Bras-Coupé is the fictitious name of a

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

named Squire, who lived from the early 19th century to 1837 in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

.Wagner B (2005). Disarmed and Dangerous: The Strange Career of Bras-Coupé. ''Caliber'', University of California Press, Volume 92, Bras-Coupé was a talented

entertainer An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms. Types of entertainers * Acrobat * Actor * Archimime * Athlete * Barker * Beatboxer * Benshi * Bouffon * Circus performer * Clown * Club Hostess/Host * Comed ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

r who was allowed by his master (owner) to travel. But after numerous escape attempts, in 1834 a

planters Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentil ...

' patrol captured him and amputated his right arm as punishment. Squire ran away again and organized a gang of escaped slaves, as well as sympathetic

whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...

. The gang robbed plantations, stores, and merchants. In the three years until his death Bras-Coupé's fame grew to the point where

superhuman The term superhuman refers to humans or human-like beings with enhanced qualities and abilities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. Th ...

attributes were given to him, such as being immune to bullets. When shot by hunters in 1837, he survived. But while recuperating in the hut of a former ally,

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

Francisco García, he was

bludgeoned A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caused ...

to death with a club so that García could claim a $2,000 reward. A character named Bras Coupé with a similar life story appears in the 1880 novel '' The Grandissimes: A Story of Creole Life'' by

George Washington Cable George Washington Cable (October 12, 1844 – January 31, 1925) was an American novelist notable for the realism of his portrayals of Creole life in his native New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been called "the most important southern artist wor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bras-Coupe 1837 deaths American amputees 19th-century American slaves Deaths by beating in the United States Year of birth unknown