I'm watching Django Unchained, and it got me to wondering how often slaves in the American south were successful in their escape attempts. Are there any statistics on the subject? Would the average escapee have had a decent chance of making it to freedom?
Fugitive slaves were a distinct minority. Estimates I've seen range at around maybe 20,000 people total. Escaping from the deep south, unless you are doing some marvelous trickery (like the Crafts family) is almost impossible. Successful fugitives are an extremely rare set and most escape attempts were just that--attempts--which were unsuccessful.
Source: Generations of Captivity, Ira Berlin