liarly complete system of slavery, centuries old; and now,
suddenly, violently, they come into a new birthright, at a
time of war and passion, in the midst of the stricken and
embittered population of their former masters. Any man might
well have hesitated to assume charge of such a work, with
vast responsibilities, indefinite powers, and limited resources.
Probably no one but a soldier would have answered such a call
promptly; and, indeed, no one but a soldier could be called,
for Congress had appropriated no money for salaries and
expenses.

Less than a month after the weary Emancipator passed to
his rest, his successor assigned Major-Gen. Oliver O. How-
ard to duty as Commissioner of the new Bureau. He was a
Maine man, then only thirty-five years of age. He had marched
with Sherman to the sea, had fought well at Gettysburg, and
but the year before had been assigned to the command of the
Department of Tennessee. An honest man, with too much
faith in human nature, little aptitude for business and intricate
detail, he had had large opportunity of becoming acquainted
at first hand with much of the work before him. And of that
work it has been truly said that "no approximately correct
history of civilization can ever be written which does not
throw out in bold relief, as one of the great landmarks of
political and social progress, the organization and administration
of the Freedmen's Bureau."

On May 12, 1865, Howard was appointed; and he assumed
the duties of his office promptly on the 15th, and began exam-
ining the field of work. A curious mess he looked upon: little