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Riders of the Pony Express
From the Reader's Digest

The Pony Express was in existence only 19 months and it died a financial failure. Yet as dramatic manifestation of the opening of the American West it has no rival. Almost every trip produced an adventure and in their brief gallop for glory the riders of the Pony Express delivered 34753 pieces of mail between Missouri and California - and most of them on time.

The Central Overland Pony Express Company was born in adversity on April 3 1860. Its founder William H Russell was in deep financial trouble and his dramatic promise of 10-day mail service between St Joseph Missouri and Sacramento California was his way of getting out of it. Russell's stagecoach and freighting company Russell Majors & Waddell had been carting supplies to the US Army during its 1857-58 campaign to assert federal authority over rebellious Mormons. Attacked by Mormons and hampered by severe winter weather the company incurred heavy losses, which the Army refused to reimburse. If thought Russell he could prove that the central overland route was faster than the southern route hen in use government mail subsidies would surly be forthcoming to bail him out of trouble.

On the day the prairies first heard the drum Of Pony Express horses a rider named Johnny Fry left the St. Joseph terminal two hours behind schedule because the mail from points east was late in arriving at the railway depot. Another rider nearly 2000 miles away I Sacramento started on time and pounded to meet him. Riding in relays the men and horses made the connection in less than 10 hours.

The Pony Express men and the horsed they rode were picked to exacting specification. A rider had to be young and of small build yet show great endurance courage and maturity of judgment. The horses were sturdy animals chosen for stamina and bought at a price that was often four times the market price. These hardy horses had much to do with the fact that the Pony Express lost only one man during its months of existence despite the hazards of weather and several attempts by Indians to interfere with the mail service. The Pony Express horses were simply faster than Indian ponies as riders Nick Wilson found out when Indians jumped him between Shell Creek and Deep Creek. Fueled by grain Wilson's horse outran the grass eating Indian ponies. In the case of riders who lost his race with the Indians his pony delivered the mail alone.

Buffalo Bill Cody was 15 when he became a Pony Express rider. Tough and courageous, Cody once rode for 322 miles when no relief rides awaited him at the post. The record for the longest continuous ride however belongs to "Pony Bob" Haslam who covered 380 miles in about 36 hours with a total of 9 hours rest along the way. The Paiutes were in killing mood at that ride. Haslam expected fresh mounts at the Pony Express way stations ahead of him but the Indians had raided a number of stations and scattered the stock and he had no choice but to flog his horse and keep going.

At the end of his eastbound run Haslam found the relief rider unwilling to face the Paiutes. So Haslam got a fresh horse and made the trip himself. He slept at the next destination and then made the return trip carrying the west bound mail. It may be that still another Pony Express rider made a longer continuous ride340 mile in 24 hours. But he probably did it on a bet without Indian harassment and he arrived fast asleep in the saddle.

Although the Pony Express earned as much as $ 1000 per trip it was not enough to carry the expense of 190 stations 80 riders and 500 horses. It cost the company about $16 for every piece of mail it delivered and all it got back was only amount #3 per letter. Although Russell had not expected to make his mail service profitable right away loosing #13 per letter was a fierce drain. And then the transcontinental telegraph made the Pony Express irrelevant. On November 20 1861 the last rider handed over his mail.