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About Pony express:
"Wanted: young, skinny, wiry fellows not over
eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans
preferred. Wages: $25 per week." In the spring of 1860 these words
could be found in advertisements in San Francisco, California and in St.
Joseph, Missouri trying to attract riders to work for the newly founded
Pony Express.
The Pony Express was a mail service that operated between Saint Joseph,
Missouri, and Sacramento, California. It was inaugurated on April 3, 1860,
under the direction of the Central Overland California and Pike's Peak
Express Company. The first mail carried by the Pony Express reached
Sacramento on April 13, 1860. It cost $5 per 1/2 ounce at first. Later,
the cost was $1 per 1/2 ounce. Riders were paid $100 per month.
At the time, regular mail delivery took up to three weeks to cross the
continent. The Pony Express carried mail rapidly overland on horseback the
nearly 2000 miles between St. Joseph and Sacramento. Their schedule
allowed 10 days for the trip. The mail was then carried by boat to San
Francisco. Stations averaging at first 40 km (25 mi) apart were
established, and each rider was expected to cover 120 km (75 mi) a day.
Pony Express riders were usually lightweight young men, often teenagers. A
special saddle bag for carrying mail that could be moved to a fresh horse
very quickly at a change station, called a mochila, was used. New riders
took over every 75 to 100 miles. Riders got a fresh horse every 10 to 15
miles.
Eventually, the Pony Express had more than 100 stations, 80 riders, and
between 400 and 500 horses. The express route was extremely hazardous, but
only one mail delivery was ever lost. News of the election of Abraham
Lincoln as the President of the United States in 1860. The Pony Express is
credited with helping to keep California in the Union for the Civil War
(1861-1865) by providing rapid communication between the two coasts. News
of the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 reached California via
the Pony Express.
The regular Pony Express service was discontinued in October 1861, after
the Pacific Telegraph Company completed its line to San Francisco.
Approximately 650,000 miles were covered during the running of the Pony
Express.
The Pony Express was developed by William H. Russell, William B. Waddell,
and Alexander Majors because they believed that a very profitable
government contract would be granted. They never did get the lucrative
contract from the Federal Government because the government would
eventually have all of its money tied up in the Civil War (1861-1865).
Even though, financially, the Pony Express was a failure, the drama
surrounding the Pony Express made it a part of the legend of the American
West.
Famous riders:
Buffalo Bill
Wild Bill Hickok
Calamity Jane
Bronco Charlie Miller
Yungest rider:
At the age of 11, "Bronco Charlie" Miller was
the youngest rider of the Pony Express. In July of 1861 he left the Pony
Express Station in Sacramento, California and headed for Placerville. He
was a rider for 5 months until the Pony Express was shut down.
Longest ride:
Pony Bob Haslam rode 370 miles from Friday Station to
Smith Creek Station and back again.
Quickest run:
It was a run that took 7 days and 17 hours. The riders
were carrying President Lincoln's Inaugural Address.
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