BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Heading north to freedom on the Underground Railroad, slaves had to travel at night, in thick brush or low water, to hide their trails and muffle the sound of their steps.

During the day they had to hide - in hidden stairways, in basements or in the woods.

Spirituals and stories developed to occupy the mind during the down time and to send signals to others along the route.

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child. Sometimes I feel like all hope is gone. Sometimes I feel like a motherless child. Sometimes I feel a long way from home.

Peggy Overly, a professor at Morehead State University, sings "Motherless Child" to teach others what it felt like on the Underground Railroad.

"Mothers would say that maybe they could love their children in Ohio, but never in Kentucky," Ms. Overly said. In Kentucky, black families were separated.

But slaves found ways to communicate across miles, telling the stories like that of Peg Leg Joe while sending directions.

Peg Leg Joe was an agent for the Underground Railroad. His directions were simple: Follow the drinking gourd.

It was a code: The gourd was the Big Dipper. When its stars were followed to the tip of the handle on the Little Dipper, travelers would see the North Star, pointing to freedom.

People serving on Kentucky's Heritage Council, African American Heritage Commission and Northern Kentucky task force say the sharing of stories means that oral histories can be traced and verified; sites can be documented and the country can begin to give the Underground Railroad and those who used and operated it the credibility it deserves.

MAYSVILLE ONCE BASTION OF SLAVERY, ROUTE TO FREEDOM
N.KY. TRIES TO DIG UP LEGACY OF UNDERGROUND RAILROAD