Strong Henry

Strong Henry is a Bone Gnawer.^[1][2]

Overview

"There was once a big, black sonofabitch that worked on the railroad. He sweated buckets. He was the foulest thing you'd ever smell. And yet, he had hit that steel so many times that he'd grown to know its language. He talked with it. He sang to it as he rang the line with his big ol'hammer. Not one line of track Henry laid has ever gone warped or crooked. It stays straight because he scared it right into place.

He was a mountain of a man, but his aim was true and his heart was calm. He didn't give a damn about the pain or about the work. He was born to drive steel, born to break the rock and drive the stakes and ring the whole world with steel if that's what was wanted. When Henry got thirsty, he used to squeeze rocks and drink the juice. One day he beat the Sun's back instead of the other way around! His smell would precede him three days in advance, and the whole railroad crew could get to know how he was feelin' by scenting him out. One day he killed a rattlesnake just by lookin' at it! This man knew his business and was good at doin' it.

Yet the Wyrm, laughin' and grinnin', got the Weaver to come up with this thing, an awful thing that they said was gonna make ol'Henry obsolete. And this shushin', thuddin', growlin' thing was a Dragon of Stream, a great pick that ate logs and struck like a cobra against the rock, again and again. That thing smelled foul, fouler even than Henry, and that was sayin' a lot. So they brought it out, and the Wyrm said, "Let's have a race - the Steam Dragon and Henry." And Henry said, "I don't race, but I'll do my job, with that thing or not. I may be just a man, but I'll win through. You'll see." Strong Henry was a Bone Gnawer, children. He was one of us. He just didn't go around showin' it. and he weren't about to let that steam thing beat him.

So you know what he did? He beat his heart against that mountain. He ran it right through. The crew that laid track behind him couldn't see his arms move: it was like a black wall of steel blurrin' in front of them. Good thing they didn't look too hard - they'd have seen somethin' they weren't ready for. Heh.

Strong Henry beat that thing. But then, well, his heart just gave out. His Rage was spent. He'd lost the wolf, and the wolf was the only thing keepin' him alive. But I'll tell you somethin', children - you can be sure that late at night, standin' out on the railyards, you can hear him howlin', howlin' in the darkness. They say that wherever steel's laid for track in the country, there's where you'll hear Henry's last howl. Who knows? Maybe you can talk to him one day. I have."

Notes

Strong Henry is based around the folklore of John Henry.

References