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

possibly, thousand dollars. 10 the North we
DO not necessarily sel tie harness with the
.ii..;ssse; Yhy, in the South, should the clothes
g. ,sith the ncgf9a
In these sheds were the ehattels hnddlaa To-
gesfer on the floor. there beiag 70 s;gn qf
beaeh or table. They ste aud slept on the
bare boards, their food being rice and beans,
with occasionally a bit Of bacon aad corn bread.
Their huge bundles were scattered over the
a2nr, and thereon the slaves sat OF saeliued.
wheh not restlessiy moving aoout, gathered
INTO sorrowfal groups, discussing tho chances
OF their future fate. Ga Tie fees of all was
au expression OF heavy grief; some appeared to
be resigned 70 the bard stroke ef Fortune taat
hes torn them from their homes, and we're sad
u trying to make the besi of II; some sat
tfooding moolily over ;heir sorrows, tbeiy
eAlus resting 90 their hands, their eyes staring
yaeantiy, aud their bodIes rocking to aud fro
teF wept--the place was too pubic and The
drivers too Eear-though some occasionally
tiirned aside to give way to few quiet tears.
they were dressed 10 every possible variety OF
aaconth end fantastic garb, 10 every style and
q every imaginable color; the texture Of The
garments was in all eases coarse, n'ost Of the
lnan being clothed in the rough cloth that is
made expressly ior the slaves. The dresses as
sumsd BY the negro Innstrels when they give
ilaitations.of plantation character, arc by no
means exaggerated; they are, instead, weak
ard unable to come Up TO the original There
vas every variety OF bat, with every iaaeina-
bic siouch, and there was every cut and style
Of coat and pantaloous, made with every coz
ceiyabie ingenuity OF laisfit, aud tossed ol with
general Appearance Of Perfect ioascness that
u perfectly indescri5ablc, except 10 say that
Southern negro always locks as ii he could
shake his clothes off without taking his hands
OFT of his pockets. The womeu, true 10 the
fetneuiue instinct, had made, ID Utmost every
case, some attempt at 6nery. All wore gor-
geVus turbans, generally manufactured in an
instant out Of gay-coiored handkerchief br q
saiaca and graceful twist q tue Gngers, tho
there was occasionally . more elaberate turbae,
turban complex mi mysterious. got up with
calc, aud orr=aleafed with few leads On
bIiglit bits Of ribbon. Their dresses were
mostly coarse stuff, though there were SONG OF
CANDY cahcoes; few had ear rings, and one
possessed the treasure Of striug Of yellow aud
blue beads, The little children were always
better and moro carefully dressed than he ola
er ones, The parental pride coming out IL Tie
shape of yellow cap pointed like mi;er. OF
q jicket wi;h a strip Of red brnaicloth round
tho bottom. Tue children we're Of all sizes,
the youngest being fifteen days old The ba-
bies were geherally good patured, though Bhea
one wouid set up yell, the complaint soon at
tackled the others, AID full cboyu> would be
the result. young negro baby looks ike au
animated bit OF India rubber, and has woIider-
ful powers of suction. They were very preva
lent in the long show ICON, where tue stock
was all congregatea the day of the sale, aud
those that were old enough 10 have positive
powers of loeomotion were perpa;uAiiy crawl
iug away from their taothers, aud getting un-
der The feet OF visitors. They have passion
for climbing, aud made streuuvUs oxcrtlons TO
scale the legs Of people who didn'' belong to
ihemi if man stood still for mlnuic, Le was
certaio to have baby hanging to cach leg like
a crab. They diii't object TO eeing Knocked
down, aud relied over, OF being pitcUcd across
the room, or any trife Of that eor, bat 1t secin-
ed 70 dis,oncert them to step on thsir tia-
gers.
Tie slaves remained at lhe Race Course,
some OF them for more than week, and all Of
them for four days before the sale. They we're
brought in thus early, that buyers WHO desired.
to inspect them might enjoy inst privilege, al
though none OF them were sold at private sale.
Fer these preliminary days their sied Was coz
stantly visited by specuiaturs The negfoes
were examined with as little consideration Us II
they had beea-bIutes indeed; she buyers pull
ling their mouths open tosee their teeth. nlnch-
log their limbs to find haw muscular they
were, walking them up aud down 10 detect any
signs Of laneDcss, making them stocp aud bend
IN different ways that they might be certain
there was no concealed rupture or wound; and
Ia addition to all this treatment, asking ihem
scores of questions relative to their qunilhca-
tons aud accomplishments. Ali these hnmlll-
ations were submitted to without marniuf,
and in some instances With good uatured cheer
fuiness, where the slave liked the appearance
Of the proposed buyer, and fancy that be might
prove kind 'nas'r.
The following curiously SAD scene is the type
Of score of others that were there en-
acted:
Elisha, chattel No. in the catalogue, had
Iaken fancy to beneyolent-lookiog nIddie- /
aged gentleman, who was inspecting the stock, |
lnd thus used bis powers Of persuasion to IN
luce the benevolent man to purchase him, with
bis wife. boy aud girl, Molly, lsfaci aud SeEsn-
la, ehattels No. 6, and 8. Tie earnestness
With which the poor fellow pressed bis suit, /
as he did, that perhaps the happiness
If his whole life depended on his success, was
.oucbing, aud the arguments be used were
most pathetic lie made no appeal TO tho feel I
ugs of the buyer, he rested no nope on bis
,hasi,y aud kindness, but only strove TO show
low we'll worth his dollars we're the bone and
blood be was cntreating him to buy.
ssLook ut me, inas'r, am primo rice planter,
no you won't find a better man den me, no (
,etter on the whole plantation, not a bis old /
,et, DO mo- work den eyer do carpenter work, |
90, little; better buy me, nlas'r, Use be good |
,arrant, inas'r. Molly, too, my wife, Sa. fus-