ESCAPE NORTH!

ESCAPE NORTH!

1 Escape North! The night was dark. Cricket song filled the air. A woman hid outside a cabin. She whistled a song called “ Go Down, Moses. ” A line in the song said: “ Let my people go. ” Inside the cabin, the slaves knew that Harriet Tubman had come to lead her people out of slavery.

It was 1851. Harriet Tubman was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad wasn't a real railroad. It was the name people gave the route taking slaves north to freedom. Years before, a slave had run off. He had seemed to disappear right in front of his owner's eyes. “ He must have gone on an underground railroad, " said the owner.

The story spread. There was a way north to the free states! There were people who would help. They would hide you in their homes. These safe houses were stations on the Underground Railroad. Runaways ran from station to station until they reached a state where slavery was against the law.

That Saturday night, ten slaves answered Harriet's call to freedom. Field slaves had Sundays off, so the bossman wouldn't know they were gone until Monday. Then he and his dogs would come after them. If they were caught, they would be beaten. . . maybe to death.