Nicknamed ‘Moses’, she never lost a single one of the many slaves she guided to freedom
The Fugitive Slave Act, passed by Congress in 1850 and harshly punishing individuals who aid fugitive slaves, made Tubman's employment as an Underground Railroad "conductor" highly perilous. The bounty on her head was at least $12,000, or $330,000 in today's dollars.
18 excursions to the south were made by Tubman between 1851 and the start of the Civil War. She employed a number of deceptions to avoid being caught; on one occasion, Tubman carried two live chickens while sporting a bonnet to give the impression that she was conducting errands. When morale was low, Tubman pointed a gun at the head of a runaway slave and said, "You go on or you die." She was not afraid to use it.
Another tool Tubman used to create hidden messages for other visitors was his spirituality. Although the local slave owners were aware that "Minty," a small, crippled slave who stood five feet tall, was to blame for the escape of many of their slaves, neither Tubman nor any of the fugitives she led were apprehended.
She advised slaves to escape on Saturdays because masters took Sundays off and wouldn't discover their missing slaves until Monday, giving the slave a two-day head start. In the winter, when the days are shorter, she also loved to relocate. There have been reports of her assisting up to 3,000 slaves.
