Janet Strange, age 13, of Pittsfield, Mass., for her question:

WHAT WAS THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD?

The Underground Railroad was a loose network made up of mostly black anti slavery Northerners that illegally helped fugitive slaves reach safety in the free states or Canada in the period before the American Civil War. It was also called the Liberty Line.

Started in the 1780s under Quaker auspices, the activity acquired legendary fame after the 1830s. It was once thought that more than 60,000 slaves gained their freedom in this way, but that estimate is probably exaggerated.

Because of its proximity to the North, the upper South supplied a large proportion of the fugitives. They were usually young adults, male, unattached and highly skilled. Whole families were rare.

When possible, "conductors" met them at such border points as Cincinnati and Wilmington. The lake ports of Detroit, Sandusky, Erie and Buffalo were terminals for quick escape to Canada.

More important than the number arriving safely was the publicity given to this clandestine work, which helped to make Northern whites conscious of the evils of slavery.