MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 



411 



white blood J although that with 

 which they are filled proceeds 

 from Indian and negro sources. 

 Those only who can have no pre- 

 tensions to a mixture of blood, 

 call themselves negroes, which 

 renders the individuals who do 

 pass imder this denomination much 

 attached to each otlier, from the 

 impossibility of being mistaken for 

 members of any other cast. They 

 aie of handsome persons, brave, 

 and hardy, obedient to the whites, 

 and willing to please ; but they 

 are easily affronted, and the least 

 allusion to their colour Ijeing made 

 by a person of a lighter tint, en- 

 I'ages them to a great degree ; 

 though they will sometimes say, 

 " A negro I am, but always up- 

 right." They are again distinct 

 from their brethren in slavery, 

 owing to their superior situation 

 as free men. 



The free creole negroes have 

 their exclusive regiments, as well 

 as the mulattos, of which every 

 officer and soldier must be per- 

 fectly black. There are two of 

 tliese regiments for the province 

 of Pernambuco, which consist of 

 indefinite numbers of men, who 

 are disperied all over the country. 

 'J'hese regiments are distinguished 

 from each other by the names of 

 Old Henriques and New Hen- 

 riipies. The name of Hcnritjues 

 is derived fsom the famous chief- 

 tain, Henrique Diaz, in the time 

 of the Dutch war. 1 iiave iieard 

 some of the most intelligent of 

 those with wliom 1 have conversed, 

 speak in enthusiastic terms of the 

 aid which he gave to the whites 

 in that struggle. I have seen 

 some portion of one of tliese regi- 

 ments in Recife, accompanying 

 the procession of our Lady of the 



Rosary, the patroness of negroes. 

 They were dressed in white cloth 

 uniforms, turned up with scarlet, 

 and they looked very soldier -like. 

 They were in tolerable discipline, 

 and seemed to wish to go through 

 the duty of the day in the best 

 manner that they were able ; they 

 acted with an appearance of zeal 

 and the desire of excelling. Those 

 of which I speak formed a finer 

 body of men than any other sol- 

 diers which I had an opportunity 

 of seeing in that country. On gala 

 days the supeiior black officers in 

 their white uniforms, pay their 

 respects to the governor, exactly 

 in the same manner that the per- 

 sons of any other cast, holding 

 commissions of equal rank, are 

 expected to go througli tliis form. 

 These men receive no pay, so that 

 their neat appearance on such oc- 

 casions bespeaks a certain degree 

 of wealth among them ; neither 

 are the privates nor any other 

 person belonging to these regi- 

 ments paid for their services. 

 Some of the whites rather ridicule 

 the black officers, but not in their 

 presence; and the laugh which is 

 raised against them is caused per- 

 haps by a lurking wish to prevent 

 tl.is insulted race from the display 

 of those distinctions which the go- 

 vernment has wisely conceded to 

 them, but which hurt the Euro- 

 pean ideas of supeiiority. The 

 old regiment of Henriques was, at 

 the time that I resided in J'ernam- 

 buco, without a colonel, and I 

 heard much discussion on several 

 occasions among the Creole negroes, 

 aljout the fittest peison to be ap- 

 pointed to the vacant situation. 



The Creole negioes of Recife 

 are, generally sjicaking, mechanics 

 of all descriptions ; but they have 



not 



