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in the course of two weeks it has thrown me back very late in plowing with The wet weather we have had. We have had rain nearly Every week since January. Every body late with their ploughing. God only knows what will become of us this spring when grass begins to grow. We will have to depend Entirely on the Men; for the Women will not work. I will trust To Providence and do the best I can with persuasion & kind treatment. The men all do very well and seem disposed to make something for you and themselves, but they all want their wives to remain in the house I do not submit to it. I feed none Except those that work in the field those that stay in the house their husbands or parents feed them. I furnish the provision, but they pay
me for them. I assure you they shall get no advantage of me I shall need about $500 the 1st of May to pay [them?] something or them 4th so as eo enable them to get their summer clothing and have some spending money
You wish to know how you are to be paid for the shoes Col. Jones paid Mr Carson for they were bought for the Negroes last year (1865.) When we agreed to furnish their shoes clothes &c after the surrender. You put your cotton in Col. Jones hand I fully entended paying for them myself without drawing on Miss Stewart & Co as I did not think you wanted your cotton drawn on for little debts. Just assume I shall do the best I can for you. Write soon and often. My best Wishes to you & family.
I am Truly yours Willson. O'Berry
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11th March 1866 Tunica County Miss.
Mr. Duncan Cameron Care P.C. Cameron Edq Hillsboro, N.C.
Dear Duncan
Your letter of the 24th Feby. reached us yesterday & was a very agreeable surprise, your handwriting has improved so much that I did not recognise it & was at a loss to know who could be addressing me as brother, for I knew it was none of the girls & if you will take a suggestion from me on the subject I think you can make your hand an excellent one for business purposes. I think you use too many flourishes - a mans handwriting should be as plain as it is possible to make it in order that it may be read rapidly & easily - & flourishes interfere with this very much. We are getting on pretty well out here in the back woods but I find there is a great deal more to do than I at first thought the old logs have never been cleared up since the negroes were removed from the place & many of them are very large & heavy, my force too is so small that it is very hard work to roll them up. I am doing all I can to help with my oxen but it is very slow work & at last I shall have to leave
a good many untouched - all my ditches have filled up & I have not time to get them properly opened in order to secure dry land to work. but with all these difficulties I feel confident of moderate success & we are all happy & contented with too much to do to have any time to waste in thinking about the past. Judge Wright informs me that he has gotten me a man (a yankee) who has agreed to furnish me more hands & I expect them this week so that I may perhaps soon be able to do better than I am now doing - the agreement between us is that the man is to furnish me any number of hands from 10 to 20 that I may may choose & receive a certain per cent of the net proceeds of the cotton crop as yet I do not know how much for I left that with the Judge Wright & have not yet heard from him about it. The Mississippi is up again & some think it will not go down again till mid-summer Indian creek is over its banks & there is a good deal of water in the low grounds near our house but not enough to interfere with my operations at all as yet. Some of my neighbours I hear can not plow or do any thing else. I killed 10 small hogs the other day which gave me 1000 pounds more of meat which was a great gain