son he kept a nigger trade office over in Hamburg."

"Oh yes, we remember--the old brick building."

"Yas'm, dat it. Well, all de colored people whut gonner be sold was kept
dere. Den dey brung 'em over to de market and put 'em up fer sale.
Anybody fixin' to buy 'em, 'zamines 'em to see if day all right. Looks
at de teef to tell 'bout de age."

Laura Steward, who was a slave in a Baptist preacher's family in Augusta
told some interesting things about slave sales here: "Slaves were sold
at the Augusta market, in spite of what white ladies say." She stated
that there was a long house with porches on Ellis between 7th and 8th,
where a garage now stands. In this building slaves were herded for
market. "Dey would line 'em up like horses or cows," said Laura, "and
look in de mouf at dey teef; den dey march 'em down togedder to market
in crowds, first Tuesday sale day."

Old Mary used to live on the Roof plantation with her mother, while her
father lived on a nearby plantation. She said her father tried for a
long time to have his owner buy his wife and children, until finally,
"One day Mr. Tom Perry sont his son-in-law to buy us in. You had to get
up on what they called the block, but we just stood on some steps. The
bidder stood on the ground and called out the prices. There was always a
speculator at the sales. We wus bought all right and moved over to the
Perry place. I had another young marster there. He had his own hands and
didn't sell them at all. Wouldn't none of us been sold from the Roof
place, except for my father beggin' Mr. Perry to buy us, so we wouldn't
be separated."

Susannah Wyman of the Freeman plantation in South Carolina said, "Once
de Marster tried to sell my brudder and anodder youngster fer a pair o'
mules, and our Mistis said, 'No! You don' sell my chillun for no mules!'
And he didn't sell us neider. They never sold anybody off our
plantation. But people did sell women, old like I am now--or if they
didn't have no chillun. The fus' spec-lator come along and wants to buy
'em, he kin have 'em. De Marster say, 'Bring me han's in. I want
han's!'"

Eugene Smith, who used to belong to Mr. Steadman Clark of Augusta said,
"I read in the papers where a lady said slaves were never sold here in
Augusta at the old market, but I saw 'em selling slaves myself. They put
'em up on something like a table, bid 'em off just like you would do
horses or cows. Dere wus two men. I kin recollect. I know one was call
M