As such, the body of the fugitive is often misshapen or ugly. Louis Lessant, for example, a Louisiana slave aged about thirty years, is described as an 'extremely ugly' (extrêmement laid) character, and 'a bit stooped' (un peu vouté) (Le Moniteur de la Louisiane, 3 June 1807). Michel, an 'English' slave also living in Louisiana, is said to have 'really ugly legs' (les jambes fort vilaines) with 'big knees, misshapen feet, very thick ankles and pinched toes' (genoux gros $\mathcal{E}$ pieds difformes, la cheville très-grosse, $\mathcal{E}$ le bout fort-serré) (Le Moniteur de la Louisiane, 9 March 1808). In the case of Bob, a Jamaican slave who fled from Clarendon Parish in 1809, his 'ugliness' was due to having been kicked by a horse: 'a remarkably ugly fellow, has a scar from the kick of a horse, on one side of his face' (The Saint Jago de la Vega Gazette, 25 March 1809). Others had marks on their skin, probably from smallpox. Quaco, for instance, a Carolina slave the subject of a notice in February 1802, was said to be 'remarkably ugly, pitted deep with the small pox, very thick lips, a large and very flat nose' (City Gazette, 23 February 1802). By insisting on Quaco's ugliness when the mere mention of smallpox scars would have sufficed to describe his face, his master Charles Colcock was doing more than merely announcing the flight of his slave. He gave an image of him that was almost monstrous and altogether revolting. He was thus emphasizing the distance that separated them, relegating the destabilizing effect of his escape to the background.