Transcript from original newspaper article: -
SALE OF SLAVES AT NEW ORLEANS.
– The New Orleans Bulletin of the 29th ultimo, says:
“Passing through the Arcade Saloon, we noticed at one of the auction stands, a negro girl up for sale, and around a closely packed crowed that appeared to be deeply interested in what was going on. Curiosity let us to pause and inquire what was the cause of the apparent excitement. The bids were going on in a spirited manner, and generally at an advanced on only five dollars a bid, and at every bid the eyes of the crowd would quickly turn in the direction whence the bed proceeded, the interest and the excitement being in the meantime, upon the increase. The girl, a bright, intelligent mulatress*, about fourteen years old, was evidently not indifferent to what was transpiring. There was a moisture in her eyes, but they assumed an expression which indicated that she felt some anxiety in regard to the result of the sale, which is not generally the case.
As the bids reached near a thousand dollars, the excitement became intense, and as that figure was called, a spontaneous hiss was heard from one end of the room to the other, followed by a vehement shout of ‘Turn him out!’ ‘Turn him out!’
A rush was made for the door, the hammer had fallen, and the girl also, into the arms of – her mother, who had become her purchaser. –
The explanation of it all was that the woman had been freed by her owner, and had earned money enough to buy her child, the mulatress in question, and being a very valuable servant, several persons were anxious to obtain her, but all of them, with one exception, had pledged the mother that they would not bid against her, and they honorably kept their faith. It was the conduct of this one, who was bidding against the mother, which so excited and exasperated the crowed on the occasion. The man made good his escape, fortunately so for him, we think, as we heard sundry expression about lynching, &c., as the crowd came back to talk over the matter. The mother was so much affected by the joy of having succeeded in retaining possession of her child that she swooned away, and was carried out of the saloon. We may add that the sale was a necessary sale, and was not designed to be any thing more than nominal, and nobody intended that the mother should be deprived of her child.”
DEFINITIONS
*Mulatress is a female of mixed race with one parent being a Creole** and the other an African American (Black).
**Creole are often people descended from or culturally related to the original French settlers of the southern United States, especially Louisiana.
RELEVANT LINKS
Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New-York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and Rescued in 1853. See History Matters for a short extract.