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Jordan Smith
Mr. Smith tells of the process of picking slaves for sale, particularly the women. He also talks about the pairing slaves for breeding.
"Sometimes a thousand slaves were waiting to be sold. When the traders know men was comin' to buy, they line the women up on one side, and the men on the other. A buyer would walk up and down between the two rows, and grab a woman and try to throw her down, to test her strength. And feel of her to see how she put up. If she purty strong, he'd say, "Is she a good breeder?" If a gal was eighteen or nineteen, and put up good, well pulled, she worth about fifteen hundred dollars. Then the buyer'd pick out a strong young slave boy about the same age, and buy him. When he got them home, he'd say to them, 'I want you two to stay together. I want young slaves.' My name is Jordan Smith."
In a related excerpt, this woman's narrative reveals one man's role as a breeding slave.
"Now, let's see. Lawd, I can't memember de numbah. My mammy tol' me often but it's hard to keep in mind. Now, dere is my mammy. My pappy have 12 chilluns by her an' 12 by Mary. Den dere is Eliza. Him have 10 by her. Dere is Mandy. Him have eight by her an' den dere is Berry. Five or six by her. Now, let me' member some mo'. Well, I can't bring de name to mind but dere is two or three wid jus' one or two chilluns. Now, how many dat make? Close to 50 chillums. My pappy am de breedin' slave."
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