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who are a tax upon them. Most of these persons alledge their entire inability to support these destitute freedmen any longer

The rates of compensation for labor in this county are moderate, but the Farmers plead their extreme poverty and inability to pay higher wages. The average rate of compensation is five dollars per month besides food house rent and fuel and often a garden spot is allowed in addition

The Freedmen seem ambitious to earn their own living and there are none in the county who are unemployed that are able to work. Many of them remain with their former owners without written contract as they have mutual confidence in each other. I have endeavored to inform myself as to the nature of the agreements in these cases, and as far as I have been  
able to discover, they were more liberal than the majority of contracts.

There has been but few cases brought to my notice, where the Freedmen have been abused. I think this is owing to a wholesome fear of the Bureau as there is a disposition among many to tyrannize over the Freedmen and treat them with greater vigor than when the latter were in bondage 
I have heard of several instances when irresponsible persons have employed freedmen

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-21 11:43:08 to correct the last word.. although there is no dash, the next page has a dash, indicating the word was supposed to be one, in which case, SI asks that FULL WORDS be on both pages. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-22 23:15:43