I dedicate this important episode of John Henry's life to the hard workers.

In the 1870s, after the Civil War, the United States was growing quickly westward.

In West Virginia, John Henry was working for the railroad company, Cheasapeake & Ohio. The latter was laying tracks from Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River, in the Appalachian mountains.

Thousands of former African-American slaves and also the new immigrants coming from Ireland or China joined this expanding railroad company to earn their bred.

John Henry was among them. But, he was the strongest and the tallest man in his crew. This new freed slave surprised everybody with his strenght and prowess.

John Henry loved singing while working with his hammer in his hand.

The railroad workers had to dig a tunnel right through the Appalachian mountain. it was a dangerous work because the tunnel was very dark and poorly ventilated.

It was called the Big Bend Tunnel that cost the lives of many steel driving men

John Henry was in a two-man team for digging holes. John Henry would hit the spike with the big hammer while the other man would crouch down and hold a steel spike.

The two men would work together, banging and twisting until they had driven the spike deep into the rock. After pulling out the spike, they would move to another spot to dig a new hole.

Then, the dynamite men would take over and would pack dynamites in these holes and detonate the explosives.

The workers would run as fast as possible before the explosion would break up the solid rocks into rubble.

But, one day, these workers' routine was interrupted by the steam-powered drill. Its manufacturer exclaimed it would work better and faster than any man.

Therefore, this machine was a great threat for the railroad workers' future since many would become jobless.

John Henry said to his captain:

"You are nothing but a common man,

Before that steam drill shall beat me down,

I'll die with my hammer in my hand."

And everybody came to see the extraordinary race of this man against the machine.