Story Five The New Purchase.
Alabama 1859.
“Come on Jonathan, today is the day, we have a long journey ahead, rise and shine son.”
“Coming father, can we bring Fred?”
“Fred already knows we’re going somewhere, he’s out at the wagon waiting.” Jonathan came flying into the kitchen and nearly knocked over Fred’s food bowl. “Slow down massa Jonathan, ain’t no one goin nowhere without you,” Bessie the cook said, “Now you eats a good breakfast boy I done packed a food basket for you to take along.”
“Did you pack something for Fred?”
“That dog bees the best fed dog in Alabamy, yes siréé, that hound dog eats better than most folks around hereabouts, he shoo enough do.”
Jonathan’s mother came in. “Now Jonathan, stay close to your father at all times, there are some malicious scoundrels in Port Louis, they’d snatch a boy like you up in an instant and put you to work in the mines, now finish your breakfast and go help your father.”
Bessie brought the picnic basket out to the wagon and watched as they headed off on their two day journey to Port Louis. Fred loved to run alongside the wagon, they’d put him in the straw lined bed when he got tired.
“This is a big day for our family son, we’re coming up in the world, this new purchase will take a lot of the backbreaking work out of running our farm.”
“Did you pick up the branding iron father?”
“Yes son, our own family symbol, we’ll be able to track him if he’s ever stolen.”
“Can I name him father?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Oh I don’t know, something original, I wrote down a few names.”
“Well, we’ll see, I hope the bidding doesn’t go too high, we may come home empty handed like we did the last time, still, I have $200 more than I did then.”
Jonathan smiled. He was proud of his dad. The miles went by, they snacked on the food that Bessie had supplied, chicken legs, pork, corn on the cob, boiled potatoes, carrots, bread and a jug of spring water.
***
As they got nearer to Port Louis the road got a lot busier, farmers were coming from miles around for the public auction. A stench filled the air.
“You can tell when the ship is in dock son, That’s the smell of money.”
“It’s horrible and we’re still two miles away from port.”
“A lot of money will change hands today son, the ship owners make the most money.”
“Why does it smell so bad?”
“Well son, all animals smell bad and especially when they’ve been cooped up in a ship for a long time. A lot of them die on the journey here and the ship crews are too lazy to throw them overboard, don’t worry, they’ll clean them down and have them presentable for the auction.”
“How much are you willing to bid?”
“Well, let’s just view the merchandise first, we have to check their teeth, their ears and their general appearance son. Never take an auctioneer’s word for it that they’re young and healthy and without disease.”
“Did you bring a rope to tie him to the wagon?”
“Sure did.”
“What about food, what do they eat? Will we have to buy food for him for the journey home? When are we going to brand him?”
“Lets just view the stock first son.”
The town was buzzing with activity. Jonathan’s dad was a bit concerned. There were lots of wealthy property owners in town for the auction and they would drive up the bidding just because they could. He could be left to choose from the older stock. But a quick visit to the holding pens convinced him that there was a pretty good selection to choose from.
The bidding would start tomorrow but some of the more affluent and prosperous property owners had already made their choices, deals were being done in backrooms and saloons and right out there in public.
The rich and powerful had no shame, they controlled everything and the small farmers like Jonathan’s dad were always left with the less attractive choices. Sometimes the rich would buy up all the stock just to prevent the poorer farmers from making a purchase, and especially if the rich property owner wanted to purchase land from a particular small farmer. He’d make sure to make life as hard as possible and drive the poor farmer out of business so he could pick up his farm for a pittance.
Jonathan had seen branding done many times and despite the image of a red hot branding iron being plunged into the hide and the cries of agony, he was convinced by his dad that it was just a temporary discomfort and, that they felt no pain. Ten year old boys had no reason to question their fathers.
***
The auction day had arrived and the crowds milled around. Many were just gawkers with nothing better to do. Many were hired for the day to keep an eye on the pens to make sure none of the stock was stolen or disappeared mysteriously. Others were hired to clean up the stock, a formidable undertaking considering that the beasts had languished in their own filth for months at a time. Hence the indescribable stench from the ship, a stench that could be picked up from five miles away on a hot summer’s day.
The bidding was fast and furious. The skilled auctioneer would praise the value of the merchandise pointing out such qualities as, muscle mass, strength, the full set of teeth, the breeding potential and the years of productivity. Prospective buyers would be invited to examine the teeth, feel the firmness of the flesh by poking and prodding with a stick.
Jonathan’s dad made several bids but was outbid on each one when the bidding went beyond his limit. It was starting to look like they’d be going home empty handed again when finally his bid was the highest.
Jonathan was ecstatic and ran to the wagon where he retrieved a long rope from under the straw. Papers were signed, money exchanged hands and the purchase was recorded and finalized. Measurements and weight were also recorded before the creature was tied to the wagon for the long journey home.
“Be careful when feeding him, he may try and bite you until he gets used to you….” the auctioneer said. “Best thing you can do is take him home and give him a good whipping, just to let him know who’s boss.”
Six months later, the branding had been done, the purchase had indeed turned out to add greatly to production on the small plantation. Jonathan and his father were making another trip to Port Louis for another auction. This time they’d purchase a female to breed with the male they had previously purchased.
The breeding would commence immediately upon return and the additional female slave would also increase productivity.
Soon there would be a stock of baby slaves to further advance the plantation’s prosperity.
Slavery is as popular and as repugnant today as it ever was.
