Free The Great Negro Plot by Mat Johnson Page A

penniless and whose humanity was seen to be of the lowest sort along the Great Chain of Being, the realities of colonial punishment
     were much more harsh. The punishments meted were physical, fast, and dramatic. That was the attraction of public torture and
     execution. Instead of taking decades to punish a convicted criminal for his crime, the matter could be over in hours. Even
     minutes.
    For non-capital offenses, the common punishment was flogging with a rod, or whipping. That would do you. This would take place
     in a public place, usually on a market day so you could get a good crowd for both the prisoner's humiliation and to serve
     as a warning to others. In one instance of the period, constables marched an insolent slave through the entire metropolis,
     giving him a lash at each intersection. Quite the tour of the city, it was. A far cry from a mere spanking, it was standard
     for a flogging to last for at least thirty-nine lashes. Death from shock or infection happened all the time. The humiliation
     alone was more than some could bear. In 1743, one sensitive would-be whipping post victim cut his own throat to avoid the
     horror of the lash.
    For many others, a pillorying was their equally morbid fate. Marched into stocks, the convicted was required to stick his
     head, hands, and sometimes feet into the wooden pillory, which was then locked down in place. This made the pilloried fairly
     accessible, not to mention vulnerable when the crowd started throwing rocks and animal shit at their head, which of course
     the onlookers did. Once the crowd had exhausted its arsenal, then came the bad part. For the finale, they cut off the convict's
     ear. This last bit was a true crowd-pleaser, provoking victorious cheers from the thrilled spectators. After that, they let
     them go. It was possible afterward to still hear in that ear-hole okay (if it didn't get infected), but still. Nobody wants
     to be known as the crooked arse with the hole in their head for the rest of their lives, do they?
    The destruction of public property was never a casual event in New York, regardless of the 1741 affair. Prior to 1750, 71
     percent of those convicted of stealing got a good flogging for their efforts. Ten percent of these thieves were killed for
     their crime. This would only get more severe as the century progressed, with 22 percent executed, 26 percent whipped, and
     28 percent branded for their crime. Even if you made it out with both ears after being caught and punished, there were often
     additional prices to pay. For example, not rarely, the letter T was burned into the thieves' forehead so that the world could see their guilt from then on.
    So Cuffee had a fairly accurate idea what awaited him if they found him guilty, and that the word if was probably an overly optimistic one. There would be little weight given to his word, and even less to his human rights.
     In fact, Cuffee would be held for eleven days before his interrogation would even begin. By then it was known that, in addition
     to his initial identification and his presumed guilt, some whites had actually stepped forward and provided favorable depositions
     as well.
    "I was working with him, all day," a young man offered. "He only left me a moment before the second fire bell, so he couldn't
     have lit the first fire."
    "How was he acting?" the investigators asked incredulously. "Was there any suspicious behavior?"
    "No, as I say, he was right here, working as always. Of course, when the first fire went up I asked him if he was going to
     help with buckets at his master's storehouse, and the Negro declined, if you can believe it."
    "He what?"
    "He said, T've had enough of being out in the morning.' Just like that, and walked off for a rest. But then, the Negroes are
     a lazy breed, you know."
    Still other witnesses had Cuffee right at his master's door before the fire bell rang. One man who'd known Cuffee for years said that the slave was right next to him, watching the