Run, Pony, Run - Pony Express
By Lindsey Williams
“Away across the endless prairie a black speck appears against the sky. It is plain that it moves. Well, I should think so! ” wrote Mark Twain in 1860 as a stagecoach traveler.
“In a second or two it becomes a horse and rider, rising and falling, rising and falling – sweeping toward us nearer and nearer. The flutter of hoofs comes faintly to the ear – another instant a whoop and a hurrah from our upper deck, a wave of the rider’s hand. Man and horse burst past our excited faces and go winging away like a belated fragment of a storm!”
Of all the “wild west” tales entrenched in the minds of Americans, none is more romantic or enduring than the 19-month existence of the “Pony Express.”
In 1860, the United States was that mostly in name. The eastern third -- from the Atlantic Coast to the Mississippi River -- was the political and commercial heartland with railroads and telegraph lines.
California on the west coast was more like a colony than an integral state of the union.
Between the two parts was 1,900 miles of desolate prairie and formidable mountains dotted by isolated cattle ranches, Mormon farms, Indian villages and mining camps. Connecting the disparate parts was the Butterfield Overland Freight and Stage Company.
By a series of stage runs, via Texas, Butterfield could deliver passengers and mail to San Francisco in three weeks. With civil war pending, and manufactured products urgently needed, Californians lobbied strenuously for timely telegraph and railroad connection to the rest of the country.
This was the background as William H. Russell roamed the halls of congress seeking government contracts for his wagon-freighting operation: Russell, Majors & Waddell. A recent expansion of stagecoach service to Colorado had overburdened his company financially.
California Senator William Gwin was anxious to speed up communication and transportation for his state. Westward extension of the telegraph and railroad had been encouraged for years but with no result.
Sen. Gwin hinted that Russell might be able to win away the $600,000 mail subsidy from Butterfield if Russell’s company could substantially shorten the existing three-week mail delay.
Russell set out to demonstrate he could cut the mail delivery time to 10 days with a “pony express.” He and his partners gambled they could win government freighting contracts before a transcontinental telegraph line was built.
The company already operated a freight and coach line to Salt Lake City. However, many more stations, riders, horses and equipment would have to be assembled within 60 days – and all would have to mesh perfectly – in order to meet a deadline set by Sen. Gwin.
To find the riders, Russell placed advertisements in western newspapers:
“WANTED – Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over 19. Must be expert riders willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred.”
From the many applicants, Russell hired 80, non weighing more than 130 pounds. Each young man was required to take an oath to refrain from profane language, drunkenness, gambling, mistreating his mounts or interfering with the rights of Indians.
In the next few months, Russell hired an additional 40 riders as experience indicated arduous routes had to be shortened.
The pay was $125 a month plus bed and board – equivalent to about $30,000 a year in today’s currency – and a fabulous salary for horsemen of that day.
For his riders, Russell purchased 500 small, tough mustangs at an average price of $200 each. This was four times the price of an ordinary riding horse, but the mounts chosen had to have extraordinary endurance.
The “dash” horses were branded XP (for express pony) on their right flanks. They were fed grain freighted in at great expense. Grain-fed horses had greater speed and endurance than grass fed animals such as those of Indians. Barrels of water also were shipped to stations that did not have a well or access to a stream.
The route from St. Joseph, Missouri, to San Francisco, was established with 157 stations divided into five divisions. Each division “home” shelter had a superintendent, bunks, a cook, supplies and extra horses. In between division stations there were “relay” stations consisting of two men and two horses.
Riders rode from home station to home station. The distance varied from 40 to a 100 miles or so -- depending on terrain. At each relay station – 7 to 20 miles apart -- two attendants had not more than two minutes to transfer the light-weight saddle and four, built-in mail pouches to a fresh mount.
Meanwhile, the rider gulped a cup of black coffee and a few bites of a meat sandwich while stamping stiffness from his legs.
The system was reset by return mail from San Francisco.
Mail to San Francisco was dispatched from New York City at 4 p.m. Tuesdays, and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays. The first leg was an eight-hour train trip to St. Joseph, Missouri.
There, the Pony Express began its 10-day dash to California.
At first, the mail charge was $5 per half ounce – a steep price for those days. After a couple of months, the charge was reduced to $1. This increased volume but reduced income. The Pony Express lost money throughout its short existence.
Hostile Indians
In addition to the hardships, Express riders had to run a gauntlet of hostile Paiute Indians in Nevada.
At first, riders carried a rifle and pistol for defense. However, rifles were given up as adding too much weight.
According to Dee Brown in American History Illustrated, “The records of casualties among riders are incomplete.
“The name of Burt Riles was listed in a frontier newspaper as having died of wounds at the Cold Spring Station during the Paiute uprising. Other early accounts tell of an unnamed rider who was killed and scalped along the Platte River, though his horse escaped and ran on to the next station with the mail pouches intact.
“In Nevada, seven stations were burned by Paiutes. The number of station- keepers recorded as killed varies from seven to sixteen. Yet, during the 19 months the Pony Express operated, only one mail pouch was lost – and that to Indian disturbance.”
The time from St. Joseph to San Francisco varied from 10 to 11 days. However, Lincoln’s inaugural was delivered in seven days and 17 hours. News of the firing on Fort Sumter that started the Civil War was carried west in eight days and 14 hours.
Pony Express riders were instant celebrities. Johnny Frey received a brass-band send off from St. Joseph with the first pouch. Two that became most famous were Robert “Pony Bob” Haslam and William Cody. The latter became better known as “Buffalo Bill” – star of a Wild West” road show.
Pony Bob set the record for endurance with a series of rides during the Washoe County War. Indians had killed one station keeper and stole the horses there and others in the division. He rode into his home station after covering 384 miles on horseback in 36 hours.
Bankruptcy
Unfortunately, the splendid and brave performance of the Pony Express came to naught. Two months after the Pony Express started, Congress appropriated funds to build a telegraph line to California. Under the impact of war necessity, the line was completed Oct. 24, 1861 – eight months ahead of schedule.
Russell, Majors and Waddell declared bankruptcy, having lost their race with progress – as did its rival, Butterfield Overland.
The Sacramento Bee newspaper noted the demise of the Pony Express with nostalgia:
“Our little friend, the Pony, is to run no more. Farewell and forever, thou staunch, wilderness-overcoming, swift-footed messenger. Thou were the pioneer of a continent in the rapid transmission of intelligence between its people, and have dragged in your train the lightning itself. Rest upon your honors, be satisfied with them, your destiny has been fulfilled.”
About the Author:
Visit Mr. Williams at www.lindseywilliams.org with over a thousand of Lin's Editorial & At Large articles written over 40 years.
Also featured in its entirety is his groundbreaking book "Boldly Onward," that critically analyzes and develops theories about the original Spanish explorers of America.
