Tubman had to travel by night, guided by the North Star

  Araminta "Minty" Ross

1822-1913

 
A journey of nearly 90 miles (145 kilometers) by foot would have taken between five days and three weeks.^[50]

Tubman had to travel by night, guided by the North Star and trying to avoid slave catchers eager to collect rewards for fugitive slaves.^[51] 

The "conductors" in the Underground Railroad used deceptions for protection. At an early stop, the lady of the house instructed Tubman to sweep the yard so as to seem to be working for the family.

 When night fell, the family hid her in a cart and took her to the next friendly house.^[52] 

Given her familiarity with the woods and marshes of the region, Tubman likely hid in these locales during the day.^[49] 

 Particulars of her first journey remain shrouded in secrecy; because other fugitive slaves used the routes, Tubman did not discuss them until later in life.^[53] 

She crossed into Pennsylvania with a feeling of relief and awe, and recalled the experience years later:

When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.^[47]