Thank you for the nudge, Karen. My inquiry sent a few moments ago was,

"Dear Dr. Bercaw,

Recently on the Mississippi in the Civil War board ( http://www.history-sites.com/mb/cw/mscwmb/index.cgi ), I surfaced a fairly obscure subject - tax on dogs during Reconstruction, specifically in Attala County. That came to my attention after finding it in my own great Grandfather's memoirs where he wrote, 'Every one wanted plenty of dogs. A tax was placed on dogs, two and a half dollars a head. Some of them would pay it.'

I should add that it is my opinion only that this tax occurred during reconstruction based on the context of my grandfather's manuscript in which it appeared.

During the discussion on the board, we failed to arrive at anything substantive regarding when the tax was levied, whether it was a local, county or state tax, if it was a state tax when it was legislated, what its original purpose was, whether it was a yearly tax, etc.. (Name), who I understand is known to you, highly recommended you as a person who seems able to ferret out answers to pesky questions such as these. Might you please be so kind as to consider this question when your time permits?

As I mentioned, I only know for a fact that this tax applied to dogs in Attala County. I do not know if it occurred in other counties or across the state.

Thank you for your time, Dr. Bercaw."