Some of the main Ohio Underground Railroad lines used by fugitive slaves traveling from the Ohio River toward Canada and freedom followed the Muskingum River, but these routes were dangerous because under the 1793 and 1850 fugitive slave laws, runaway slaves could be captured and returned to their owners. To avoid bounty hunters, fugitives on this route were led by railroad conductors in a zig-zag pattern, and because the journey was so dangerous and difficult, many of the early runaways were young men. Conductors hid slaves in caves, barns, and other secret places, and many people helped friends and neighbors involved in these efforts. Various routes connected the Muskingum River from Belpre on what is today State Route 339 to Waterford and Little Hocking via State Route 555 to Putnam in Muskingum County. Through Morgan County, the main route followed the old Lancaster Road through Chesterhill, Pennsville, Rosseau, Morganville, and Deavertown, across a swathe of land about twenty-five miles long and sixteen wide along the Muskingum River. One notable conductor on this route was Rial Cheadle, who was born in Stockport, was involved in stations in several places in Morgan County, and worked with an Abolitionist society in Big Bottom. A carpenter, button maker, and later a teacher, he acted as a witless man and sang silly songs to fool slave catchers into thinking he was incapable of helping fugitives. Other people from Morgan County who were instrumental in helping former slaves to freedom included members of the Quaker community at Chesterhill, William Cope at Pennsville, and the Thomas Gray family and Affallia, and Reuben Deaver at Deavertown.