River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-03-31
A Race lcrNSS the Plains.

In 1859 St. Joseph was the western
terminus of railroad communication.
Beyond, the stage coach, the saddle
horse and the OK trains We're the only
means of commerce and communion
ton with the Rocky Mountains and the
Pacific Slope. In the winter of 1860
there was Wall street lobby at Wash
ington trying to get 100000 for car
rying the mail overland one year be-
tween New York and San Francisco.
The proposition was extremely
"cheeky," and William II. Russell,
backed by Secretary of War Floyd, re-
solved to give the lobby a cold shower
bath. He therefore offered to bet $780,
600 that he could put on mail line
from Sacramento to St. Joseph that
should make the distance-1, $50 miles
in ten days The bet was taken and
the Sth of April fixed upon as the day
for starting. Mr.. Russell told his part
ner and general manager of business
upon the plains, Mr. A B. Miller, what
he had done, and asked him if he could
perform the feat. Mr.. Miller replied
Eyes, sir; | will do it, and do it by a
pony express" To accom- plish this,
Mr.. Miller purchased 800 of the heetest
horses he could find in the west and
employed 125 men. Eighty of these
men were to be postriders. These he
selected with reference to their light
weight and their known daring and
courage. 1t was very essential that
the horses should be loaded as lightly
as possible. 1t was necessary that
some parts of the route should be run
at the rate of twenty miles an hour.
The horses were stationed from ten to
twenty miles apart, and each rider
would be required to ride sixty miles.
For the change of animals and the shift
ing of the mails two minutes were al
lowed Where there were no stage sta
tons at proper distances, tents sufii-
Gent to hold one man and two horses
were provided. Indians would some
times give chase, but their cayuse po-
MES made but sorry show in their stern
chase after Miller's thoroughbreds,
many of which could make a single
mile in minute and fifty seconds.
Arrangements being completed, a
signal gun on the steamer at Sacremen-
to proclaimed the meridian Of Al ril s.,
1S60-the hour for starting-when
Border Ruffian, Mr.. Miller's private
saddle horse, with Billy Baker
in the saddle, bounded away toward
the foot hills of the Sierra Nevadas, and
made his ride Of twenty miles in forty
nine minutes. The SHOWS were deep
in the mountains and one rider was
lost for several hours in a snow storm /;
and after the Salt Lake Valley was
reached additional speed became neces-
sary to reach st. Joseph on time. From
here on all went well until the Platte was
to be crossed at Julesburg. The river
was up and running rapidly, but the
rider plunged his horse into the flood
only, however TO mire in the auckland
and drown. The courier succeeded in
reaching the shore with his mail bag in
hand and travelled ten miles on foot to
reach the next relay. Johnny Fry, a
popular rider of his day, was TO make
the finish. He had sixty miles to fde
with six horses to do 1t. When the
last courier arrived at the sixty mile
post, out from St. Joseph, he was one
hour behind time, and a heavy rain had
set in and the roads were slippery.
Two hundred thousand dollars might
turn upon a single minute. Fry had
Just three hours and thirty minutes IN
which to win. This was the finish OF
the longest race for the largest stakes
ever run in America. When the time
for his arrival was nearly up, at least
five thousand people stood on the river
bank, with eyes turned toward the
woods from which the horse and rider
should emerge into the open county IN
the rear of Elwood-one mile from the
finish. Tick, tick, went thousands Ct
watches. The time was nearly upi But
seven minutes remained Hark,
shout goes up from the assembled
multitude. He comesi he comesl"
The noble little mare, Sylph, the
daughter of little Arthur, darts like an
arrow from the bow and makes the
run of the last mile in one minute and
fifty seconds-landing on the ferry boat
with five minutes and a fraction to
Spares Joe, No. Aelcs.