The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1892-05-30
running A PONY EXPRESS.
Exciting Experiences of a Mail Carrier In
the Early Days of the West.

the Early Days of the West.
When the venerable Steve Rugles
pulled off his storm defer and touched
up with a parlor match a goodly pinch
of old Virginia natural leaf, he was
only a moment sending more than a
cloud winding among his neighbors in
the Grand Pacific corridor. Steve had
come in from Denver a few hours be-
fore and had been in the city just about
long enough to not care a blank wheth-
er he saw anything, anybody or any
where.
You can bet that I'll show some of
these tenderfeet, if they tackle me, that
I'm the biggest glizzly this side Of
the peak" and Steve gyrated and de-
scribed a few circles with his feet.
Mary jump in the road are any of these
here umbrella swingin dudes goin ter
step up next ter me, fer right sudden
there's goin ter be er row. Now, there
CANT anybody realize any better than !
kin that Chercawgo is ther city of Their
only Worlds fair, but let me tell you,
pardner, some of these young ducks what
thinks they'se got an immortal cinch Of
the universe is gOin ter get into a hull
lot of trouble if they fools with this old
cOrmOrant from away out west"
Old Steve took an extra puff on his
well seasoned black brier and settled
into a reminiscent mood. He had taken
part in many of the early incidents Of
the border days, and when he was in
clined could tell many interesting tales.
why, young fellow, way back in
1849 | was one of the first of the boys to
tackle the pony express business. 1t
didn't take much nerve the way nerve
weighs nowadays, but when you come
to look at it in them days a fellow had
TO take all the chances of a lifetime, and
it was a kinder ticklish job to tackle a
horseback ride across the Injun country
alone.
Il would start out from st. 10, pony
on the gallOp from the second | put my
hand on the saddle horn, and Their want
no let up on that jump till l landed in
Denver. Right through the redskin
country then, and now when you can
look at 'em livin quiet down in Florida
or occasionally kickin over the traces
up north, they amt a marker to what
we had to deal with in tibet country
them days. 1t was likely to be a run
min fight from start ter finish, and l am
| only sorry thet yer didn't live ter write
erbout tibet old time from actual ex-
perience."
Tell me something about the pony
express"
well, of course it's an old story
about how she was started and run un'
til the stages and railroads knocked the
business out. But in the early days OF
that gallopin mail arrangement a fellel
got all the excitement he wanted every
trip. You know we wasn't supposed tc
lose a seconds time along the road, and
many's the time I've ridden a quarter OF
half a mile on the dead u with the
saddle cinches undOne completely, sos
the minute l got 'longside my change
pony I'd lose no time transferring my
saddle.
Fer a long time we didn't know
whether er not we was goin to find any
transfer still runnin fer u benefit, fe1
the ponies was good ones and the lnjun!
didn't care much fer a man er two whel
they was after bosses. Several times
struck a deserted transfer station, saw
the poor fellers lyin there with the tot
of their head gone, but l had to move
on, as | had a tired pony and couldn'
lose time getting to the next station t.
change"
Did you ever have any personal en-
counters with the Indians, Mr.. Rugles!
You bet, but don't call me Mr.
Rugles; plain old Steve. Yes, I've hearC
the whizz of the arrer and hum OF tn
bullet, have gone at a dead run with tn
bride reins between my teeth, bot
hands busy with two six shooters, an
have been plugged three times. That
the narrowest escape l yer had" AM
the veteran pushed back his gray hal
and exhibited a scar that EXTENDED
across the side Of the head on a leve
with the left temple.
1T was getting along toward night
and about the time the pony began t
act kinder queer l commenced to realiz
that Injuns was sOmewheres close. Sur
enough, the first thing | knew, a gang Q
'em comes gallopin from some timber
short ways off, yellin and shOotin. Pom
|. and me went fer all we was worth, an
then | remember holdin onto the saddle
horn and all grew suddenly dark. l
heavy jolting woke me up, and | foun
that my saddle had saved my scalI
Wounded and stunned, | had never los
. my horse sense, yer might say, and
had hung on all the time"
At this junction one of Steve's earl
friends came up, everybody went u
and smiled" and Steve promised t
talk more some other time.-Chicag
News.
4 New Word.
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