=§ 72. Methods pursued.=--Although often varied by circumstances, the general method of work was always the same. In the South, money was usually the motive, and for its sake the managers of the Railroad could usually get some one to aid a slave in escaping and crossing the line. In the North it was an unselfish, and sometimes dangerous, work of charity.
Fugitives arrived at the first station, ignorant, half-clothed, and hungry. There they were fed, and, in order to elude the advertisements sent through the States, disguises were provided. For women, the large veiled bonnet and plain attire of the Quakeress proved one of the best costumes. The men received a slip of paper, with a word or two which would be recognized at the next place, and, unless special caution was needed, were sent forward on foot. Women and children were often taken in close carriages, sometimes constructed for this special purpose.[240]
Stations, that is, the houses of persons known to be interested, were reached between sunset and ten o'clock in the evening. A tap at the door would rouse some member of the family, and the fugitive would be taken to the barn, or some place of concealment.[241] Often, too, these houses were not merely places for a night's tarrying, but homes where the ill and fatigued might remain and be cared for until strong enough for the onward journey.[242]
To conduct people over this long line, and to baffle all plans of their pursuers, required quick wit, as well as great courage and coolness.[243] So successful were the conductors in this respect, however, that a discouraged slave hunter, after a fruitless search, once said it was "as easy to find a needle in a haymow as a negro among Quakers."[244]
When fugitives were concealed, and persons desiring to search the house appeared, it was the custom to receive the searchers courteously. One of the family immediately engaged them in conversation, and offered them refreshments. The hunt was thus delayed as long as possible, so that the fugitive might be helped away. In one case, while the slave's master was thus entertained upon the front piazza, the mistress of the house quietly conveyed the hunted negro out at the back door, and placed him under an inverted hogshead standing by. Then, with the most unconcerned manner, she allowed the man to search until he was satisfied that there could be no fugitive in that house.[245]