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John Henry是根據一首極受歡迎的黑人民謠所改編，是一個荒誕不經的故事也是一個英雄般的神話，更是對人類精神的一大禮讚。有些人認為John Henry是個虛構的人物；有些人則認為世界上確有其人並且致力於尋找證據來證明他的存在。

作者Lester以荒誕不經的描述突顯出John Henry這號神話般人物的傳奇故事與英雄事蹟，然而，故事裡面發生的事卻屬於歷史事件，使得讀者在閱讀的時候，一方面感到滿腹狐疑，另一方面卻又相信真有其人。

◎你相信John Henry確有其人嗎？

以下是各方對John Henry這位神話般的黑人民族英雄是否確實存在過的探尋求證,可提供大家參考:

(註:由於所蒐尋到的資料均為英文版,故特再以簡短中文翻譯作重點摘要說明,僅供同學們參考之用。如有不周之處,還請見諒。)

 

 

(一)      資料來源: 維基百科

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_(folklore)

 

內容摘要:

(1)     John Henry故事發生的歷史

民間有一傳說是John Henry是於1840年代出生在密蘇里的一名奴隸以及他熟為人知的在Talcott當地C&O鐵路與蒸氣動力鑽洞機間的戰役。

鐵路歷史學家(Reagan C. Long)發現在C&O公司鐵路沿線有多個隧道。再者, C&O鐵路公司在那些隧道建造當時也雇用了多位名叫“John Henry”的黑人。雖然,他無法找到文件證明。但他相信根據口耳相傳的軼聞能夠證明“人與機器”之間的競賽確實曾在西維吉尼亞的Talcott此地發生過。而確切的證據來源是因為在那個地方同一時期的確出現這三樣事證,即1一位名叫John Henry的人2一個叫做Big Ben的隧道以及3蒸氣動力鑽洞機。

(2)     John Henry故事的時代背景

正如同其他傳說中的巨人Paul Bunyan與Pecos Bill, John Henry也被視為19世紀工人階級的神話人物代表。John Henry這個角色雖然不見得是一定依據真人真事,但他已變成工人階級的一個重要象徵。儘管John Henry為了證明他可以比機械(即蒸氣動力鑽洞機)更為有力,他把自己操到極限而最終被機械取代。因此,超過一百多年以來, John Henry傳奇一直都是美國勞工及神話的一部份。

 

Coosa Tunnel, Columbus & Western Railroad - 15 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama
(Stovall & Havens, 1895)

 

 

[edit] History

The sign by the C&O railway line

The truth about John Henry as the strongest man alive is obscured by time and myth, but one legend has it that he was a slave born in Missouri in the 1840s and fought his notable battle with the steam hammer along the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in Talcott, West Virginia. A statue and memorial plaque have been placed along a highway south of Talcott as it crosses over the tunnel in which the competition may have taken place.

Coosa Tunnel and tracks between Coosa Tunnel and neighboring Oak Mountain Tunnel, possible Alabama sites of John Henry legend.

The railroad historian Reagan C. Long found that there were multiple tunnels along the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railway. Also, the C&O employed multiple black men who went by the name "John Henry" at the time that those tunnels were being built. Though he could not find any documentary evidence, he believes on the basis of anecdotal evidence that the contest between man and machine did indeed happen at the Talcott, West Virginia, site because of the presence of all three (a man named John Henry, a tunnel named Big Bend, and a steam-powered drill) at the same time at that place.^[1]

Another theory is that the competition took place in Leeds, Al. It is said to have happened in Oak Mountain Tunnel, which is supposedly haunted by his ghost. Obviously there is a big difference in location, and even railroad. Many engineers will blow their horns in honor of John Henry before entering the North end of the tunnel.

[edit] Background

Like other "Big Men" such as Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, John Henry also served as a mythical representation of a group within the melting pot of the 19th-century working class. In the most popular version of the story, Henry is born into the world big and strong weighing 330 pounds. He grows to become the greatest "steel-driver" in the mid-century push to erect the railroads across the mountains to the West. When the owner of the railroad buys a steam-powered hammer to do the work of his mostly black driving crew, to save his job and the jobs of his men, John Henry challenges the owner to a contest: himself alone versus the steam hammer. John Henry beats the machine, but exhausted, collapses and dies.

