Harriet Tubman began making trips to the south to retrieve slaves after escaping her own enslavement in 1849. She decided to escape due to her being a not well valued slave and she feared she'd be separated from her family if she was sold. She was assisted by a friendly white woman, who led her to freedom in Philadelphia by following the North Star. Her brothers had originally gone with her to escape but had decided to return to the plantation. She described freedom as feeling like heaven. Harriet still carried on having no intent to return to the chains and whips.
After taking a job and saving up money, the next year she returned to the south in an attempt to rescue her niece, Kessiah and Kessiah's children who were going to be sold. After Kessiah's husband, a free black man, won the bid in the auction, Harriet helped escort them to freedom. This was Harriet's first of many rescue missions to the south, including missions to rescue her parents, her siblings, and many other slaves. When the Fugitive Slave Law was put into action, Harriet was forced to reroute her underground railroad into Canada.
Harriet Tubman had a few tricks for transporting slaves on the route. Sometimes for the first stretch of the journey she would steal the master's buggy and horse to transport the slaves. Stealing away on Saturday nights so the missing slave notices couldn't be posted until Mondays. She'd also carry drugs to stop babies from crying if they needed to, and a gun. If slaves got tired or wanted to turn back, she'd draw the gun at them, and say "You'll be free or die." By the end of her slave transporting career she was nicknamed "Moses". the raid, liberating about 700 slaves. She'd freed many by the end of her work freeing slaves.