[ The sweetest picture of family contentment I have
ever witnessed . . . . . . Frontispiece ]
[ I made a short prayer and concluded to fall out ]
[ Ollie was half Swede and the rest of her was deaf ]
[ With the fire-crackers cheering him on ]
"Ping-ding-a-zing-a-boom!" [missing from book]
[ "Naw, we don't take no transfers, needer!" ]
To the five hundred and seventy-five thousands friends who have made this series of John Henry books a success beyond all dreaming, my deepest gratitude.
To the Good Fellows of the Press who have looked upon John Henry with the Eye of Understanding, and who, realizing that these books were never intended to be more than an humble form of entertainment, have written thereof with the Pen of Patience, I say thank you, with all my heart.
To the Busy Little Bunch of Newspaper Knockers who have so assiduously plied hammer and harpoon since this series began, I want to say that 575,000 John Henry books were sold up to March 1st, 1906.
There is your answer, O Beloved of the Short Arm Jab!