The Underground Railroad on the Western Frontier

All along the mid–1800s Western frontier, the path of fugitive slaves in the Underground Railroad was filled with danger. An escapee who managed to avoid violence still was hard-pressed to survive in a place of frequent drought and illness, where newly settled sympathizers were often unable to give accurate descriptions of the topography, climate, or food sources.
This book details the history and development of the Underground Railroad in Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Topics include lesser known escape routes into Mexico and the American Indian nations, the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas, and guerilla warfare; escapees’ use of steamboats along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers; and the activities of John Brown, James Montgomery, Dan Anthony, and others.

The late James Patrick Morgans wrote more than 200 periodical and magazine articles as well as four books. He lived in Omaha, Nebraska.

James Patrick Morgans
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 231
Bibliographic Info: 23 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2019 [2010]
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7826-9
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      ix
Preface      1

1. Kansas      5
2. Missouri: Freedom Escapes      36
3. Missouri: Hemp and “Little Dixie” Empires      64
4. Iowa-Nebraska      90
5. Arkansas: Liberty Via Steamboats      119
6. Arkansas: Fleeing from Farms and Plantations      139
7. Western Frontier and the Indian Nations (Oklahoma)      162
8. Conclusions      186

Chapter Notes      199
Bibliography      213
Index      219

• “Meticulously researched and presented…a welcome addition”—Midwest Book Review
• “A useful work based on wide research…commendable”—The Annals of Iowa