Slaves were not allowed to visit, speak or congregate with each other so many of them developed secret codes in order to find their way to freedom. They had to use ways to communicate to each other so that their masters would not catch on, so they used songs and quilts. I am sure there are other codes that we are not aware of.
Peg Leg Joe was a white man who worked on the southern plantations as a handyman. He was the creator of a song called "Follow the Drinking Gourd". He taught this song to many, because the words to this song were clues to help the slaves find their way to freedom. The escape route started at the Tombigbee River in Mobile, Alabama. The song told the slaves to follow the river. The Drinking Gourd was a group of stars, which is today called the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper always points to the north star, which if followed would lead the slaves to the northern states. Joe would also carve peg legs on tree trunks for the slaves to follow to safe houses. After Joe left a plantation the slaves would escape. The song goes like this:
When the Sun comes back
And the first quail calls
Follow the Drinking Gourd.
For the old man is a-waiting for
to carry you to freedom
If you follow the Drinking Gourd.
The riverbank makes a very good road.
The dead trees will show you the way.
Left foot, peg foot, traveling on,
Follow the Drinking Gourd.
The river ends between two hills
Follow the Drinking Gourd.
There's another river on the other side
Follow the Drinking Gourd
When the great big river meets the little river
Follow the Drinking Gourd
For the old man is a-waiting for to carry you to freedom
If you follow the Drinking Gourd.
Some clues were hidden in quilts. Escaping slaves were able to read the codes within the quilts. Ten quilt patterns were part of the code. Each quilt contained one pattern. One by one, the quilts were hung out to dry or air out on a fence. Certain patterns told the escaping slaves what to do. If a quilt showed a house with smoke coming out of the chimney, that mean't that the house where the quilt hung was a safe house. A quilt with a wagon wheel pattern mean't that slaves should pack up everything that would fit in a wagon...because it was time to go. A bear-paw pattern mean't to follow the fake bear paw tracks through the woods.