The Underground Railway
© Cher Gruener
The Underground Railway...what was it really? It was a concourse of tunnels and safe houses that escaping blacks could use in their search for freedom.
The Underground Railway
Contrary to it's name, it was neither a railway nor was it underground. What it was, was a intricate maze of tunnels and sympathetic people that assisted Negros slaves. Those slaves living in the southern states wanted to escape up to the northern, more lenient towards slavery states. Some of these slaves found themselves on the way into Canada through these very routes. And a good portion of these escaped slaves ended up in southern Ontario. Others made their way to the western provinces of Canada, many settling in areas around Vancouver, British Columbia
In the late 1700's, the Governor General of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe, formatted legislation that made slavery illegal. Shortly after the war of 1812 was over, the Attorney General of Upper Canada, John Beverly Robinson not only upheld the decision to make all blacks free citizens, but to declare that residence in Canada made blacks free and that their rights were protected by British law. Of course, this exciting news made its way over a short time, to the northern border states of the US.
Once news of Canadian freedoms for blacks reached American ears, a series of tunnels started appearing. There were many networks of these tunnels and many of these tunnels ended in the southern reaches of Canada. These tunnels zig zagged and doubled back in order to throw off would be followers, such as owners or their hired hunters (after all, slaves were a fairly large investment and how dare they run off!!)
By the early 1800's, escape routes were established from a number of states, including Ohio, New York, Michigan and Virginia among others, both southern and northern states. Some escapees made their way to freedom without any help, but the majority relied on the help of strangers. One of these strangers was a Canadian doctor by the name of Alexander Milton Ross. He became a personal friend of John Brown and was instrumental in rescuing many slaves. Making trips into the deep south, he would tell the owner of the plantation that he wished to observe a bird and come back at night and speak to the slaves, telling them who they could trust and where they could go in their quest for freedom.
The number of slaves that actually escaped into Canada varies. Some sources will tell you the number was over 40,000 and as high as 60,000. Unfortunately, the census of the era was not all that reliable. Some blacks were not enumerated at all. Other blacks passed themselves off as whites in fear of the Canadian government. But its a fair guess that at least 30,000 fugitives escaped into the free land that was and is Canada.
"I'm on my way to Canada,
That cold and distant land,
The dire effects of slavery,
I can no longer stand,
Farewell old master,
Don't come after me,
I'm on my way to Canada,
Where coloured men are free."
A version of the song The Free Slave by the American abolitionist George W. Clark
