bands of lawless robbers traverse the country, and the unfortunate who
attempts to escape, or he who returns for his wife or child, is waylaid or
pursued with hounds, and shot or hung." (Accompanying document No. 22.)

In Mississippi I received information of a similar character. I would
respectfully invite your attention to two letters--one by Colonel Hayne,
1st Texas cavalry, and one by Colonel Brinkerhoff--giving interesting
descriptions of the condition of the freedmen, and the spirit of the
whites shortly after the close of the war. (Accompanying documents Nos. 23
and 24.) Lieutenant Colonel P.J. Yorke, post commander at port Gibson,
Mississippi, reported to General Davidson, on August 26, that a "county
patrol" had been organized by citizens of his sub-district, which, for
reasons given, he had been obliged to disband; one of these reasons was,
in his own language, that: "The company was formed out of what they called
picked men, _i.e._, those only who had been actually engaged in the war,
and were known as strong disunionists. The negroes in the sections of
country these men controlled were kept in the most abject slavery, and
treated in every way contrary to the requirements of General Orders No.
129, from the War Department." (Accompanying document No. 25.) As late as
September 29, Captain J.H. Weber, agent of the Freedmen's Bureau, reported
to Colonel Thomas, assistant commissioner of the bureau, in the State of
Mississippi, as follows: "In many cases negroes who left their homes
during the war, and have been within our military lines, and having
provided homes here for their families, going back to get their wives and
children, have been driven off, and told that they could not have them. In
several cases guards have been sent to aid people in getting their
families; in many others it has been impracticable, as the distance was
too great. In portions of the northern part of this district the colored
people are kept in slavery still. The white people tell them that they
were free during the war, but the war is now over, and they must go to