CREOLE NEGROES. 



221 



the negro entirely precludes him from aspiring 

 to. In law all persons who are not white, and 

 are born free, class equally ; manumitted slaves 

 are placed upon the same footing as persons born 

 free. However, although the few exclusions 

 which exist against the negroes are degrading, 

 still in some instances they are befriended by 

 them. They are unable, owing to their colour, 

 to serve in the regiments of the line, or in any 

 regiments excepting those which are exclusively 

 their own ; but by means of this regulation they 

 escape the persecutions under which the other 

 casts suffer during the time of recruiting. The 

 officers and men of the Henrique regiments are 

 so united to each other, that the privates and 

 subalterns are less liable to be oppressed by any 

 white man in office even than the soldiers of the 

 mulatto regiments. Of these latter the officers, 

 having a considerable tinge of white, sometimes 

 lean towards the wishes of the capitam-mor, or 

 some other rich white officer, instead of protect- 

 ing his soldiers. 



The men whose occupation it is to apprehend 

 runaway negroes are, almost without exception, 

 Creole blacks ; they are called capitaens-do-campo, 

 captains of the field ; and are subject to a capi- 

 tam-mor-do-campo who resides in Recife, and 

 they receive their commissions either from the 

 governor or from this officer. By these they are 



