My experience as a slave escaping to the north with the help of the Underground Railroad was very interesting. The Underground Railroad was a loose network of antislavery northerners "mostly blacks "that illegally helped fugitive slaves reach safety in the free states (north) or Canada in the period before the American Civil War; it was also called the Liberty Line. It began in the 1780s under Quaker help; the activity got fame after the 1830s. It was once thought that more than 60,000 slaves gained their freedom in this way. When I heard all these news about this secret organization I decided to escape from my master's plantation. So, the night of the 21st of October of 1832, I escaped from the plantation and went to an isolated farm. There I met Harriet Tubman. She was an African American who fled slavery and then guided runaway slaves to freedom in the North. Both of us and some slaves began the long journey to our freedom. The upper South supplied a high proportion of the fugitives. They were usually young adults, male, free, and highly skilled; family flights were rare. Traveling by night to avoid detection, "escapees- used the North Star for guidance. Usually they required isolated "stations- (farms) or "vigilance committee- agents in towns, where sympathetic free blacks could effectively hide them. When possible, "conductors- met them at such border points as Cincinnati, Ohio, and Wilmington, Delaware. The lake ports of Detroit, Michigan; Sandusky, Ohio; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Buffalo, New York; were terminals for quick escape to Canada. Harriet Tubman, called the Moses of the blacks, and Levi Coffin, a Cincinnati Quaker, were among the famous rescuers. Professional slave catchers and vigilant officials often seized refugees to gain rewards. But, we had good luck that during the journey there weren't any of them. We arrived safely in the north. During the journey, Harriet and I became good friends.
