﻿94 
  HisTOKY 
  OF 
  Durham. 
  

  

  merchants, 
  who 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  habit 
  of 
  keeping 
  annual 
  ac- 
  

   counts 
  with 
  the 
  phinters, 
  furnishing 
  them 
  with 
  plantation 
  

   supplies, 
  and 
  making 
  settlements 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  year. 
  

   The 
  war 
  effectually 
  destroyed 
  this 
  system. 
  Neither 
  mer- 
  

   chant 
  nor 
  farmer 
  could 
  wait 
  a 
  whole 
  year. 
  The 
  capital 
  of 
  

   the 
  first 
  could 
  not 
  endure 
  it; 
  the 
  credit 
  of 
  the.other 
  was 
  de- 
  

   stroyed 
  by 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  his 
  slave 
  property. 
  He 
  was 
  compelled 
  

   to 
  live, 
  as 
  it 
  were, 
  from 
  hand 
  to' 
  mouth. 
  He 
  had 
  to 
  make 
  

   frequent 
  small 
  sales 
  to 
  meet 
  family 
  necessities, 
  to 
  pay 
  his 
  

   laborers 
  or 
  to 
  pay 
  his 
  taxes. 
  He 
  liad 
  to 
  find 
  a 
  market 
  often. 
  

   This 
  demand 
  was 
  met 
  by 
  the 
  opening 
  of 
  sales 
  houses 
  at 
  

   points 
  on 
  railroads 
  principally, 
  because 
  on 
  railroads 
  could 
  

   more 
  readily 
  be 
  met 
  the 
  requisitions 
  of 
  the 
  revenue 
  service, 
  

   the 
  ready 
  and 
  convenient 
  supply 
  of 
  stamps 
  being 
  essential 
  

   to 
  manufacturers, 
  and 
  these 
  becoming 
  the 
  great 
  patrons 
  of 
  

   the 
  warehouses. 
  Tlie 
  two 
  have 
  become 
  indispensable 
  com- 
  

   plements 
  of 
  each 
  other, 
  as 
  illustrated 
  by 
  Danville, 
  Durham, 
  

   Reidsville, 
  Winston, 
  Henderson, 
  Oxford, 
  and 
  other 
  points, 
  

   the 
  centres 
  of 
  the 
  tobacco 
  industry. 
  

  

  The 
  warehouses 
  are 
  invariably 
  large 
  buildings 
  with 
  great 
  

   floor 
  capacity, 
  and 
  perfectly 
  lighted 
  by 
  ample 
  skylights, 
  so 
  

   that 
  thu 
  color 
  and 
  quality 
  of 
  the 
  tobacco 
  are 
  faithfully 
  ex- 
  

   posed. 
  The 
  tobacco, 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  wagons, 
  where 
  it 
  had 
  

   been 
  packed 
  down 
  while 
  in 
  " 
  good 
  order," 
  is 
  carefully 
  placed 
  

   in 
  piles, 
  after 
  having 
  been 
  weighed, 
  each 
  pile 
  of 
  uniform 
  

   grade. 
  A 
  tag 
  fixed 
  upon 
  a 
  cleft 
  stick 
  is 
  placed 
  upon 
  each 
  

   pile, 
  on 
  which 
  is 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  owner 
  of 
  the 
  tobacco, 
  and 
  

   also 
  the 
  weight. 
  At 
  the 
  hour 
  of 
  sale, 
  outcry 
  is 
  made 
  at 
  each 
  

   pile, 
  the 
  price 
  bid 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  tag, 
  and 
  also 
  entered 
  upon 
  

   a 
  book, 
  and 
  so 
  until 
  the 
  whole 
  is 
  sold. 
  A 
  planter, 
  dissatisfied 
  

   with 
  a 
  bid, 
  is 
  entitled 
  to 
  "take 
  in 
  " 
  his 
  tobacco. 
  The 
  com- 
  

   pensation 
  of 
  the 
  warehousemen 
  is 
  a 
  commission 
  of 
  from 
  2^ 
  

   to 
  3 
  per 
  cent, 
  on 
  sales. 
  Where 
  there 
  are 
  several 
  warehouses 
  

   in 
  a 
  market, 
  by 
  arrangement 
  each 
  one 
  is 
  entitled 
  to 
  the 
  first 
  

   sale 
  in 
  turn. 
  In 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  markets 
  the 
  sales 
  are 
  held 
  

   daily 
  except 
  in 
  the 
  duller 
  months 
  of 
  the 
  season. 
  

  

  The 
  six 
  warehouses 
  formerly 
  occupied 
  here 
  have 
  been 
  

   converged 
  into 
  three 
  of 
  the 
  largest 
  and 
  best 
  arranged 
  houses 
  

   of 
  the 
  kind 
  in 
  North 
  Carolina, 
  which 
  annually 
  sell 
  from 
  

   twelve 
  to 
  fifteen 
  million 
  pounds 
  of 
  tobacco, 
  which 
  is 
  distrib- 
  

   uted 
  in 
  well 
  nigh 
  every 
  hamlet, 
  town 
  and 
  city 
  on 
  the 
  globe, 
  

   and 
  the 
  factories 
  here 
  manufacture 
  from 
  eight 
  to 
  twelve 
  

   million 
  pounds 
  of 
  the 
  fragrant 
  weed 
  annually. 
  

  

  