The Race-course at Savannah is situated about three miles from the
city, in a pleasant spot, nearly surrounded by woods. As it rained
violently during the two days of the sale, the place was only
accessible by carriages, and the result was, that few attended but
actual buyers, who had come from long distances, and could not afford
to lose the opportunity. If the affair had come off in Yankee land,
there would have been a dozen omnibuses running constantly between
the city and the Race-course, and some speculator would have bagged
a nice little sum of money by the operation. But nothing of the kind
was thought of here, and the only gainers were the livery stables, the
owners of which had sufficient Yankeeism to charge double and treble
prices.
The conveniences for getting to the ground were so limited that there
were not enough buyers to warrant the opening of the sale for an hour
or two after the advertised time. They dropped in, however, a few at a
time, and things began to look more encouragingly for the seller.
The negroes looked more uncomfortable than ever; the close confinement
in-doors for a number of days, and the drizzly, unpleasant weather,
began to tell on their condition. They moved about more listlessly,
and were fast losing the activity and springiness they had at first
shown. This morning they were all gathered into the long room of the
building erected as the "Grand Stand" of the Race-course, that they
might be immediately under the eye of the buyers. The room was about
a hundred feet long by twenty wide, and herein were crowded the poor
creatures, with much of their baggage, awaiting their respective calls
to step upon the block and be sold to the highest bidder. This morning
Mr. Pierce Butler appeared among his people, speaking to each one, and
being recognized with seeming pleasure by all. The men obsequiously
pulled off their hats and made that indescribable sliding hitch with
the foot which passes with a negro for a bow; and the women each
dropped the quick curtsy, which they seldom vouchsafe to any other than
their legitimate master and mistress. Occasionally, to a very old or
favorite servant, Mr. Butler would extend his gloved hand, which mark
of condescension was instantly hailed with grins of delight from all
the sable witnesses.
The room in which the sale actually took place immediately adjoined the
room of the negroes, and communicated with it by two large doors. The
sale room was open to the air on one side, commanding a view of the
entire Course. A small platform was raised about two feet and a-half
high, on which were placed the desks of the entry clerks, leaving room
in front of them for the auctioneer and the goods.
At about 11 o'clock the business men took their places, and announced
that the sale would begin. Mr. Bryan, the Negro Broker, is a dapper
little man, wearing spectacles and a yachting hat, sharp and sudden
in his movements, and perhaps the least bit in the world obtrusively
officious--as earnest in his language as he could be without actual
swearing, though acting much as if he would like to swear a little
at the critical moment; Mr. Bryan did not sell the goods, he merely
superintended the operation, and saw that the entry clerks did their
duty properly. The auctioneer proper was a Mr. Walsh, who deserves a
word of description. In personal appearance he is the very opposite of
Mr. Bryan, being careless in his dress instead of scrupulous, a large
man instead of a little one, a fat man instead of a lean one, and a
good-natured man instead of a fierce one. He is a rollicking old boy,
with an eye ever on the look-out, and that never lets a bidding nod
escape him; a hearty word for every bidder who cares for it, and plenty
of jokes to let off when the business gets a little slack. Mr. Walsh
has a florid complexion, not more so, perhaps, than is becoming, and
possibly not more so than is natural in a whiskey country. Not only is
his face red, but his skin has been taken off in spots by blisters of
some sort, giving him a peely look; so that, taking his face all in
all, the peeliness and the redness combined, he looks much as if he
had been boiled in the same pot with a red cabbage.
Mr. Walsh mounted the stand and announced the terms of the sale,
"one-third cash, the remainder payable in two equal annual instalments,
bearing interest from the day of sale, to be secured by approved
mortgage and personal security, or approved acceptances in Savannah,
Ga., or Charleston, S. C. Purchasers to pay for papers." The buyers,
who were present to the number of about two hundred, clustered around
the platform; while the negroes, who were not likely to be immediately
wanted, gathered into sad groups in the back-ground, to watch the
progress of the selling in which they were so sorrowfully interested.
The wind howled outside, and through the open side of the building the
driving rain came pouring in; the bar down stairs ceased for a short
time its brisk trade; the buyers lit fresh cigars, got ready their
catalogues and pencils, and the first lot of human chattels was led
upon the stand, not by a white man, but by a sleek mulatto, himself a
slave, and who seems to regard the selling of his brethren, in which he
so glibly assists, as a capital joke. It had been announced that the
negroes would be sold in "families," that is to say, a man would not
be parted from his wife, or a mother from a very young child. There is
perhaps as much policy as humanity in this arrangement, for thereby
many aged and unserviceable people are disposed of, who otherwise would
not find a ready sale.