Jackson, having no parents or brothers, pretended he did not understand it when questioned by his white overseer, but he immediately told Harriet’s brothers to get ready because Harriet was coming to get them. On Christmas Eve, Harriet met her brothers near Ben and Rit’s cabin with three other freedom seekers: John Chase, Peter Jackson, and Jane Kane. They knew they could not expect Rit to be quiet if she knew that Harriet was there — she would be too excited! They did, however, let Ben know that they were leaving, and he discreetly brought food to the group as they hid during the day. He covered his eyes with a bandanna so that he would truthfully be able to say, when questioned by his owner, that he had not “seen” his sons. He knew he would be interrogated and he wanted to be ready. After travelling the 100 miles to Wilmington, they were assisted by Garrett. They arrived in St. Catharines in early 1855.
A portrait of Frederick Douglass, included as one of the “Heroes of the Colored Race.”
Courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC/USZC2–1720.
Harriet was quoted in an 1858 St. Catharines newspaper, saying, “I wouldn’t trust Uncle Sam with my people no longer…. I brought ’em all clar off to Canada.” But Harriet and others were more like exiles than immigrants — they were forced to leave the land of their birth because of the severity of southern slavery and the risks of remaining in the north. Harriet longed for the familiar aspects of her life, but could not have the freedom she desired in the country she was from. While in St. Catharines she said, “[We are] in a foreign country among strangers. We would rather stay in our native land, if we could be as free there as we are here.”
Passengers on the Underground Railroad often wore disguises to further throw off any suspicion. Sometimes women dressed as men, or a light-coloured slave might assume the role of a slave owner in order to travel with other darker-coloured freedom seekers. If someone was light skinned, they might be darkened. Fancy outfits belonging to free blacks might be borrowed to give the freedom seeker wearing the clothes the look of an affluent person. There were instances when a disguise might not have been enough to escape the reach of a search party, and individuals are known to have been hidden away until the intensity of the search seemed to be over, sometimes for months, before they could continue on their journey to freedom. According to oral history from descendants, particularly the late Marlene Wilkins, Harriet often wore several layers of clothing, especially pantaloons, in order to protect herself from the cold, perhaps to appear heavier, but also to protect herself from the tracking dogs. If a dog were to chase Harriet as she was travelling with a party of escaping slaves, and if it were to bite her, the dog would only be left with her clothing. She was concerned that these hounds not have the opportunity to taste her blood since she would then not be able to successfully conduct on the Underground Railroad — they would track her to death.
Harriet may have appeared as a simple old woman with her noisy chickens, as a slave travelling further south for her assumed master, or just as one of the many slaves in the area. Her demeanour and the way she carried herself were also important in her success — she would not have allowed herself to outwardly seem afraid or worried as her papers were being checked or as someone who could identify her came near. Her belief in the good of her cause gave her the resources to deal with obstacles. But it took more than Harriet Tubman’s confidence — she made all the necessary arrangements that she could in advance of her departure. Her bag carried the essentials for her trip: from the sharpened clam shells for protection or influence through to the tranquillizer to quiet babies. She knew what safe houses she was aiming to reach and where there would be food for her group. She had a plan for extra clothing for disguises or warmth and knew where she could find the “stockholders” of the UGRR — those who would provide her with funds or actual train tickets. She was the master of communications and worked her trusted and potential connections to the best of her ability.
In order to get to Canada, Harriet did not always follow the same route, and sometimes she actually travelled south in order to avoid suspicion if she felt she had been identified. She might pre-arrange to meet her group at the beginning of the month or during a new moon, as the lack of light would make the group more difficult to see. If enough money was available, passage would be purchased on the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroads, or water routes and canal trenches could also be utilized. Harriet and her party would primarily be using their own two feet, and often wore out more than one pair of shoes on their escape. She is known to have used stations in Camden, Dover, Blackbird, Middleton, New Castle, Wilmington, Laurel, Milford, Millsborough, Concord, Seaford, Smyma, and Delaware City. She also used stations in Pennsylvania and New York, including Syracuse, Auburn, Rochester, and Niagara Falls.
Harriet is known to have crossed on the actual railroad suspension bridge from Niagara Falls, New York, into Niagara Falls, Ontario, which has been documented at least once. Being such a well patrolled site, and given that Harriet used many routes to transport her human cargo, it is unlikely that she made the suspension bridge her only point of entry into Canada. The Niagara River, away from the falls, is rather narrow, and many UGRR stations existed all along the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Some accounts indicate that UGRR crossings included Astibula and Port Albino, sites closer to the Fort Erie/Buffalo area. There was also a well-organized ferry crossing between Buffalo, New York, and Fort Erie, Ontario, which could have been used or that provided a route to follow. The Native people crossed the river on rafts at several points that might have been used by freedom seekers working with indigenous people. Harriet and other determined people would have to assess their situations and decide whether to try a familiar or new crossing point.
Because freedom seekers felt protected in her company and because Harriet had been able to avoid recapture or death, she came to be referred to as “Moses,” freeing her people, and she earned the respect of whites working in the abolition movement. Thomas Garrett said of her, “If she had been a white woman, she would have been heralded as the greatest woman of her age.” Her charm and perseverance also made her credible and gained her allies from among the elite in society. The spiritual song “Go Down Moses” could not be sung by blacks in the south for fear of exposing Harriet’s nickname, but it is a beautiful song full of the indignation of enslaved people:
Oh go down, Moses,
Way down in Egypt’s land.
Tell old Pharaoh,
Let my people go.
Oh Pharaoh said he would go cross,
Let my people go,
And don’t get lost in de wilderness,
Let my people go.
Oh go down Moses,
Way down in Egypt’s land.
Tell old Pharaoh,
Let my people go.
You may hinder me here, but you can’t up dere,
Let my people go,
He sits in de Hebben and answers prayer,
Let my people go.
Oh go down Moses,
Way down in Egypt’s land.
Tell old Pharaoh,
Let my people go.
A famous photo of Harriet Tubman. Known as the “Moses of Her People,” she served the Union Army as a nurse, scout, and a spy during the Civil War.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Others feel that Harriet’s success in rescuing enslaved people may have inspired the spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” The chorus suggests that freedom will be yours if you get on board:
Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home.