 There
are many routes that some slaves took. A route that most slaves
used was the Underground Railroad. Some of the others went through
the forest in order to be concealed from slave masters. Hideouts
were very essential when slaves were escaping. These hideouts consisted
of pits dug up by slaves, Abolitionist homes, lying in the street,
or for some slaves, just hiding in a tree in the forest. Slaves
that were caught were often beaten, almost to death, and then resold.
If a slave tried running away, the master would usually give orders
for the slave to be shot and killed. Losing your life was the worst
punishment that a slave could receive.
The slaves knew that a successful escape was rare; their slave owners
used bloodhounds to track the runaway slaves. The slaves believed
that finding food and shelter was a problem. The runaway slaves
hid in the woods and swamps. They would travel at night, cross the
rivers by swimming across, or maybe by boat, and then they would
go over hills. When they took their journeys they would use the
North Star for guidance. They gathered as much fruit as they could
so that they would have the strength to continue their journey. |
Slaves
resisted for many reasons. Some resisted because they were tired
of the abuse and mistreatment. Some would resist in order to save
a loved one that was in trouble, rather than allow a loved one
to get the maximum punishment of death, a family member would
take it for his/herself. There were a number of things that could
happen to those who resisted their masters. Some of these things
included, getting extra tasks, whippings, and even death. There
was a maximum penalty for those who really resisted the orders
of the slave master. The penalty was to complete the rest of their
chores and assignments, receive a vicious whipping and then the
slave would sometimes be shot on the spot. This was very cruel
and harsh, but it was done. For those who survived this brutal
treatment, fear was instilled into them. They no longer had the
will to fight back, and sometimes the will to fight back was the
only thing that was keeping the slave alive in the first place.