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The conductors often left a number of signs for the slaves to follow so they didn't go to houses that belonged to allies of the slave owners. A quilt on the clothesline showing the picture of a house with smoke coming out of the chimney was a sign of a safe station. A white ring of bricks around the top of a house's chimney was another sign of a good hiding spot. Shops that were safe often had a figure of a running man or woman on its sign. Other signs were used to guide the slaves, too. The slaves had certain knocks they would use when approaching a house, animal calls, and lights hung in windows.
When a slave was moving to the next house along the railroad, this was called "catching the next train. " (Blockson, p. 57) A lot of the terms come from things found along railroads. This is because real railroads at this time were the newest thing and happened to be the topic of choice for conversation. This made it all the easier for the helpers of the railroad to communicate while going unnoticed. The slaves often walked in zigzag patterns so they would be less likely to be captured. The people of the North that were willing to help made up some elaborate disguises for the slaves.
Men were dressed as women, women were dressed as men, slave's would exchange clothes for those of a colored rich man that was free to disguise the true identity of the slave when seen in public. There were also some slaves that traveled the road. Some would go by foot, in a carriage, or in a wagon usually containing a fake bottom making a tiny space where slaves could travel, unnoticed to freedom. Some traveled on "surface lines, " the actual railroads of this time. Lightly colored slaves would dress as whites, and others would be put in with the luggage and freight. Some of the more daring folk would actually travel as baggage.
Henry "Box" Brown was one of those people. He made the long trip to freedom in a large box labeled "this side up, " and "Fragile. " (Blockson, p. 62) In Spanish America, some slaves escaped and went to Native American groups. The groups would welcome the slaves as one of the tribe. Other escapees would travel unclaimed territory or secluded areas where they formed free societies. These movements by the slaves were giving the nearby settlers a threat, like in the British, French, Danish, and Dutch territories. The runaway slaves would eventually wed with those in the tribe.
Specific groups who were well known for doing this were the Creeks and the Muscogee tribes. These groups eventually developed the name Seminoles. This is the Native American word for runaway. This took place with hundreds of slaves. They would join the Seminoles and live with them. Runaways would seldom come up with a complicated escape plans since flights on the railroad would occur at random.
They would commonly go on weekends, holidays, and / or during harvest season. This would help them out by giving them a two-day start even before the authorities sent out to hunt for them. If for any reason they couldn't get to a conductors house, they would take shelter in nearby caves, swamps, hills, and trenches. In 1850, Congress passed the Compromise of 1850 to try to settle the differences between the North and South. (Gara, p. 132) The Compromise consisted of the declaration that demanded the return of runaways.
It also stated that federal and state officials as well as citizens had to help to capture them. This created the problem that the Northern states weren't safe for runaways any longer. This law even put the status of free black men at risk. Slave catchers would then frequently kidnap free black men and sell them into bondage. Places in major urban centers were no longer safe for runaways. While the United States was consumed with the Civil War, the Underground Railroad was at full force.
The slaves would escape and take refuge in Union lines. Immediately after the war ended, the Underground Railroad did, too. This was due to the passing of the 13 th amendment into the United States Constitution, which freed over four million enslaved African Americans. (Gara, p. 167)
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Research essay sample on Underground Railroad Native American
