The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1892-04-14
RUNNING A PONY EXPRESS.
Exciting Experiences of a Mail Carrier In
the Early Days of tho West.


the Early Days of tho West.
When the venerable Steve Rugles
pulled off his storm defer and touched
up with parlor match 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 few hours be-
fore and had been in the city just about
long enough to not care 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.
"Nary 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 Their 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 on
the universe is goin ter get into 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
1s49 was one of the first of the boys to
tackle the pony express business. It
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 lifetime, and
it was kinder ticklish job to tackle a
horseback ride across the Injun country
alone.
u 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 landed in
Denver. Right through the redskin
country then, and now when you can
look at 'e1n livin quiet down in Florida
or occasionally kickin over the traces
up north, they amt marker to what
we had to deal with in tibet country
them days. 1t was likely to be run
min fight from start ter finish, and am
only sorry tibet yer didn't live ter write
erbout tibet old time from actual ex-
perience."
'Tell me something about the pony
express"
swell, of course it's an old story
about how she was started and run I'M
til the stages and railroads knocked the
business out. But In the early days of
that gallopin mail arrangement Teller
got all the excitement he wanted every
trip. You know we wasn't supposed to
lose a seconds time along the road, and
many's the time I've ridden quarter or
half Q mile on the dead run with the
saddle cinches undone completely, SOS
the minute | 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 our benefit, fer
the ponies was good ones and the Injuns
didn't care much fer man er two when
they was after bosses. Several times ]
struck a deserted transfer station, saw
the poor fellers lyin there with the top
of their head gone, but l had to move
on, as l had tired pony and couldn't
lose time getting to the next station to
change
"Did you ever have any personal en-
counters with the Indians, Mr. Rugles?"
"You bet, but don't call mo Mr.
Rugles; plain old Steve. Yes, I've heard
the whizz of the arrer and hum of the
bullet, have gone at dead run with the
bride reins between my teeth, both
hands busy with two six shooters, and
have been plugged three times That's
the narfowest escape ever had," and
the veteran pushed back his gray hair
and exhibited scar that extended
across the side of the head on level
with the left temple.
sit was getting along toward night,
and about the time the pony began to
ect kinder queer commenced to realize
that iajHns was somewheres close. Sure
enough, the first thing knew, a gang of
'em comes gallopin from some timber a
short ways off, yellin and shootin. Pony
and me went fer oil we was worth, and
then remember holdin onto the saddle
horn and all grew suddenly dark. A
heavy jolting woke me up, and found
that my saddle had saved my scalp.
Wounded and stunned, had never lost
my horse sense, yer might say. and
had hung ON all the time"
At this junction one of Steve's early
friends came up, everybody went up
and Smiled" and Steve promised to
talk more some other time. Chicago
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