Levi Coffin, Reminiscences of the Underground Railroad in the 1850s Read from 298-301; start

at, I was personally acquainted"

According to Coffin, what precautions or tactics did the Coffins employ to conceal
fugitive slaves?

Why does Coffin feel that he and his wife were successful conductors on the
Underground Railroad?

How does Coffin describe the plight of the fugitive slave who fled to Cincinnati?

Within the Reminiscences of the Underground Railroad in the 1850s, Levi Coffin describes the
first hand experiences, responsibilities, and tactics that were experienced and required in order to
successfully conceal/transport the fugitives without any detection by the slave-hunters.
According to Coffin there were many precautions and tactics that were had to be
performed to smoothly use the underground railroad. First of all, Levi Coffin had to be certain
that the people he worked with could be trusted and perform their duties. Coffin says that he was
assisted by his wife, colored workers, and white workers. However for safety and secrecy,
Collins carefully distributed the responsibilities of the workers because some were "careless" and
others were "unworthy", which could have unfortunately led to the exposure of the operation if
any of them had succumbed to bribery offers made by the slave-hunters. Levi uses a metaphor
and says, " It was necessary to use every precaution, and I thought it wise to act, as the monkey
did, take the cat's paw to draw the chestnut from the fire, and not burn my own fingers. "
After continuously pursuing his use of the Underground Railroad to as a system to
transport fugitive slaves to Canada, Coffin felt that he and his wife were successful conductors.
They continuously hired two-horse teams from a German livery stable, each for the cost of ten
dollars. The money would be sent to the drivers with the safe approach of using a middle man to
deliver the payment. These teams would convey the slaves out of the city by traveling the
twenty-thirty mile distance. Collins had a very dependable system and organization because it
ran very discretely yet efficiently. Collins and his wife also were hiding many of the fugitives in
their house as well. The fugitives would be kept in the chambers for weeks without any detection
through his wives casual and non-suspicious behavior regarding the unknown manner. She
would take food to the slaves using a basket. The food would be hidden and concealed after
being under a large pile of clean, folded clothing. These types of methods prevented any
detection about the presence and transportation of fugitives.
The many fugitive slaves that had fled would go to Collins for assistance. The fugitives
would show up in "frightened and panting and in a destitute condition". As they were making

their way to Collins in rush and panic, they would not have time to grab or pack any extra
clothing for themselves to use in the future. Therefore the expense of aiding, applying clothing,
and feeding the runaway slaves had also been accounted for. Thankfully this was done with the
help of several benevolent women from the city. These ladies would work together provide
clothing/attire for the fugitives. Based on the text written in the document, these individuals had
called themselves an "Anti-Slavery Sewing Society". Their labor, help, and distributions led to a
practical good.
As a result, Levi Collins and his wife have made a highly positive and effective contribution to
history with their conduction of the Underground Railroad.