On 5/6/05, Keith Henson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > At 02:52 AM 06/05/05 -0700, Warren Ockrassa wrote: > > snip > > >This reminds me of the Ballad of John Henry. You might or might not know > >it; the story is that John Henry, who worked on railroads in the 1900s, > >was faced with a steam-driven track laying machine, and he refused to > >accept the premise that the machine was superior to human ability. So he > >placed a bet: He would lay a mile of track before the machine could. > > Please excuse my annoyance, but taking the very first Google link on "John > Henry" would have taken you here: > > http://www.ibiblio.org/john_henry/ > > "One such chore that figures heavily into some of the earliest John Henry > ballads is the blasting of the Big Bend Tunnel -- more than a mile straight > through a mountain in West Virginia. > > "Steel-drivin' men like John Henry used large hammers and stakes to pound > holes into the rock, which were then filled with explosives that would > blast a cavity deeper and deeper into the mountain. In the folk ballads, > the central event took place under such conditions. Eager to reduce costs > and speed up progress, some tunnel engineers were using steam drills . . . ." > > The contest was about drilling holes into rock for explosives, not track > laying machines. > > Keith Henson
He was referring to the popular legends/tall tales (not sure which; both seem to apply) of Henry; not the historical facts. Every popular depiction, cartoons, videos, shows, childrens' books, etc I've seen, they all depict it as driving spikes into the ground to fasten down rails. Not, though the truth is otherwise, as making holes for explosives. Artistic license, anyone? ~Maru _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
