The family of Primus, plantation carpenter, consisting of Daphney his
wife, with her young babe, and Dido, a girl of three years old, were
reached in due course of time. Daphney had a large shawl, which she
kept carefully wrapped round her infant and herself. This unusual
proceeding attracted much attention, and provoked many remarks, such as
these:
"What do you keep your nigger covered up for? Pull off her blanket."
"What's the matter with the gal? Has she got the headache?"
"What's the fault of the gal? Ain't she sound? Pull off her rags and
let us see her."
"Who's going to bid on that nigger, if you keep her covered up. Let's
see her face."
And a loud chorus of similar remarks, emphasized with profanity, and
mingled with sayings too indecent and obscene to be even hinted at
here, went up from the crowd of chivalrous Southern gentlemen.
At last the auctioneer obtained a hearing long enough to explain that
there was no attempt to practise any deception in the case--the parties
were not to be wronged in any way; he had no desire to palm off on
them an inferior article; but the truth of the matter was that Daphney
had been confined only fifteen days ago, and he thought that on that
account she was entitled to the slight indulgence of a blanket, to keep
from herself and child the chill air and the driving rain.
Will your lady readers look at the circumstances of this case? The day
was the 2d day of March. Daphney's baby was born into the world on St.
Valentine's happy day, the 14th of February.
Since her confinement, Daphney had traveled from the plantation to
Savannah, where she had been kept in a shed for six days. On the sixth
or seventh day after her sickness, she had left her bed, taken a
railroad journey across the country to the shambles, was there exposed
for six days to the questionings and insults of the negro speculators,
and then on the fifteenth day after her confinement was put up on the
block, with her husband and her other child, and, with her new-born
baby in her arms, sold to the highest bidder.
It was very considerate of Daphney to be sick before the sale, for her
wailing babe was worth to Mr. Butler all of a hundred dollars. The
family sold for $625 a-piece, or $2,500 for the four.