Escaping Conflict: The Journey of the Underground Railroad

 

Revolution: Secret Signs

Secret signs, known only by those involved in the Underground Railroad, were developed to secretly direct fugitive slaves to safe houses along the route. Conductors on the Underground Railroad also generated many tactics of disguising and hiding fugitive slaves, as well as throwing off their pursuers.
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Escaping slaves followed the 'Drinking Gourd' north to freedom
·         Escape methods kept slaves and their scents hidden from slave catchers and their bloodhounds
     -        Travelled on Saturday nights because advertisements for runaway slaves were not published in newspapers until Monday mornings.
     -        Slaves often travelled 10-20 miles per night
     -        Purposely took indirect routes to try to throw off pursuers
     -        Often walked through water so that their scent would be lost
     -        To guide slaves North, they paid attention to the North Star, the Big Dipper, and the moss on the sides of trees
     -        Used drugs to quiet crying babies
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Quilts were often hung in safe houses to give messages and signs to escaping slaves. Different patterns had different messages, such as directions of where to go, or when a conductor was coming.
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