Eureka weekly sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1887-1902, 1888-03-24
THE PONY EMPRESS.


TWIN E"A ~ ~
The Longest Race and biggest
Purse on Record.
may be little lazy as to the ex-
act figures, but in the main my recol-
lection is correct
The speaker was an elderly gentle
man OH fhe Oakland ferryboat, yester-
day, who has just returned to Caliior-
MA after an absence Of many years in
the East. He had been contrasting
the five overland railways OF the pres
ent time to the slow-toiling OK team
with which he crossed the plains III
so, and the conversation had incl
IDENTIFY drifted to the Pony Express, so
famous in its day.
"The circumstances leading to the
establishment of the express" he
went on, are so CLOSED over with a
glamour OF fiction that the unqualified
truth would be difficult matter TO get
at
"Twenty-nine years ago st. Joseph
Mo-, was the Western terminus of the
railway systems of the country. Be-
yond st. Joseph the stage coach, OK
team and kindred methods OF trans
portation were resorted 10 for the pur-
pose of maintaining communication
with the Pacific slope. This Coast was
by that time pretty well settled, and
business men began to wish for a
rapid overland mail service.
In the Winter of 1860 Wall street
was at work in Washington endeayor-
ing to get subsidy OF Sic, 100000 for
carrying the mails overland one year
between New York and San Francisco.
William II. Russell, backed up by
Secretary of War Floyd, looked upon
the scheme as a very cxtravagant
proposition, and said he could put on
ANAL line from San Francisco to st.
Joseph that would cover the distance
Il $50 niles-in ten days. So conf
dent was lac that he professed himself
willing to wager 5000, 900 on the prop
Osition.
"The schemers for the big mail con-
tracts felt bound to meet the bluff, and
took up the wager, the Sth day ol
April, 1860 being fixed as the time for
starting.
-" "A. b. Miller, who died in Denver
about four years ago, was RusselPs
partner and general manager, and to
him Russell looked for the successful
outcome OF the venture. Miller was
positive that pony express could he
established which would enable his
partner to win his prodigious wager.
i" There was no time to be lost, and
Miller set about his task with energy
lie purchased 800 OF the heetesi
horses he could procure and engaged
the services of l25 men. Eighty oI
these men were selected for post riders
and were especially chosen for theii
daring and light weight-the lighter
the man the better for the horse, as
some parts Of the route had to he coy
cred at the killing rate OF 20 miles an
hOnr.
=" In establishing the relays the dis
tance in each instance was deter
mined by the character of the colln'
try. As a rule the horses were sta
toned from ten to twenty miles apart
and each rider had TO make sixty
HlileS. Two minutes Ncre ilH)Ntu ip'
changing the animals and shifting o
mails. II the stage stations were moi
at proper intervals, a tent was put III
sufficient to accommodate one mai
and two horses.
BY the day set for the starting
everything was in readiness, and be
fore the smoke cleared away from til,
muzzlc of the signal gun on tn,
steamer Sacramento at the hour o
noon, April S,lS60, Billy Baker, mount
ed on Border Ruilian, Mr.. Miller's ia
nous saddle horse, dashed away to
ward the Sierras, covering his twent,
miles in forty-nine minutes.
Deep snow lay in the mountain
passes, and to Salt Lake Valley SLOW
time was made, so that rom the val
ley on it was necessary to make extr;
fast speed to win the huge wager.
" All went well until the crossing a
Julesburg was reached. To his dis
may the courier found the Platte rive
high up in its banks and strong cur
rent running. Fearlessly horse an'
rider plunged into the turbid stream
but only the man reached the oppo
site bank. His gallant steed mired il
The Quickgand and WAS drowuel TIL,