his business in the background, he made
himself Ero;sa4nt figure ia the picture, and
wherever there was anything going on, there
was be IN the railst. At he sale might have
been seen busy iGdiyidu ], armed With pencil
aud catalogue, doing Isis ii tie utmost 10 kea..
Up ali he annesyanees Of kqowoe hy,,sf, hy:;s
pricing ''likely bigger fellers," talking conf
dentially 20 the smartess ebon maids, chuckiDg
the round-syed youngsters under the chin,
making an occasional bid Tor q large family "a
low bii-so lew that somebody always instant
j. raised him twenty-five dollars, when tho
busy man wouli ANONYMOUSLY retrcat,l ard
otherwise conducting himself like rich plant
cr, with forty thousaod dollars where he could
put lis finger on il. This gentleman was much
co2aoloa with by some syinpathizng persons,
when the particularly fine lot on which he had
fixed bis critical eye was sold and los. to him
forever, because be happened to be down stairs
at lunch just at the interesting moment.
WHERE THE .fEGRoEs CAME FROM.
The negroes came from two plantalions-the
one rice plantation near Darien, in the State
of Georgia, not far from the great Okefenokee
Swamp, and the other cotton plantation on
lbc extreme northern point of 81. Simon's
Island, little bit of an islapd i'll the Atlantic,
cut off from Georgia mainland by slender
arm of the sea. Through the most of the stock
had been accustomed orly to rice and oot,ou-
planting and culture, there we're among them
number Of very passable mechanics, who had
been taught TO DO all the rougher sorts of
mechanical WORK on the plantations. There
were coopers, carpenters, shoemakers and
blucksmilhs, each one equal in his various craft
TO tue ordinary requirements of a plantation
that is. the coopers could make rlce-tierces,