(二)    資料來源: http://www.ibiblio.org/john_henry/alabama.html

內容摘要:

(1) 尋訪John Henry在阿拉巴馬及密西西比的足跡

根據2002年出版的Garst John教授對John Henry的歷史考證, 他提及在一些聲稱John Henry與蒸氣動力鑽洞機競賽確有其人其事的證人信件中,經過交相比對後得知。事實上,故事中的Captain Frederick Yeamans Dabney確有其人。他當時是哥倫布與西部鐵路公司在1887-88年間於

Goodwater, Alabama與Birmingham之間沿線鐵路工程的總工程師。Captain Frederick Yeamans Dabney是南北戰爭時期的工程師,以鐵路設計工程為職業。而, “Captain”則是他當時在南軍時期的軍階。Captain Frederick Yeamans Dabney出生於1834/35年左右的維吉尼亞,在密西西比的Raymond長成,約末一歲左右(南北戰爭之後)舉家遷移定居在密西西比的Crystal Springs這個地方。而Buleign Plantation是位於Raymond與Crystal Springs之間為Captain Dabney的叔父所擁有之土地。在1860年Captain Dabney的叔父擁有154位奴隸,當時Captain Dabney的父親則擁有8名奴隸, 而這其中就有位出生在1844年,名叫Henry的奴隸。假設這就是John Henry在1887年已有43歲,我認為這就是這位鑿洞競賽冠軍的正確年齡。同時,根據史料也發現Coosa與Oak隧道確實存在,而且它們均有建於1887-1888年間的鐵路穿越過。以上發現幾個重要線索1Captain Dabney就是當時鐵路鑽鑿工程的負責人2Captain Dabney來自密西西比3Captain Dabney家族在Crys。l Springs附近擁有奴隸。這些都證實了幾位證人的說法~John Henry與蒸氣動力鑽洞機的競賽時間是發生在1887年,地點則是鄰近Oak及Coosa的山區。

The sign by the C&O railway line

(三)     資料來源: http://www.ibiblio.org/john_henry/analysis.htm

內容摘要:John Henry故事發生的時代背景補充說明

John Henry來自甫獲自由的黑人軍隊,至該地是從事南北期間被破壞的南部幾個州的重建工作。這時期就是人們熟知的南方聯盟(南軍)戰敗後的“重建時期”。這場戰爭賦予了黑人平等權及參政權,也讓成千上萬的男人們投入勞工市場, 而這些人大部份都是處於可憐又貧窮的景況。John Henry也就是在這樣的時空背景下,受雇於一家有錢的C&O鐵路公司,擔任Steel driver鑿洞的建築工人。當時C&O鐵路公司迅速地拓展,一直到Big Ben Mountain阻礙工程的進度為止。所以為此,這些工人們被告知需要用他們的鋼鑽孔努力鑿穿那厚厚的山壁(The-mile-and-a quarter這麼厚)。這浩大工程花了1000人,足足三年才完成。數以百計的工人在完工前喪生,他們的屍體就被堆埋在山區外頭沙地中,而John Henry就是這其中一個。

就如同Paul Bunyan(美國傳說中的伐木巨人)一樣, John Henry的一生就是有關於力量-人類獨特且自然的力量,沒有任何系統可以消減它以及有關於軟弱-他所被壓迫的社會地位。

結論: 綜觀以上資料,雖然有關John Henry的真實存在與否,眾說紛紜,實難考究。不過,個人相信不管John Henry是否真有其人。他對美國勞工階層,特別是黑人勞工而言其英雄般的歷史地位絕對是不容置喙的。也許在歷史上的確有過這樣一個人,發生過這樣的事件。只不過,在歷經口耳相傳的傳述之後,人們將其過程加以神話化罷了。但,真正的意義不在於是否真有其人。而是John Henry或許就如同作者在本書序中所提及的金恩博士(備註:同為奴隸的後代)以及許多民族英雄一樣,象徵的正是黑人在不同時代中努力追求自由、平等權的精神吧!

