THE PONY EXPRESS -- TRANSCONTINENTAL MAIL LINK

by Pam North

"Wanted-- young, skinny, wiry fellows, not over eighteen.  Must be
expert riders, willing to risk death daily.  Orphans preferred.  Wages
$25 a week.  Apply, Central Overland Express, Alta Bldg., Montgomery St."  
This was supposedly the notice placed in a San Francisco newspaper in 
March of 1860 to hire riders for the Pony Express.

The concept of the Pony Express was originated by the firm of Russell,
Majors and Waddell, the most prominent force in the country for
shipping goods west.  The prosperous and respected company had a
virtual monopoly on providing freight service; their ox-drawn wagon
trains stretched across the prairies for miles, often encompassing as
many as 20,000 people.  In the spring of 1860, as the nation was on
the brink of the Civil War, the firm established a subsidiary,
privately-financed business that was in reality a foolish gamble.  Its
premise was to carry a satchel of mail across the nearly 2,000 miles
of American wilderness in less than ten days, using a relay system of
experienced riders and the best horses money could buy.  The horses
were half-wild native mustang stock, hardy and spirited; a horse was
considered ridable when the rider could lead it from the stable
without getting his head kicked off. The riders were tough, experienced,
lightweight men, weighing about 100 to 120 pounds, who could endure
the brutal ride, often without relief, that sometimes caused riders to
finish their routes bleeding from the nose and mouth.  Few couriers who
started at the beginning of the service were still riding when it
ended; it was not work for the faint of heart or weak of constitution.
When not in the saddle, the riders had to live rough, consuming beans,
bacon, corn bread and black coffee, and sleeping in shelters that were
often worse than those housing their horses.


On April 3, 1860, the first riders left - one headed west from
St. Joseph, Missouri, and one headed east from San Francisco,
California.  The complex system involved dozens of way stations and
hundreds of men and horses to support the courierss, who changed
horses every 12 to 15 miles, depending on the terrain, and covered
between 75 to 100 miles before they were relieved.  During the
existence of the Pony Express, replacements often failed to be
provided as scheduled, and some riders ended up in the saddle for long
distances, such as Pony Bob Haslam, who was forced to cover 380 miles
on one occasion.  Tales were often told by riders of sleeping in the
saddle as they journeyed.

William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) immortalized the Pony Express in his
famous Wild West Show; a Pony Express rider was always a feature in
the entertainment, even as the other acts were changed over time.
Cody in his youth had been a messenger boy for the Pony Express, and
although he often bragged about being a rider for the company as well,
that appears to have been more likely a fabrication on his part. His 
early association with the Pony Express remained a fond memory to cling 
to and embellish, and his influence did much to foster recognition and 
reverence of this unique mail courier system.

The demise of the Pony Express was caused by several factors.  The
carrying of mail in this manner was not efficient; weight concerns
limited the amount that could be transported, so only important
communications were written on the lightest of paper.  Rates were
$4.00 per 100 words, hardly inexpensive.  Frivolous love letters were
not the fare carried by Pony Express, and small businesses could not
afford the high rates.  Hostile Indian activity, primarily involving
the Paiutes, greatly impacted the Pony Express,causing the company at
one point to temporarily suspend operations.  The Civil War had an
economic effect.  The final blow was the advent of the transcontinental 
telegraph, which linked the east and west coasts of America by a new 
technology that could transmit messages rapidly and cheaply.  On 
October 26, 1861, the mounted couriers ceased their rides, and the 
Pony Express had come to an end.

The Pony Express was one of the most celebrated chapters in United
States history, despite the fact that its duration was only a brief
year-and-a-half.  The image of a lone rider galloping across vast
expanses of desolate territory inhabited by hostile Indians,
determined to carry the mail no matter the weather, time of day or
rough terrain, was the epitome of all the rough and ready spirit and 
bravado of the Old West.