JOHN HENRY

JOHN HENRY IS A WELL-KNOWN FIGURE OF AMERICAN FOLKLORE. BORN IN POVERTY IN RURAL WEST VIRGINIA, JOHN HENRY'S INCREDIBLE SIZE AND STRENGTH BECAME LEGENDARY AS HE WORKED LAYING TRACK FOR THE RAILROADS THAT CRISS-CROSSED THE COUNTRYSIDE IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY. NO ONE COULD MATCH HIS SKILL OR HIS ENDURANCE, UNTIL THE INVENTION OF THE STEAM-POWERED DRIVER, THAT IS. WE REMEMBER JOHN HENRY FOR HIS FAMOUS CONTEST WITH THIS NEWFANGLED MACHINE. JOHN WON THE DAY, BUT DIED SOON AFTERWARDS OF A BROKEN HEART. JOHN HENRY REALIZED THAT ORDINARY MEN COULD NOT COMPETE WITH THE IRON WORKHORSES OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THAT THE DAYS OF MEN LIKE HIM WERE NUMBERED.