The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1881-08-02
Aoross Tia ri.in..


In 1859 st. Joseph was the western
terminus Of railroad communication
Beyond the stage coach. the saddle
horse and the on trains were 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 Wash
ington trying to get "a, ooO. 900 for car
rying the mail overland one wear be
tween New York and San Francisco.
The ropositionwasextre cheeky"
n William H. Russell. backed BY
Secretary Of Wan Floyd. resolved 10
give the lobby a cold shower bath. He
therefore offered TO bet 500, 600 thai
he could put on q mail line from Sac
ramento TO St Joseph that should make
the disiance-l.950 miles-in ten days.
The bet was taken and the 9Th Of April
hxed upon as the day for starting. Mr..
Russell told his partner and general
manager of business upon the plains,
sir. A b. Miller, what he had done,
aud asked If he could perform the feat.
MIR. Miller replied: Yes. sir, l will do
IL by pony express" To accomplish
this Mr.. Miller purchased 800 of the
he'test horses he could find in the West
and employed l25 men. Eighty of
those men were 10 be post riders.
These he selected with reference to
their light weight and their known
daring and courage. 1t was very es-
seniial that some parts of the route
should be run at the rate of twenty
miles an hour. The horses were sta
toned from ten to twenty miles apart.
and each rider would be required to
rtAA oixfU rnslaa L.. Al. &c. -
animals and the shifting Of the mails
W minutes were allowed. Where
there were no stage stations at proper
distances tents sufficient to hold ono
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
mako q single mile in q minute and
fifty seconds.
Arrangements being completed a sig
gun on the steamer at Sacramento
proclaimed the meridian Of April 8,
1860, the hour for starting. when Bor-
der Rufiian. Nh. Miller's private saddle
horse. with Billy Baker In the saddle,
bounded away toward the foothills 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 O snow storm; and after the Salt
Lake Valley was reached additional
speed became necessary to reach st.
Joseph on time. From hero on all
went well until the Platte was to be
crossed at J~ulesburg. The river was
up and running rapidly, but the rider
nIrnnad hto hprao into fho AA1I --Ir
however. to miro In the quicksand and
drown. The courier s~ucceededin reach
ing the shore, with mailbag 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 ride, with six
horses to do It. When the last courier
arrived at the sixty-mile post, out from
st. Joseph, no was one hour behind
time, q heavy rain had set in and the
thousand dollars might turn upon q
single minute. Fry had Just three hours
and thirty minutes in which to win. I
This was the finish Of the longest race,
for tho largest stakes, ever run In
was nearly up, at least five thousand
people stood upon the river bank, with
eyes turned toward the woods from
which the horse and its rider should
emerge into the open country In the
Of Elwood. one mile from the finish. |
Tick, itch, weut thnnsanda Of watchesi
The time wp nesrly upf But seven
minutes remained Harki.a about goes
up from the assembled multitude "He
comei he oomesr They liable little
mare. Sylph, the daughtsfo q Li0le
Arthur. darts like an arrow from the
bow and makes the run Of tbs last mile
In mi minute and dfty seconds, land
Ing upon the ferrybost with I've minutes
and . fraction to spare. e<-sS