Bridgeton pioneer., 1884-06-26
WHITE SLAVES,

In the romantically situated town
of st. George, the seat of Tucker Coun-
ty, in the heart of the Cheat Noun
tains, Maryland, overlooking the
beautiful Cheat River, was enacted
May 80 a scene calculated to make
the blood boil with Indignation. In
the bright spring sunshine which threw
into grand relief the verdure clad sum
mits of the lofty peaks of the noun
tains, and which made the beautiful
river, full of chasing cascades, seem
like broad band of running silver
tipped with diamonds as it dashed and
FLASHED over the rocks in its course on
the mountains sides, stood eighteen
wretched human beings before crowd
of perhaps six hundred people. The
crowd were gathered before the little
building called the Court House, and
included farmers clergymen and towns
people.
These eighteen human beings, some
crying, Others laughing, and among
them an idiotic girl suffering from a
scrofulous disease who jabbered and
grinned, were paupers, and they were,
under the law of the State, to be sold
for the term of one year to the high
est bidder. For the past two weeks
the county papers had teemed with
advertisements which announced the
sale under an order of court of jus
tice and for the past two or three days
the families and others, attracted by
the announcement, had come pouring
in stage coaches and country wagons,
over the mountains and through the
dells, for st. George has, as yet, no
railway connection. The majority of
the corners sought the buildings,
yclept hotels, where they regaled
themselves with home made, and, it is
limited in some cases, ''moonshine''
whiskey, while they discussed the
points" of the unfortunates whose
poverty made them chattels for barter
for sale, as though they were SO many
dogs or cows.
Promptly at ten o'clock the crowd
gathered in front of the court house
and inspected the paupers, while the
town boys on the outskirts OF the
throng jeered and tormented the un-
fortunates, this being taken as mat
ter of course and something that no
person thought of stopping. Present
ly the sheriff of the county mounted
the horse block, the relic of the dark
days of slavery in ante-bellum times,
and read 1.-The order of the court, s"
which decreed that for the term of one
year the paupers of the county should
be sold to the highest bidder Then
the auctioneer, a stout, jolly-faced in
dividual, mounted the block and made
g jesting remark, which caused the
crowd to roar with laughter, an
nounced that the goods are divided
into two classes, able-bodied and in
valids," and asked for bids.
The first to step upon the block was
an old man seventy years of age.
Turning him around for the better in.
spection of the bidders, the auctioneer
began. Now gentlemen said he,
here you have a fine man. He is
sound, solid and gentle as a kitten.
He is good for big days work. How
much am I offered?" The old fellow
looked anxiously at the crowd of bid
ders as the amounts offered were out
bid. Finally he was sold to a man
named John Anderson for $50, who,
after paying his money, took the old
fellow, who looked sad and weary,
and sighed heavily as he went away.
Among the group of paupers was a
beautiful little girl of ten years, who
cried bitterly because she had to leave
the family to whom she had been sold
the previous year. She had neither
father or mother, or, if she had, they
had thrown her adrift when ansinfant.
Perhaps she was the child of shame,
and mayhap her relatives stood among
the jesting throng of people who in
spected her points" as she stepped
upon the block and was put up for
sale by the jolly auctioneer. She had
not even a name, and the auctioneer
facetiously dubbed her Sally" where
at his listeners laughed immoderately.
She sold for $3.50, and shocking as it
may appear, strange it may seem to
Northern ears and hearts, her pur-
chaser was a minister of the gospel, a
man known as one of the chosen few,
Gods elect, whose duty it is to minis
ter to the spiritual wants of the peo-
pie. He is a good man, no doubt, and
the child will be gently and tenderly
treated; but the hard fact remains
that preacher of the holy lessons
taught by the death of Jesus Christ to
redeem the world, purchased this
child, this human being, for the term