Leigh,

Unfortunately, much of what is presented as "history" is colored by the observer and the times in which they researched the events. That said, it seems to me that a good story is what many "historical accounts" actually are.

To me, clearly, quilts hung out at night would be of little use (no street lights, no full moon, etc.) Yet, we still hear and read these stories. (and let's not forget that 'common sense' does NOT always guarantee the right answer when we're trying to resolve an issue from times long ago.)

What I do know about quilts is that different ethnic groups (Europeans, Africans, etc) had different styles of design for their quilts. The designs can be easily recognized of the quilts made long ago. European quilts tended to be more 'symmetrical' while African quilts were more 'asymmetrical'.

I hesitate to state that something (with regard to this subject) either did, or did not actually happen. As previously stated, much more research is needed. But then, are the stories about the 'safe houses' with the candles in the windows at night also to be scrutinized this way? Couldn't "anyone" figure out what a symbol like that meant? According to the late Carl Sagan, human intelligence only changes (significantly) every ten thousand years. Literate or not, even the enslaved people were not necessarily ignorant. So, for me, the real issue may have been 'what can one get away with?' Quilts or candles, that's not the issue...what was important was probably 'how to meet the objective'....freedom.