Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1860-06-30
THE MOTHER OF pREsIDEETS. THE
MARKET FOR NEGROES

ln The Cincinnati Commercial we find tho fol
lowing description of the great slave mart at
Richmond, Va, the Capital Of that State which
used to boast Of the Presidents she gave to the ma
! tiou.
We are not directly concerned in the operations
OF the negro market, bu; some of the figures and
facts may be Of general interest. The slave trade,
then, is carried on at this point with vigor un'
known in any other market in the world. There
is bo city or depot ia Asia, or on the shores Of
Africa, or in the islands Of the seas where SO
many slaves are annually sold, as in this place.
am informed that tie average sales are nearly a
thousand per week. This may be exaggera-
tion, bat certainly the sales ore very large, and
amount to twenty or thirty thousand at least per
year. There are often, in busy seasons, as many.
as two hundred sold per day. one portion of the
town is devoted almost exclusively to negro jails
and auction houses. Passing along one OF the
1 principal streets, you look down small valley,
full OF two story houses surrounded by big walls
you observe that the Veraudls and walls are we'll
white washed, and that there is an air of extreme
cleanliness about them; but they ale negro pens.
Here it is matter of policy treat the negroes
well, to give them plenty to eat, and to dress
them neatly, and make them cheerful. They sell
better when IN ine condition. From the street Of
which speak, that commands q view Of the ne
gro pens, you see the high.waled yards and
the white washed porcaes, swarming with little
niggers, capering about like monkeys, while the
negro men and women are-some lOlling at ease,
listlessy, aud Others pacing up and down like
wild beasts in cages.
The sale rooms are 10 ated near each other on
Franklin street, within half a square of the prin-
cipal hotel. They are, however, in portion of
the town unlrequented by any persons except the
negro aud horse traders-and are in the imme
diate vicinity Of the livery and sale stables with
which they are mixed as il common business
were done. Passing down the street you see
about half q dozen red flags hanging out
think there eight auction rooms in sight at
once. Upon the flags are pinned notices Of the
sales that are to take place-the hour (ten Id the
morning is the hour when tho principa sales
tuke tlace)-and the number of negroes to be
sold. There are such notices as this: Ten very
likelaneHrpes-men.w women, aud children-to De
suld his morning Tho rooms are large and airy.
The floors are sprinkled with clean white sand
from the sea side. There are plenty of benches
and arm chairs for the accommodation of custo-
mers. There is table n the centre of the room
which the negroes mount when they are to be
sold. Looking into Of these rooms you will
usually before the sale hour party Of negroes
quietly seated on bench. The moment you enter
a row Of glIlterns eyes are fastened with singu-
lar intensity upon your face. The negroes are
studying you to how they would like to have
you for master, and if they think they would
like you, they try, poor creatures, to look as pleas
t ing as they can. And it requires some nerve in
one not bred among slaves to regard 50 suggestive
la spectacle without emotion. vi'ited one Of
these places this morning while sale OF lot o
negroes from Delaware was progressing. The
room on the corner Of street ON side hill
The basement was ccupied by cofee-houst
, called the Washington House The sale-roou
was very large-say forty feet by twenty FIVE, will
side apartments for the sltves, and back oihct
for the recording clerk. The bidding was lively
nearly u hundred men were present. A consider
able number Of regular slave traders buying 70
the New Orleans and other markets; aud South
ern planters competing for the choice articles. A
very likely young negress, black as coal was o
the stand with the auetioneer who was a youn
mon, well DRESSED and with as pleasant o face a
you wish to see, swinging newspaper by tn
way Of hammer in his hand. The girl wa
: neatly dressed. She had OA a brilliant calico
with shining patent leather belt, aud her shoe
o we're new and her stockings white. She did nj
appear to be pleased with her conspicuitY, bl
was ia decided gay humpr, and her bearin
was as iaunty as that OF q heifer in woods pa'
Sha a m al
i across the flour rapidly to show the gentleme
that she was, the auctioneer said, well bui
from the ground up. She walked in way tn
che intended should be fascinating, and that pr
yoked the smiles Of the by-stuLdeTs. The au
tiOneer stated that she was "a good one
didn't know them when he saw them and
II thought he ought TO know 'em by that time. A
r old fellow from Alabama directed her to come
him and open her mouth aud stick out her tUngu
1t She obeyed, and her teeth were as pure as di
mOnds, her tongue and gums red as catsi an
4 her mouth passed inspection with favor The oil
planter examined her arms to see how she We
If muscled, and she displayed her leg nearly to ii
knee, that he might be satisfied it was all right
When she turned about he pressed his thufht
i. neavlly upon her shoulder blades and as this di
:, not trouble her with coughing or wheeling, Il
evidence of her sOundness was considered concl'
srye. The auotiOneer expaiiaIed upon her man
er excelleLces precisely as if she was first cla'
10 6lly and a sured all present that upon his homo
,e fue girl she was, she was not thirteen year
ID old. There were he said, "a few whip marks upo
to her. but they did not hurt her bit. She ha
g. been fraclious at times, but was good, biddab
n girl. He was rather disposed, think, to reae
Ie upon her master for having bestowed the viii
q marks. AS she did not look vicious she sold wei
a, When entered, the suclioneer was crying 'on
ID nine hundred and twenty-five She brought wit
er hard work on the part of the auctioneer, elevf
r. hundred and twenty dollare, believe. Wht
sold, she sailed Of to the clerk, who was to bar
her over to her new master, with an air OF COZ
r,Iannnnu and annathirn likA a miaohiaYoua RI