Route
To reduce the risk of infiltration, many people associated with the Underground Railroad knew only their part of the operation and not of the whole scheme. There were the "conductors" who ultimately moved the runaways from station to station. The "conductor" would sometimes pretend to be a slave to enter a plantation. Once a part of a plantation, the "conductor" would direct the runaways to the North. Slaves would travel at night, about 10–20 miles (15–30 km) to each station. They would stop at the so-called "stations" or "depots" during the day and rest. The stations were out of the way places like barns. While resting at one station, a message was sent to the next station to let the station master know the runaways were on their way.
The resting spots where the runaways could sleep and eat were given the code names "stations" and "depots" which were held by “station masters”. There were also those known as “stockholders” who gave money or supplies for assistance. Fugitives would refer to Canada as "The Promised Land" and the Mississippi River as "The River Jordan" as biblical references.
Read more about this topic: Underground Railroad
Famous quotes containing the word route:
“But however the forms of family life have changed and the number expanded, the role of the family has remained constant and it continues to be the major institution through which children pass en route to adulthood.”
—Bernice Weissbourd (20th century)
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—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)
“By a route obscure and lonely,
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I have reached these lands but newly
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Out of space—out of time.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)