exhibited for sale, the foreman was called to the
office by means of a bell, and an order given him to bring into the
show-room all the slaves in the establishment. This was the work of but
a few minutes, and the women were placed in a row on one side of the
room and the men on the other. Persons desirous of purchasing them
passed up and down between the lines looking the poor creatures over,
and questioning them in about the following manner: "What can you do?"
"Are you a good cook? seamstress? dairymaid?"--this to the women, while
the men would be questioned as to their line of work: "Can you plow? Are
you a blacksmith? Have you ever cared for horses? Can you pick cotton
rapidly?" Sometimes the slave would be required to open his mouth that
the purchaser might examine the teeth and form some opinion as to his
age and physical soundness; and if it was suspected that a slave had
been beaten a good deal he would be required to step into another room
and undress. If the person desiring to buy found the slave badly scarred
by the common usage of whipping, he would say at once to the foreman;
"Why! this slave is not worth much, he is all scarred up. No, I don't
want him; bring me in another to look at." Slaves without scars from
whipping and looking well physically always sold readily. They were
never left long in the yard. It was expected that all the slaves in the
yard for sale would be neatly dressed and clean before being brought
into the show-room. It was the foreman's business to see that each one
was presentable.

* * * * *

SLAVE WHIPPING AS A BUSINESS.

Whipping was done at these markets, or trader's yards, all the time.
People who lived in the city of Richmond would send their slaves here
for punishment. When any one wanted a slave whipped he would send a note
to that effect with the servant to the trader. Any petty offense on the
part of a slave was sufficient to subject the offender to this brutal
treatment. Owners who affected culture and refinement preferred to send
a servant to the yard for punishment to inflicting it themselves. It
saved them trouble, they said, and possibly a slight wear and tear of
feeling. For this service the owner was charged a certain sum for each
slave, and the earnings of the traders from this source formed a very
large part of the profits of his business. The yard I was in had a
regular whipping post to which they tied the slave, and gave him
"nine