Harriet Tubman is enshrined in the history of the United States of America—typically honored as a pioneering figure of freedom during Black History Month. The African-American freedom fighter was notable for many outstanding accomplishments, from her successful trips as a conductor for the Underground Railroad to her work as a spy during the Civil War. However, one of the most obscure achievements of Tubman's life was her adept utilization of nature to aid her in bringing 70 slaves north to freedom.
Growing up as a slave in Dorchester County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Tubman’s childhood responsibilities often involved working outside in the elements. The labor made her very familiar with various aspects of nature. Although dangerous, it was common for the young girl to walk through tall, thick, sharp blades of marshland grass to check muskrat traps in the Little Blackwater River. She learned how to check the traps in all types of weather, and she would likely have maneuvered through frigid water, snow, or ice since the winter months were the busiest time for collection.
The future abolitionist paid attention to the myriad sounds from the native and migratory birds. Waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, and warblers are among those found in the Eastern Shore.
When Tubman was older, she hired herself out as a logger and worked in the timber fields with her father at Stewart’s Canal. Logging includes cutting and hauling timber. In this work, she deepened her knowledge of the waterways and marsh. This side occupation also helped her learn about the secret networks of communication employed by African American men working as mariners. These men brought timber to towns around the Chesapeake Bay up to Delaware, Pennsylvania, and further north, but they also brought intel about freedom in the north and the safe places to stay along the way.
These observations proved invaluable when she successfully escaped to freedom from the Brodess plantation. She made a solo journey in 1849 following the Underground Railroad to Philadelphia. Her observations would serve her multiple times to guide other African Americans out of slavery into freedom.
The Underground Railroad was a network of routes, safe houses, and advocates who helped enslaved people successfully reach free states. Sometimes fleeing came with pursuits, bounties, and high risks, but nature was a loyal friend to Tubman and the escapees whom she led.
One of their biggest natural allies was the night. What was clearly seen in the day was shadowed by the night, which made moving about easier. Additionally, en route to connection points, Tubman and those in her company did their fair share of hiding. They hid behind trees, submerged themselves in area swamps, and used potato holes, thickets, rising creeks, and other waterways for cover.
Employing wisdom and insights from her youth, Tubman utilized the call of the Barred Owl to alert her companions once it was safe to stop hiding and keep trekking northward. The distinctive hooting call, of eight or nine notes, carried well through the wooded areas.
Traveling light was essential on the Underground Railroad routes. Safe houses supplied provisions once reached, but the main hurdle was getting there. So in between the places of refuge, food was foraged, fished, hunted, and picked along the way. Berries, plants, herbs, oysters, fish, turtles, and rabbits would have been some of the sources of nourishment along the routes taken.
Harriet Tubman used resources wisely and the most prominent resource available was nature. Her journeys are a master class in living from the land and the importance of observing and relying on natural resources.
Dorchester County, Maryland preserves the habitat where Tubman made her journeys to aid family, friends, and other enslaved freedom seekers. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, located on the Eastern Shore, preserves the abundant natural resources that reflect the landscape and ambiance present when Tubman began her treks for freedom over 150 years ago.