In the 1830s, when Tice Davids decided he wanted to be free from slavery, he left his owner's Kentucky plantation and headed across the Ohio River. Davids' owner jumped in his boat and hurried after him-but by the time he reached the shore in Ripley, Ohio, Davids has disappeared. The owner stared in disbelief and concluded that Davids must have taken an underground road. He had. No one really knows when the Underground Railroad began, but we do know this network of blacks, whites, Native Americans, and others helped thousands of escapees reach free land. Find out about the secret world of conductors, agents, and stations that helped enslaved people in North America gain freedom, from the mid 1600s through the end of the Civil War. Book jacket.