John Henry was a famous worker, a very strong man, and a hero of labor. He died with his hammer in his hand — the 5-kilogram hammer (some say 6 kg) that shone like gold when he worked. People from the town came out to watch him work and to hear him sing while his hammer rang.
John Henry was born in the United States and was thirty-four years old when he died. He was a big man — about a hundred kilograms.
His story begins in the early 1870s, when a big tunnel was built in the Virginia hills. John Henry was very strong and a good worker. He could drive steel for ten hours without stopping. He could hit the rocks with his hammer and break the mountains.
One day, the boss brought a steam drill to make the work faster. John Henry felt challenged and said, “A man is just a man, but before I let that machine beat me, I will die with the hammer in my hand.”
He worked harder than the new machine — and won. But he died from his great effort. John Henry was drilling on one side of the tunnel, and the steam drill started on the other. They worked for thirty-five minutes. John Henry made about five meters, and the steam drill made only three. John Henry said, “I beat it, but I am finished,” and he fell down, still holding the hammer in his hand.
They buried him near the tunnel, and every big train that passes whistles, “There lies the strongest steel-driving man.”
