The Journey Of A Slave

 My name is Harriet Tubman, born in Maryland to my momma, Harriet, and my daddy, Ben. Me and my 8 brothers and sisters were all born into slavery, for my parents were slaves. 3 of my sisters were sold to other plantations, so we all got split up. I was beaten so badly in those plantations that I got scars that will last for the rest of my life. I can recall a specific time where I was hit 5 times before breakfast was ever served. Another time, I saw another slave who was on the run. My owner told me to chase after him, but when I refused, he threw a two-pound weight at my head. I still have severe headaches and suffer from narcolepsy because of it. I ended up having to have brain surgery later in life, because I couldn’t handle the pain.  

          Can you imagine the fear I lived every day when I woke up? I did not know if I would make it to the next day, or if I would be separated from my family. I lived in constant fright that my family would be hurt. I married John Tubman in 1844, but he didn’t want to join me in the Underground Railroad, and left me for another woman. I later married Nelson Davis and adopted my baby girl, Gertie.

         In 1849, I planned to escape to Philadelphia though this thing you may have heard about called the Underground Railroad.  Two of my brothers were supposed to come with me, but a $300 reward was put out for our return.I didn’t want to go back, and they were scared, so I timidly let them go back. I had to travel around 90 miles all by myself and “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.” My goal was to save my family and any others left to be enslaved for the rest of their lives. I made 19 trips from the South to the North and helped over 300 people escape to freedom. Of course, like everything else in my life, it was hard. The Fugitive Slave Law was passed, which told everyone to return runaway slaves if they saw them, and thus I had to reroute the journey to Canada. 

       I spent a good portion of my life fighting for those who couldn’t fight for themselves. They lived in fear of not knowing what their future would be like. They didn’t want to have kids out of fear of their lives turning out the same. I fought for those who were abused, mentally and physically, and felt like their life was forever going to be a living hell. I pray that none of you ever have to experience what I have, because it truly does change a person, for the worst.