The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1881-03-16
A 100000 BET.
Nineteen Hundred Miles Across Mountains
and Plains by Pony Express.

A narrative of an exceedingly interest
ing occurrence is related in the st. 10
seph (Mo.) Ners: In 1853 st. Joseph
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 communication with the Rocky
mountains and the Pacific slope. In
the winter of 1860 there was q Wall
street lobby at Washington trying to get
IS, DOC, 900 for carrying the mails over,
land one yea between New York and
San Francisco. The proposition was ex-
tremely cheeky, and William q: Russell,
backed by Secretary of War Floyd, re-
solved to give the lobby q cold shower
bath. He therefore offered to bet S2oo,-
900 that he could put on a mail line
from Sacramento to st. Joseph, Mo,
that should make the distance-l,95O
miles-in ten days. The bet was taken
and the eight of April fixed upon as the e
day for starting. MI. Russell called
upon his partner and general manager OF
business upon the plains, Mr.. A. B. Mil
Ter, now a citizen Of Denver, and stated
what he had done, and asked if he could
perform the feat. Miller replied:
"Yes, sir; 1 will do it, and do it by q
pony express" To accomplish this MIR.
Miller purchased 800 of the feetest
horses lie could find in the West and
employed 1875 men. Eighty of
those men were to be post
riders. These he selected with
reference to their light weight and their
known daring and courage. It was very
essential that the horses should be loaded
as light as possible; therefore the lighter
the man the better. It was necessary that
some portions 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 re-
ouired to ride sixty miles. For the change
of animals and the shifting of the mails
two minutes were allowed. Where there
were no stage stations at proper distances
tents sufficient to hold n man and two
horses were provided. Indians would
sometimes give chase, but their cayuse
ponies made but sorry show in their stern
chase after Miller's thoroughbreds, many
of which could make q single mile in q
minute and fifty seconds.
All arrangements being completed a
signal gun on the steamer OF Sacramento
proclaimed the meridian Of April 8,
1SGO-the hour for starting-when Boz,
der Rufian, Mr.. Miller's private saddle
horse, with Billy Baker in the saddle,
bounded away toward the foothills Of
the Sierra Nevadas, and made his rlde o.
twenty miles in %forty-nine minutes. The
SHOWS were deep in the mountains, and
one rider was lost for several hours IN
sr6y.storm and after the Salt Lake val
lev was reached aaa~Gaiittiona speed became
necessary to reach st. Joseph on tune
From here on all went we'll until the
Platte was to be crossed ut Julesburg
The river was up and running rapidly.
but the rider plunged his horse into the
flood, only, however, to mire into the
uuicksand and drown. The courier sue
ceeded in reaching the shore, with his
mailbag in hand, and travelled ten
miles on foot to reach the next relay
Johnny Fry, q popular rider of his day,
was to make the finish. He had sixty
miles to ride, with six horses to do it
When the last courier arrived at the
sixty-mile post, out from st. Joseph, he
was one hour behind time. A heavy
rain had set in and the roads were
slippery. Two hundred thousand dol
lars 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
upon the river bank, with eyes turned
toward the woods from which the horse
and it's rider should emerge into the open
country in the real of Elwood-one mile
from the finish. Tick, tick, went thou
sands of watches! The time was nearly
up! But seven minutes remained
Hank a shout goes up from the assem-
bled multitude, "He comes! ne comes!'
The noble little mare, Sylph, the daugh-
ted of little Arthur, darts Like an arrow
from the bow and makes the run of the
last mile in one and fifty seconds-land-
ing upon the ferryboat with five minutes
and q fraction to spare.