Casey Jones, the American Folk Hero

 
 
     The U. S. Stamp #993 commemorates the role of railroad engineers in building America.   The stamp picures folk hero John Luther "Casey" Jones.   The stamp was issued in Jackson, Mississippi, on the 50th anniversary of the death of John Casey Jones. 

Why was Casey Jones an American folk hero?

     Casey Jones was a locomotive engineer who became a folk hero after his death in a train crash in 1900 was commemorated in a number of songs.   According to legend, Jones died with one hand on the train’s whistle and the other hand on its brake.

     Born Jonathon Luther Jones in Missouri on March 14, 1863, the future folk hero moved with his family as a boy to Cayce, Kentucky, the town from which he got his nickname.   His parents had worried that the backwoods of Missouri wouldn't provide their son with enough opportunities, so they moved the family to Cayce, Kentucky.   People began calling him Cayce, after his new hometown, and he eventually changed he changed his name to Casey.   As a teenager, he had became fascinated with trains and hoped to one day become an engineer, and when he was 15 he moved to Columbus, Kentucky and got a job as a telegrapher for the Mobile and Ohio Railroad.   He remained in Columbus for several years before in 1884 moving to Jackson, Tennessee where he received a job as a flagman for the Mobile and Ohio Railroad.

     Then in 1887, after a sudden yellow fever outbreak hit hard the crew of the Illinois Central Railroad, Jones was offered a job there as a fireman (tending to the fire of the steam engine).   In 1891, Jones received his dream job when he was promoted to engineer.   Jones quickly established a reputation as one of the country's best engineers.    He had a reputation for always staying on schedule Get there on the advertised time.   It was said that he was so punctual that many people set their watches by the arrival.

     Jones was also known for his unique use of a train whistle.   He used a whistle made of six thin tubes that made a long note described as sort of whippoorwill call or like the cry of a Viking.    People that lived along his route grew accustomed to hearing his whistle and often said, There goes Casey Jones.

     In 1893, Jones volunteered to spend the summer at the World's Columbian Exposition to provide passenger train service.   He greatly enjoyed the experience and got to drive some newer trains, which was also very exciting for him.   Two years later, Jones reportedly saved a young girl who ran in front of a train and froze on the tracks.

     For most of his career, Jones had served on freight trains, but in February of 1900 he was promoted to drive passenger trains, which was more prestigious and offered better pay.   Jones would be serving on a so-called cannonball passenger run, so named because of the speedy service.   On the evening of April 29, 1900, Jones, then an engineer for the Illinois Central Railroad, arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, having driven a train there from Canton, Mississippi.   Arriving in Memphis, he found out the engineer scheduled to make the return run that night was sick, so Jones volunteered to take his place.   When he pulled out of the Memphis station in the early hours of April 30, the train was running late so he hurried to make up for lost time.   As the train rounded a curve near Vaughan, Mississippi, it collided with another train on the tracks, but not before Jones told his fireman to jump to safety.   Jones remained on board, supposedly to try to slow the train and save his passengers, and was the only person to die in the accident.   When his body was found in the wreckage, it was discovered that Jones' hand was still on the brake lever.   If Casey Jones had not stayed in the engine room to work the brake, the crash would have been much worse.   His bravery made him a folk hero, and the subject of plays, stories, and TV program and a ballad.

     Wallace Saunders, an African-American railroad worker in Mississippi, developed a ballad about the fallen engineer that became popular with other men in the railroad yards.   From there, a version of tune was performed on the vaudeville circuit.   In 1909, a pair of song writers published “Casey Jones,” based in part on the earlier melodies; it went on to become a hit for various recording artists.   The songs helped turn Jones into a folk hero and his story later was dramatized on radio and TV.   In the 1950s, his house in Jackson became a museum.

 

The Ballad of Casey Jones
by Wallace Saunders

Come, all you rounders, if you want to hear
The story told of a brave engineer;
Casey Jones was the rounder’s name
A high right-wheeler of mighty fame.”
Of mighty fame, of mighty fame
A high right-wheeler of mighty fame
Casey pulled into the Memphis yard
Fed up, beat down and dog tired
Another driver had called in sick
Asking Casey to do a double trick
Casey smiled, said, “I’m feelin’ fine
Gonna ride that train to the end of the line
There’s ridges and bridges, and hills to climb
Got a head of steam and ahead of time.”
Ahead of time, ahead of time
Got a head of steam and ahead of time!

Caller called Casey, half-past four;
He kissed his wife, the station door
Climbed into the cab, orders in his hand
“Could be my trip to (the) Promised Land.”
Through South Memphis on the fly
The fireman say, “You got a white eye.”
The switchmen knew the engine’s moan
The man at the throttle was Casey Jones
Was Casey Jones, was Casey Jones
The man at the throttle was Casey Jones
The engine rocked, the drivers rolled
Fireman hollered, “Save my soul!”
“I’m gonna roll her ‘til she leaves the rails
I’m behind time with the Southern mail!

Been raining hard for weeks and weeks;
Railroad track like the bed of a creek
Rated down to a thirty-mile gait ---
The Southern mail two hours late
Two hours late, two hours late
The Southern mail was two hours late
Fireman say, “You running (too) fast
You ran the last three lights we passed
Casey say, “We’ll make it through
She’s steamin’ better than I ever knew.”
Casey say, “Don’t you fret
Keep feedin’ the fire; don’t give up yet
Run her ‘til she leaves the rail
To be on time with the Southern mail!

The Southern Mail, the Southern mail
To be on time with the Southern mail
Checked his water, his water was low
Looked at his watch, his watch was slow
Put on more water, put on more coal
Put your head out the window see my drivers roll
See my drivers roll, see my drivers roll
Put your head out the window see my drivers roll
People said Casey couldn’t run
But I can tell you what Casey done;
Left Memphis, quarter ‘til nine
Vaughn, Mississippi, right on time
Got within a mile of the place!


 

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