We live on a sick planet.
“Come on Jonathan, today is the day, we have a long journey ahead, rise and shine son.”
“Coming father, can we bring Fred?”
“Fred already knows we’re going somewhere, he’s out at the wagon waiting.” Jonathan came flying into the kitchen and nearly knocked over Fred’s food bowl. “Slow down massa Jonathan, ain’t no one goin nowhere without you,” Bessie the cook said, “Now you eats a good breakfast boy I done packed a food basket for you to take along.”
“Did you pack something for Fred?”
“That dog bees the best fed dog in Alabamy, yes siréé, that hound dog eats better than most folks around hereabouts, he shoo enough do.”
Jonathan’s mother came in. “Now Jonathan, stay close to your father at all times, there are some malicious scoundrels in Port Louis, they’d snatch a boy like you up in an instant and put you to work in the mines, now finish your breakfast and go help your father.”
Bessie brought the picnic basket out to the wagon and watched as they headed off on their two day journey to Port Louis. Fred loved to run alongside the wagon, they’d put him in the straw lined bed when he got tired.
“This is a big day for our family son, we’re coming up in the world, this new purchase will take a lot of the backbreaking work out of running our farm.”
“Did you pick up the branding iron father?”
“Yes son, our own family symbol, we’ll be able to track him if he’s ever stolen.”
“Can I name him father?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Oh I don’t know, something original, I wrote down a few names.”
“Well, we’ll see, I hope the bidding doesn’t go too high, we may come home empty handed like we did the last time, still, I have $200 more than I did then.”
Jonathan smiled. He was proud of his dad. The miles went by, they snacked on the food that Bessie had supplied, chicken legs, pork, corn on the cob, boiled potatoes, carrots, bread and a jug of spring water.
***
As they got nearer to Port Louis the road got a lot busier, farmers were coming from miles around for the public auction. A stench filled the air.
“You can tell when the ship is in dock son, That’s the smell of money.”
“It’s horrible and we’re still two miles away from port.”
“A lot of money will change hands today son, the ship owners make the most money.”
“Why does it smell so bad?”
“Well son, all animals smell bad and especially when they’ve been cooped up in a ship for a long time. A lot of them die on the journey here and the ship crews are too lazy to throw them overboard, don’t worry, they’ll clean them down and have them presentable for the auction.”
“How much are you willing to bid?”
“Well, let’s just view the merchandise first, we have to check their teeth, their ears and their general appearance son. Never take an auctioneer’s word for it that they’re young and healthy and without disease.”
“Did you bring a rope to tie him to the wagon?”
“Sure did.”
“What about food, what do they eat? Will we have to buy food for him for the journey home? When are we going to brand him?”
“Lets just view the stock first son.”
The town was buzzing with activity. Jonathan’s dad was a bit concerned. There were lots of wealthy property owners in town for the auction and they would drive up the bidding just because they could. He could be left to choose from the older stock. But a quick visit to the holding pens convinced him that there was a pretty good selection to choose from.
The bidding would start tomorrow but some of the more affluent and prosperous property owners had already made their choices, deals were being done in backrooms and saloons and right out there in public.
The rich and powerful had no shame, they controlled everything and the small farmers like Jonathan’s dad were always left with the less attractive choices. Sometimes the rich would buy up all the stock just to prevent the poorer farmers from making a purchase, and especially if the rich property owner wanted to purchase land from a particular small farmer. He’d make sure to make life as hard as possible and drive the poor farmer out of business so he could pick up his farm for a pittance.
Jonathan had seen branding done many times and despite the image of a red hot branding iron being plunged into the hide and the cries of agony, he was convinced by his dad that it was just a temporary discomfort and, that they felt no pain. Ten year old boys had no reason to question their fathers.
***
The auction day had arrived and the crowds milled around. Many were just gawkers with nothing better to do. Many were hired for the day to keep an eye on the pens to make sure none of the stock was stolen or disappeared mysteriously. Others were hired to clean up the stock, a formidable undertaking considering that the beasts had languished in their own filth for months at a time. Hence the indescribable stench from the ship, a stench that could be picked up from five miles away on a hot summer’s day.
The bidding was fast and furious. The skilled auctioneer would praise the value of the merchandise pointing out such qualities as, muscle mass, strength, the full set of teeth, the breeding potential and the years of productivity. Prospective buyers would be invited to examine the teeth, feel the firmness of the flesh by poking and prodding with a stick.
Jonathan’s dad made several bids but was outbid on each one when the bidding went beyond his limit. It was starting to look like they’d be going home empty handed again when finally his bid was the highest.
Jonathan was ecstatic and ran to the wagon where he retrieved a long rope from under the straw. Papers were signed, money exchanged hands and the purchase was recorded and finalized. Measurements and weight were also recorded before the creature was tied to the wagon for the long journey home.
“Be careful when feeding him, he may try and bite you until he gets used to you….” the auctioneer said. “Best thing you can do is take him home and give him a good whipping, just to let him know who’s boss.”
Six months later, the branding had been done, the purchase had indeed turned out to add greatly to production on the small plantation. Jonathan and his father were making another trip to Port Louis for another auction. This time they’d purchase a female to breed with the male they had previously purchased.
The breeding would commence immediately upon return and the additional female slave would also increase productivity.
Soon there would be a stock of baby slaves to further advance the plantation’s prosperity.
Slavery is as popular and as repugnant today as it ever was.
We live on a sick planet.
