The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1863-04-09
Correspondence of the Field and fmesi lie
EiOCkade Auction SnICa.

letter from Charleston gives an interest
ing description Of the mode Of the conducting
the blockade auctions in that city, which the
pnblic see advertised in all the newspapers of
the Contederacy After describing the Quiet
aud altered appearance Of the city, the writer
snys On King and East Day streets at least
fGur-hiths OF the stores are closed and on
Meeting street the ONLY oasis one sees in the
great desert Of suspension is at the houses
Nhcro the piles Of goods which so constantly
ru.. the si0ckade, are auctioHecred off. Here
when an auction ia 10 take place merchants
professional characters. and men of leisure all
eager Tor The accumulation OF dollars: congre-
ga IN vast numbers. and the store ruolns ore
sent scene of busy life, which contrasts
strongly wiriI the remaining portions of the
c'ty. | have, by dint Of extraordinary persc-
verance. worked my way into one of these
dcnscly packed auction rooms. and found the
the scene presentcd one of sufficient interest
10 describe A hurry man of about 24O pounds
avoirdupois, mounts chair and announces
that the sale Is abont 10 commence. continuing
with the remarks that the conditions are cash.
and that no issue Of the Hoyer x Ludwig Con.
federate plate will he tak,n The crier. who
posses5ess strength oflungs of which Sientor
himself would have been proud. and n rapid
ity OF articulation that has never been surpass
ed by human tongue, is accompanied by n lit.
tie gray haired man. who wears n wooden can
OF richly variegaied hues. the crown Of which
displays the Confederate flag. This little
man chef occupation is to exsli the merits
OF the g)Sds on sale, throw in occasional wi,ti
cisms, and catch the winks aud blinks' O
bidders which the crier ovcrlooks. wink is
as good as nod with the little man and he
bawls II out a Justify as if he were giving an
alarm of fire, or crying stop thief. The great
majority ut the crowd who attend these cargo
s'ies are Germans and Jews. and is a.
much surprised at their number as at their
unpronounceable aud strangely sounding c.r-
nomens. which, At the knock down of every
article, CRATES ha.shly upon he ear of stran-
ger. For the amusemert of your unini,iated
readers i give n few, which il was nv priyi-
lege 10 hear. viz; Litchtonstein, Mutledorfer
Stcinlcin. Dooriinger, Rosenbaum Greizgraw,
Zlegauf. Retscra'i"g. Slim dow Ungrauphit
etc Neoy oil the merchants here complain
thst although these immense oargoes are sold
at their very doors, yet by means of combina-
tions made among buyers from abroad. they
are unable purchase articles sufficient to
justify them in keeping open their store For
example, three, four, hve, or six buyers may
combine and purchase q lot of articles amount
ing in the aggregate TO one hundred thousand
or more dollars and then divide the lot. THIS
is frequently done. and as the auctioneets.
who have most extensive catalogue 10 dispose
Of, go upon the principle of con iensnc all
they can, the buyer of more limited purses has
no means of replenishing his exhaust cd stock.
The magnitude Of these sales is really surpris
ing, and tho last one made by II. A Pringls &
Co., und rsland. footed up over TWO millions
and hait of dollars. The parties for whose
benefit they are chiefly made viz: iohn Pra.
ser Co., have already realized sic. 900, 900
or THIS amount $4,000. 900 have been invested
in Confederate bonds
The Soldiers Aid Society Of Reidxill. and