The Under Ground Rail Road
By Abbie Hough Per. 1 Furnish
How to Escape:
-In the Underground Railroad
"baggage" or "passengers" are what the white people call darkies
"Conductors" are people who help guide runaways
"stationmasters" are people who hide runaways in their home
Nature will help guide you
-At night time is when it is best to escape make sure your owners are asleep and sneak out. (Make sure your overseer is sleep if not say that you are using the bathroom)
-If a dog starts to bark make sure you cover your scent. The most effective way of covering your scent is to jump into the nearest river. (If caught you will be punished severely by the "flogging" method.)
-To find which way is north at night you can look up at the sky and make out the big dipper. The direction that the North Star (the brightest star) is facing is north.
-If it is morning you can look and see which direction the birds are flying as they usually migrate north.
-If it is morning or too cloudy you can look at the moss on the tree since moss grows on the north side.
-As soon as you cross the Ohio River you will be officially out of Kentucky and into the north where you will be free.
Past the Black Belt is a life beyond this peculiar institution.