Whenever a slave escaped, the slave catchers were often close behind.
Sometimes, whole towns spoke out and protected the Underground Railroad.
This once happened in Attica, New York. Two slave catchers arrived in town. They were there for a runaway slave named Statie and her daughter.
The slave catchers asked the postmaster where the slaves were. The postmaster told them that the runaways were in town. They had been brought there by the Underground Railroad. He also said that if they tried to take the pair, every man, woman, and child would act to stop them. The postmaster warned the slave catchers to leave as soon as possible. He didn’t think they’d be safe for much longer than about twenty minutes in town.
Whenever a slave escaped, the slave catchers were often close behind.
The slave catchers quickly saw the truth. A large crowd was already gathering in the street. Some had weapons. Others were shouting for the slave catchers to leave. The slave catchers mounted their horses and speedily rode out of town. As they rode off the crowd loudly cheered.
Wanted posters offering rewards were often posted to entice people to turn in runaway slaves. This is a wanted poster for Harriet Tubman who was known as Minty at the time.