Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-08-25
THE PONY EXPRESS.
CARRYING THE MAILS THROUGH THE
AMERICAN DESERT.
Some of the Feats That Were Accom-
plished by "Pony Bob and "Buffalo
Bilr Thirty Years Ago.

Some of the Feats That Were Accom-
| plished by Pony Bob" and "Buffalo
BilP Thirty Years Ago.
Thirty years ago to-day, when bach
elor occupied the Presidents mansion a
| Washington and there was no Pacific rail
road and no transcontinental telegraph
line in operation over the ''Great Ameri
can Desert" of the old school books, anG
the wild Indian was lord of the manor-s
true native American sovereign-St. Jo
seph, Mo-, was the western terminus o.
railway transportation. Beyond that point
the traveller bound for the regions of the
Occidsnt had his choice of a stage coach
an OK team, pack mule or, some equally
stirring method of reaching San Fran.
| cisco.
Just at that interesting period of oul
history, when the gold excitement and
other local advantages of the Pacific Coast
had concentrated an enterprising popula
| tion and business at San Francisco and in
adjacent districts, the difficulty of commu.
| nication with the East was greatly de
plored, and a rapid overland mail service
became an object of general solicitude.
In the winter of 1860 81 several kings ir
Wall street formed formidable lobby al
Washington in the interests of an overland
mail route to California, and asked Con
gress for subsidy of Sl0,000000 for car
rying the mails overland for one year be-
tween New York and San Francisco.
Floyd, the Secretary of State, and Viii
liam FL. Russell, of the firm of Russell
Majors & Waddell, deemed the
ENTERPRISE A VERY ExTRAvAGANT ONE
The distance was 1850 miles. Mr.. Russell
proposed to cover this distance with a mai
line between st. Joseph, No. and Sar
Francisco, that would deliver letters a,
either end of the route in ten days. and
expressed a willingness to support this
proposition with wager Of 100000. The
parties who sought to secure contracts
for mail service from the Government.
doubling the success of RusselPs enterprise,
| accepted the wager, and steps were at once
taken to put his scheme into operation.
The Sd day of April, 1860, was set as
the date of starting his overland mail.
Russells partners, Majors and Waddell,
were positive that pony express could be
arranged with such facilities as to enable
him to win his extraordinary wager.
Three hundred head Of the heetest horses
to be procured were Immediately pur-
chased, and the services of over two hun
dred competent men were secured. Eighty
of these men were selected for post riders.
Light-weights were deemed the most eligi-
bic for this purpose; the lighter the man
the better for the horse, as some portions
of the route had to be traversed at speed
of twenty miles an hour. Relays were
established at stations, the distance be-
tween which were in each instance deter
mined by the character of the country.
These stations dotted wild, uninhab-
tied expanse of country 1000 miles wide,
infested with road-agents and warlike In
dians, who roamed in formidable hunting
parties, ready to sacrifice hnman life with
as little unGoncern as they would slaughter
buffalo. The pony express, therefore,
was not only an important but daring
and romantic enterprise. At each station
and at every third station
THIN, wIRY AND HARDY PosT-RIDERs
Held themselves in readiness to press for
ward with the mails. These were filled
with important business letters and press
dispatches from Eastern cities and San
Francisco, printed upon tissue paper, and
thus specially adapted by their weight for
this mode of transportation.
When Russeil's wager was at stake, on
the first run, the journey from st. Joseph
to San Francisco was accomplished in nine
days and seventeen hours, and his bet was
won seven hours less than he estimated.
After that the schedule time for the trip
was fixed at ten days. In this manner
they supplied the place of the electric
telegraph and the lightning express train
of the gigantic railway enterprise that sub
sequently superseded it. The men were
faithful, daring fellows. and their service
was full of novelty and adventure. The
facility and energy with which they Jour
neyed was marvel. The news of Abraham
Lincoln's election was carried through
from St. Joseph to Denver, 665 miles, in
two days and twenty one hours, the last ten
miles having been covered in thirty-one
minutes. The last route on that occa-
sion was traversed by Robert H. Haslam,
better known as "Pony Bob" who carried
the news lie miles IN eight hours and ten
minutes to the first telegraph station on
the Pacific coast, he having crossed both
SUBMITS of the Sierra Neyadas, from Car
son City, New, to Placeryille, Cal.
On another occasion it is recorded, one
Of these riders journeyed single stretch OF
300 miles, the other men who should have
relieved him being either disabled or in
disposed, and reached the terminal station
on schedule time.
The distance between relay riders sta
tions varied from sixty-fve to 100 miles
and often more. The weight to be carried
by each was fixed at ten pounds or under,
and the charge for transportation was S.
In gold for each quarter of an ounce. The
entire distance between New York city
and San Francisco occupied but fourteen
days. The riders received S120 to S125
per month for their arduous service.
TEE DANGERS SURROUNDING THE RIDERS
Cannot be told. Not only were they re-
markable for lightness of weight and energy
but their service required continued vigil.
ance, bravery and agility. Among their
number were skillful guides, scouts and
couriers accustomed TO adventures and hard
ships on the plains-men of strong wills and
wonderful power of endurance. The
horses were mostly half-breed California
mustangs. as alert and energetic as their
riders, and their part in the service-sure-
footed and ffeet-was invaluable. Only
two minutes were allowed at stations for
changing mails and horses. Everybody
was on the qui vive.
The adventures with which the service
was rife are numerous and exciting. The
day of the first start, the Sd of April, at
noon, Harry Rolf, mounted on spirited
half-breed broneho, started from Sacra-
mento on his perilols ride, and covered the
first twenty miles, including one change, in
forty-nine minutes. On reaching Folsom
he changed again and started for Placer
vile, at the foot OF the Sierra Nevada
mountains, fifty-fve miles distant. There
he connected with Boston, who took the
route to Fridays Station, crossing the east
ern summit of the Sierra Nevada. Pony
Bob next fell into line and pursued his
way to Genoa, Carson City, Dayton, Reeds
Station and Fort Churchill-seyenty-f
miles. The entire run, 1S5 miles, was
made in fifteen hours and twenty minutes,
and including the crossing of both srm-
mits of the Sierras, through thirty feet Of
snow This seems almost ipnoseihla and