GOLD FEVER Part Three. Ken Salter
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shortly. He had been saving money for two years in order to purchase a wife. He thought he had enough to buy one from the ship. I asked him how did it work. He said the women would be sold at a special auction. He would have to bid against other Chinese. He said the rich merchants would get the prettiest ones, but thought he’d have a chance to get a plain one if there were enough women. He was even willing to take a young girl, if necessary, as they would be cheaper. I asked him did white men ever attend these auctions. He said usually not in person; they would hire a Chinese agent to bid for them. They’d go to the dock with the agent when the ship arrived and point out which girls were of interest. Since Sam Sung, that was his Americanized name, would be attending the auction, I asked if I might come along. I said I could maybe use a girl to help in the kitchen. Sam said he could bid for me if one caught my eye.” Antonio paused to refill our wine glasses before continuing. Manon nodded politely to go on with his tale.
“Sam came and got me when the telegraph announced the arrival of the boat he was waiting for. We rushed down to the Broadway Wharf. There was already a throng of excited Chinese jabbering animatedly. The ship docked and after the customs officers left, about 30 girls and a few young women were herded off the ship into waiting wagons . . .”
“Were you able to see their faces?” Manon interjected.
“Not really. They were all dressed in what looked like black pajamas and loose fitting tunics. Most hid their faces and in the few glimpses we got, they looked scared. The Chinese on the dock ran after the carts and we followed. The carts stopped at a Chinese temple we call a Joss House and the girls were led to a basement room the Spanish call a barracoon. They stopped me at the door, but Sam told them he was bidding for me and my rich boss who wanted a pretty mistress. I was surprised to see the selling room was already full of richly dressed Chinese merchants and women who had not been at the wharf. They were seated on elegantly upholstered chairs facing the selling platform while we had to stand at the back . . .”
Manon interrupted. “You said there were Chinese women there too? Anyone you recognized?”
“Well, now you mention it, the Chinese woman who attended your gala restaurant opening was there as well as a few other women.”
“You’re sure it was Ah Toy?”
“Well, it was the woman who came with the white man to your restaurant opening. I’m sure of that.”
“Did she buy any girls?”
“Yes, she bought two of the prettiest ones.”
Manon indicated to continue.
“The girls were led out of the holding room one by one and had to mount the platform. A bearded Chinese that Sam said was a doctor removed the girl’s clothes and examined her like they do at the horse and cattle auctions. After checking teeth and even her privates, he would yell something in Chinese that Sam said meant the girl was healthy and fit. Then the auctioneer cried out something in a high-pitched voice that Sam said was an offering price. If it was accepted, she was sold. With the really pretty girls, there was spirited bidding before she was sold.”
“How much did the attractive ones go for?” Manon asked.
“One went as high as $1,000, but most for between $500 and $750. Sam bid his $300 three times before he was successful. He got an undernourished sixteen year old peasant girl with big feet and crooked teeth. He was just happy to finally get someone to cook for him and do his laundry.”
“So how did the transaction occur? Did money change hands?”
“It was kind of strange. The successful bidder put bills or gold coins into the girl’s hands and she gave them to the seller. Then they had her put her mark on a piece of paper which the buyer took. The girl then picked up her clothes and went back into the holding room.”
“Do you know what the paper said? Was it a bill of sale?” Manon asked with some interest. I was sure she would check out with Hawthorne whether this transfer was legal in American law.
“I saw the one Sam got. It was written in Chinese and English. The English part was a bill of sale and had the selling price and the girl’s mark on it.” I was surprised Manon didn’t call him out about his own bill of sale at this point.
“So tell me about the girl you bought,” Manon asked sweetly.
Antonio refilled his glass and gulped most of it down at once. Manon was getting to the nitty-gritty. “Well, I was unsure what I wanted to do. I knew we could use a food prep girl but I was hesitant to buy one. They had already sold some really pretty girls who had tried to hide their faces and cover their privates and then they brought out a girl who seemed more relaxed and looked at the audience to see who would be bidding and didn’t seem too upset by the process, I thought she might work out for me.” Antonio said sheepishly.
“So, what did you do?” Manon said calmly.
“I told Sam to bid for her. It all happened real fast. The auctioneer called out a price; Sam responded. Then someone up front hollered out something and Sam countered. Then the bidding was over. Sam said ‘you got her. Give me $700 to pay the seller.’ I was a bit dumbstruck. I fumbled in my wallet and wrote a bank draft for the money. Sam gave it to the girl and she gave it to the seller and put her mark on the bill of sale like all the others.” Antonio paused to gulp more wine and could not meet Manon’s now glaring eyes.
“So, just like that you bought a slave girl like the southerners buy their slaves. What’s her name?”
“I call her Lillie. Sam said her name was Fong something,” Antonio replied reluctantly.
“Does Lillie speak Italian or any other language you speak?” Antonio was now fidgeting.
“No, I’m trying to teach her Italian but it’s not easy,” Antonio said nervously as it was now apparent Manon was going to push him step by step onto the skewer she’d devised.
“So, she can’t very well work in the kitchen if she can’t communicate, can she?”
“Well, she’s bound to learn,” Antonio said defensively.
“So, you keep her on the ship, yes?” We could both sense Manon was moving in for the kill.
“Yes.”
“And her primary purpose is to warm your bed and fulfill your sexual needs, yes,” Antonio was very uncomfortable now and nodded “yes.”
“And do you share her with your friends?” Antonio jerked his head up and shook it “no.”
“What are you going to do when you get her pregnant? Keep the kid? Send her to a back-alley abortionist? Sell her to your friend Sam or another?”
“I hadn’t thought about any of this.”
“Well, as a slave owner you have responsibilities, don’t you? What does your uncle think of your actions?”
Antonio seemed taken off balance by Manon’s shift to Luigi’s opinion of him. “He’s upset and unhappy with me.”
“What about your friends? Do they want to buy a sex doll too?”
“You just don’t know how hard it is for us,” he said petulantly. “The nice single girls want us to marry them and the rest of them expect us to pay them. It’s not fair. I thought with Lillie I wouldn’t have to deal with these issues.”
“Is it fair to Lillie that she’s your sex slave? What happens when you tire of her? Sell her and buy a fresh one off the boat like the southern slave masters? California entered the Union as a slave-free state. What gives you the right to buy and keep a slave in a slave-free state?” Manon’s eyes and tone of voice were now harsh and piercing.
“I thought since the Chinese are allowed to do it, it’s alright.”
“You saw the customs agents come off the ship before the slaves could debark. They were paid their bribes as were the corrupt