Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-06-20


The Capital Of virginia the Largest an,
] most Aotive Slave Market IN the Worldi
Talk abou. the execrable slave marts ans
barracOons Of barbarous Africa they bear nC
comparison with the slave pens and auction
blocks Of the Capital of Christian Virginia
Savage ignorance and heathenism rest lik,
night on the une-the other is blessed with
the full sunlight Of intelligence, civilization
and religion In the first the captlves Of
war but little raised above the beasts thai
perish, ara sold by Pagans to Christians
the latter, native-born Americans of ali
grades Of color and blood, the sons and
daughters Of white Christian slave-breeders
are sold ike cattle TO white Christian slave.
tradesl And Richmond, the capital city oI
the Old Dominion, the boasted land Of free
dom and the highest refinement is the great
market Of the Union and the World in the
bodies and souls Of Men, Women and Child
renl Is this possible? Read the following
extract from the letter of one OF the editors
of the Cincinnati Commercial, dated "Rich-
mond Virginia, June 18th, 1860, for an
answer:
We are not directly concerned in the ope-
rations of the negro market but some of the
figures aud facts may be Of general interest.
The slave trade, then, is carried on at this
point with vigor unknown in any other
market in the world. There is no city or
! depot in 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 the average sales are near
/ ly q thousand per week. This may be an
exaggeradOn, but certainly the sales are very
large, and amount TO twenty or thirty thou
sand 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 auc-
ton houses. Passing along one of the prin-
clpal streets, you look down small valley,
tuil OF two story houses, surrounded by high
walls, you observe that the verandas and
walls are well white washed, and that there
is an air Of extreme cleanliness about them;
but they are negro pens. Here it is a matter
Of policy to treat the negroes well, to give
them plenty to eat and to dress them neatly,
and make them cheerful. They sell better
when in fine condition. From the street of
which speak, that commands a view of the
negro pens, you can see the high-walled yards
and the white washed porches swarming with
little niggers capering about like monkeys
while the negro men and women are-some
lolling at ease, listlessly, and Others pacing
up and down like wild beasts in cages.
The sale rooms are located near each other
On Franklin street, within half square of
the principal hotel They are, however, in
portion OF the town unfrequented by any per-
sons except the negro and e-traders-and
are in the immediate vicinity of the livery and
sale stables with which they are mixed as if
a common business were done. Passing down
the street you see about half a dozen red
flags hanging out think there are eight
negro auction rooms in sight at once. Upon
the flags are pinned notices of the sales that
are y take place-the hour tten in the morn
ing is the hour when the principal sales take
place land the number ofnegroes to be sold.
There are such notices as this: Ten very
likely negroes-men, women, and children
to be sold this morning" The rooms are
large and airy. The floors are sprinkled with
clean white sand from the seaside. There
are plenty Of benches and armed chairs Tor
the accommodation of customers There is
table in the centre of the room which the
negroes mount when they are to be sold.-
Looking into one of these roops you will
usually see before the sale hour party of ne
groes quietly seated on a bench. The mo-
mentSyOu enter a row Of glittering eyes are
fastened with singular intensity upOn your
Wlhn
they would like to have you for masterand
if they think they would like yon, they try,
poor creatures, TO look as pleasing as they
can. And It requires some nerve in one not
bred among slaves TO regard so suggestive a
spectacle without emotion. | visited one OF
these places this morning while sale of a lot
of negroes from Delaware was progressing.
The room was on the corner of street on a
side hill. The basement was occupied by
Coffee-house called the sWashington House"
The sale-room was very large-say forty feet
by twenty-five, with side apartments for the
slaves, and back Office for the recording
clerk. The bidding was lively; nearly hun
dred men were present. A considerable mum
Der of regular slave traders buying for the
New Orleans and other markets. and Southern
planters competing for the choice articles. a
very likely young negress, black as a coal was
on the stand with the auctioneer who was
young man, well dressed and with as pleas
ant face as you wish to see, swinging q
newspaper by the way Of a hammer in his
hand. The girl was neatly dressed. She
had on a brilliant calico, with shining pat
ent leather belt, and her shoes were new and
her stockings white. She did not appear to
be displeased with her conspicuity, but was
in decided gay humOr, and her bearing
was as jaunty as that of heifer in a woods
pasture. She was directed to get down and
walk across the floor rapidly, TO show the
gentlemen that she was, as the auctioneer
said, "Well built from the ground up" She
walked in way that she intended should be
fascinating, and that provoked the smiles of
the by-standers. The auctioneer stated that
she was ga good one" or he didn't know
them when he saw them and he thought
he ought to know 'em by that time. An old
fellow from Alabama directed her to come
TO him and open her mouth and stick out
her tongue. She obeyed, and her teeth were
as pure as diamonds her tongue and gums
red as a cats and her mouth passed inspec-
ton with favor. The old planter examined
her arms to see how she was muscled, and
she displayed her leg nearly to the knee,
that he might be satisfied it was all right
When she turned about he pressed his
thumbs heavily upon her shoulder blades;
and as this did not trouble her with cough
ing or wheeling, the evidence of her sound
nesswas considered conclusive. The auctioneer
expatiated upon hermany excellencies pre-
cisely as if she was first class filly, and as
sured all present that upon his honor, fine
g girl as she was, she was not thirteen years
cid. There were, he said, ga few whip marks
upon her." but they did not hnTt her bit.
She had been fractions at times, but was a
good, biddable girl. He was rather disposed,
I think, to reflect upon her master for having
bestowed the whip marks. As she did not
look vicious, she sold well. When / entered,
the auctioneer was crying "only nine hun
dred and twenty-hve.bj She brought, with
hard work on The part Of the auctioneer,
eleven hundred and twenty dollars, I be-
heve. When sold, she sailed off to the clerk,
who was to hand her over to her new master,
with an air Of complacency and something
like mischievous grimace.
The next sale was that of light mulatto
yirl yybo was warranted haoItI,~ ~ ,,,,,,d