There existed quite a brisk trade in slave smuggling along the southwestern borderland/ gulf coast. Lots of folks (famous names) got rich or richer at that game.
That it wouldn’t have kept up with the attrition you speak of Joebob is another debate. Who knows? But it was pretty sucessful for a number of decades.
It wasn’t enough to keep up with attrition. Slaves were well kept and cared for because they were a valuable commodity. A commodity made more valuable because of a restriction in supply caused by the 1808 ban on the slave trade. It’s kind of a paradox. The slave population was increasing, but not as fast as it would have had the slave trade been allowed and supply could keep up with demand. That artificial shortage, of course, made slaves even more valuable and tied up even more capital in them. Which of course, made them even more important to the system and made people even less likely to support emancipation. And AT THE SAME TIME the increasing number of slaves overall was becoming a problem that caused southerners to stay awake at night and worry about slave revolts.