附錄1: 民間歌謠中的John Henry

資料來源:

http://www.ibiblio.org/john_henry/early.html

John Henry

When John Henry was a little baby, Sitting on his daddy's knee,Pointed he figured out a little piece of steel, "Steel's gonna be the death of me, Lord, Lord,
Steel's gonna be the death of me, Well, now steel's gonna be the death of me, Lord, Lord,
Steel's gonna be the death of me."
John Henry told his captain one day, "A man ain't nothin' but a man,
Before I will let you steam drill beat me down, Would die with this hammer in my hand, Lord, Lord,
Die with this hammer in my hand, I would die with this hammer in my hand, Lord, Lord,
Die with this hammer in my hand."

John Henry had a little woman, Her name was Polly Ann,
John Henry got sick and had to go to bed, You know Polly, she drove steel like a man, Lord, Lord,
Polly, she drove steel like a man. How she drive?
John Henry drivin' on the right hand side, Steam drill drivin' on the left,
"Before I will let your steam drill beat me down I will drive my poor self to death, Lord, Lord,
Drive my poor self to death."

John Henry drove steel on the Southern He drove steel on the C&O.
He drove steel for that Big Ben Tunnel Steel drivin' kill John you know,
Steel drivin' kill John you know, Well, now steel drivin' kill John you know, Lord, Lord,
Steel drivin' kill John you know.
Some says John Henry was born in Texas, Some people thinks he was born in Maine,
John Henry was born down in Tennessee, He was a leader of a steel-driving-gang[u1] , Lord, Lord,
Leader of a steel-driving-gang, Was a leader of a steel-driving-gang, Lord, Lord,
Leader of a steel-driving-gang.

Well, the captain loved to see John Henry, One of all loved to hear him sing,
But most of all that the paymaster loved, He just loved to get John Henry's hammer ring,
He just loved to get John Henry's hammer ring, He just loved to get John Henry's hammer ring, Lord, Lord,
Loved to get John Henry's hammer ring.
They carried John Henry on the mountain, Upon a mountain so high,
Last words I heard that poor boy say: "Give me a cool drink of water 'fore I die,
Give me a cool drink of water 'fore I die, Give me a cool drink of water 'fore I die."
Well, they carried John Henry's body to the White-house, And they laid it in the sand,
Everytime a locomotive follows go rollin' by, They say: "Yonder lays a steel-drivin' man,
Well, now yonder lays a steel-drivin' man, They say yonder lays a steel-drivin' man,
Yonder lays a steel-drivin' man."

馬丁路德二世是奴隸的孫子，同時也是一位牧師，他於1964年獲頒諾貝爾和平獎。該獎肯定了世人對金恩博士成就的了解與尊敬。為了提倡他的非暴力抗議種族隔離以及其他社會不平等事件的哲學，金恩博士發起一連串聚集了數千抗議者的示威遊行，具體且清楚的呈現出他的許多黑人同胞所處的困境。「我有個夢」是他在華盛頓林肯紀念碑前的著名演講，20多萬名聽眾深深的被金恩博士的口才與措辭所感動，並希望全世界所有的種族皆平等的理想終將能夠實現。

Martin Luther King, Jr. is the grandson of a slave and also a minister,He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.The award was a fitting recognition of the worldwide awareness of and respect for Dr. King's achievements.
    To promote his philosophy of nonviolent protest against segregation and other kinds of social injustice, Dr. King organized a series of marches which brought together thousands of protesters to make concrete and tangible the plight of many of his black brothers and sisters. 
   "I have a dream" is the famous speech he delivered in front of the Lincoln memorial in Washington D.C ,The audience of more than two hundred thousand people was deeply moved by the eloquence of Dr. King's rhetoric, And hoping the dream of a world in which all races would be treated equally might eventually come true.

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