From the Richmond Whig, 1/3/1865, p. 1, c. 6

MAIN STREET was alive yesterday with negroes of every degree, calling, sex, age and size, seeking hirers for the coming year. The prices asked by owners for their negroes are considered high by those who have to pay the prices. Blacksmiths are hiring for $1,200; drivers $900; laborers from four to five hundred; female cooks from $300 to $500; house girls from $150 to $300. There will be trouble in many households till all the negroes now swarming about the streets are hired out.

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