THE SENHOR'S BIRTHDAY.
The anniversary of the master's birthday is to the slave a day of joy and feasting; he is provided with carne soca, (dried meat,) and sometimes presented with an allowance of cachaça. Every thing, then, mounts into paroxysm—the contortions of the dancers, the beating of drums, and the shouts of the young negroes. The cries of Vivo o senhor! Viva a senhora! (Long live the master! Long live the mistress!) alone interrupt the indescribable fantasias of the orchestra and the fearful tumult of the dance.
DOMESTICS—PUNISHMENTS.
Such is ordinarily negro-life on the plantations. Some lead a more gentle existence—such, for instance, as the master has attached to his personal service. Their condition is almost the same as that of European domestics. If they commit a fault that demands corporal punishment, they slip away before they are caught, and run to a neighboring fazenda, where they know some friend or relative of their master, and beg him to intercede (apadrinhar) for them. These favors are never refused, no matter what may have been the antecedents of the supplicant. The fazendeiro first reads him a lesson of morality proportioned to the gravity of the offence, and after admonishing him that he must never come to him again, he ends by giving him an apologetic letter to his master. Armed with this talisman, the delinquent fearlessly presents himself; for a request of forgiveness, even from an inferior, is sacred to the Brazilian. But, unfortunately, as there is always a way of getting around a difficulty, it often happens that the master, after having read the letter, says to the negro: 'I will forgive you, at the senhor's request, the hundred strokes of the whip (chicote) that you so richly deserve; but as you are a very bad fellow I cannot keep you any longer in the house, and you must join your comrades on the plantation.' This is the most terrible punishment to a slave, for field-life possesses all the horrors of slavery without affording any of its benefits.
Punishments may be divided into three classes. Slight faults are expiated by a few strokes of the ferule on the palm of the hand; a dozen blows is the minimum. This punishment is especially applied to women and children. The chicote, or whip, is used for serious offences and robust men. The object of punishment is firmly secured to a post and surrounded by his comrades, who are present at the infliction in order to add solemnity to the scene and to receive themselves salutary impressions for the future. A large negro or mulatto performs the duties of execution. At each blow he stops to take breath, and allows the sufferer to utter a sharp cry, followed by a prolonged groan. More than one hundred strokes are seldom given at a time. If the punishment is very severe, the remainder is put off till the next day or the day following. When a large number of lashes have been inflicted, and the executioner has a strong arm, it is sometimes necessary to carry the poor wretch to the hospital and dress his wounds. Lastly, there is the carcere duro for old offenders. It is ordinarily a cell (tronco) where the culprit is kept motionless, his feet and hands being firmly fixed to posts. This punishment is not greatly practised, especially during the day, for it is important not to keep the black from his labor. He is therefore only shut up during the night, and a dose of the chicote administered in the morning or evening, either after or before incarceration, takes the place of confinement in the daytime.
Too frequent recourse to the lash, (tocador,) it must be confessed, is not had, especially among the small proprietors, who may at any moment be obliged to sell their slaves. The bastinado leaves marks on the back and shoulders, and it is upon these parts of the body that the purchaser reads the character of the negro.
