My next middle-grade book is about the Maritime Underground Railroad. I found the various ways of communication on the underground railroad interesting and wanted to share them.
The term “Underground Railroad” was first used in 1831 as the code name for the various escape routes used to transport the enslaved freedom when railroads were first coming into greater existence and use. “Underground” denoted its secrecy. It was invisible to the public.
Signal songs gave directions for escaping and map songs told where to meet. The “conductors” used them to communicate with the “passengers” along the escape routes. In most slave states, it was illegal to teach slaves to read or write, so an alternate method of communication was using songs to guide or warn. Songs often quoted the Bible. If slavers heard the enslaved singing, they assumed it was a way to express their faith in the Bible.
Nat Turner used the song ‘Steal Away’ to let the enslaved know he wanted them to meet to plan the 1831 Southhampton County, Virginia, rebellion. Others used it to let the enslaved know that an escape was imminent. Harriet Tubman used ‘Wade in Water’ to tell hiding slaves to get in the river quickly so the tracking dogs could not follow their scent.
“Promised Land” and “Big Dipper” referred to Canada or freedom, while “River Jordan” was the Ohio River. A “conductor” escorted fugitives to meet the “stationmaster” who owned the safe house where they could hide. The “stockholders” donated money, clothes, and food. The phrase “the wind blows from the south” told fugitives that slave hunters were nearby. A “friend of a friend” meant the Underground Railroad had sent the person, and they were safe to talk to. “When the sun comes back” and “the first quail calls” told fugitives early spring was a good time to escape. “The riverbanks make a mighty good road” reminded the fugitives that water covers their tracking smell. If the star Drinking Gourd wasn’t visible, “the tree will show you the way” reminded the fugitives to check the trees because moss always grows on the north side.
Harriet Tubman frequently imitated the call of a barred owl to warn fugitives to be careful or tell them it was safe to come out of hiding to continue their journey to freedom.
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