Explanation:
As a descendent of travelers on the Underground Railroad, I grew up fascinated by what the “Griot” of my family told me. My Aunt Stella, the storyteller of our family, was termed the “Griot,” an African word for “keeper of the oral history.” She passed away in 1986 at 102 years of age, but her mind was sharp until the end of her life. Aunt Stella told me that John Freeman Walls was born in 1813 in Rockingham County, North Carolina and traveled on the Underground Railroad to Maidstone, Ontario, Canada in 1846. His father Hannabal told him, “If you remember nothing else that I tell you, John, remember ‘the side of the tree that the moss grows on and the light of the North Star is the way to Canada and freedom, like my native Africa.’” I learned terms related to the Underground Railroad and came to understand that it was an informal network of safe houses and escape routes.
The Underground Railroad is considered by many to be the first great freedom movement in the Americas and the first time that people of different races and faiths worked together in harmony for freedom and justice. However, because it was such a secretive organization and people were risking their lives for freedom, codes were used. Escaped slaves and those who assisted them needed to have quick thinking and an abundance of wisdom and knowledge. The Underground Railroad became such an effective organization that there are still people today who think there was an actual train running underground from the south to the north, carrying people to freedom. The peak time for the Underground Railroad Freedom Movement was between 1820 and 1865. The term “Underground Railroad” is said to have arisen from an incident that took place in 1831.
Legend has it that a Kentucky runaway slave by the name of Tice Davids swam across the Ohio River with slave catchers, including his old master, in hot pursuit. After they reached the other side near the town of Ripley, Ohio (a busy “station” on the Underground Railroad) Tice eluded capture. He was probably aided by good people who were against slavery and wanted the practice ended. These freedom sympathizers were known as “abolitionists.” The angry slave owner was heard to say, “He must have gone off on an underground railroad.”
The need for secrecy was paramount as there were severe penalties for slaves and those who helped them to freedom. Therefore, railroad terminology was used to maintain secrecy and confuse the slave catchers.
The code words often used on the Underground Railroad were: “tracks” (routes fixed by abolitionist sympathizers); “stations” or “depots” (hiding places); “conductors” (guides on the Underground Railroad); “agents” (sympathizers who helped the slaves connect to the Railroad); “station masters” (those who hid slaves in their homes); “passengers,” “cargo,” “fleece,” or “freight” (escaped slaves); “tickets” (indicated that slaves were traveling on the Railroad); “stockholders” (financial supporters who donated to the Railroad); “Freedom Trails” (the routes of the Railroad); “terminal,” “heaven,” or “Promised Land” (Canada and the northern free states); and “the drinking gourd” (the Big Dipper constellation—a star in this constellation pointed to the North Star, located on the end of the Little Dipper’s handle).
There were four main routes that the enslaved could follow: North along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to the northern United States and Canada; South to Florida and refuge with the Seminole Indians and to the Bahamas; West along the Gulf of Mexico and into Mexico; and East along the seaboard into Canada. The routes were often not in straight lines; they zigzagged in open spaces to mix their scent and throw off the bloodhounds. Sometimes they would even double back on their routes in order to confuse the slave catchers..
All those courageous individuals involved in the Underground Railroad Freedom Movement had to learn new terminology and codes. It required great skill and knowledge to reach the Promised Land.
