The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-07-23

with light and valuable express matter.
py means of ponies ridden by young
men rapidly for short distances between
the two points. OF course this scheme
involved an Immense expenditure for sta
tons all along the route horses and men
10 ride them, and all the other elements
that would necessarily enter into the
scheme. The matter was discussed fully
at ooth ends of the route and found many
advocates and much opposition. The
most experienced plainsmen and noun
tanners pronounced it impracticable on
account of the dangers to be met with,
and the opinion was expressed that no
package risked on this line would ever
reach Its destination, and that all the
riders would be murdered before a test
could be made. Sense and experience
seemed to uphold these views It must
be remembered that the route to be
travelled over was for the whole dis
lance, wilderness of desert and noun
tain ranges, little known and infested
with the most savage Indian tribes on
the continent, the relations of which with
the whites were either unsettled or hos
tile. But, nothing daunted, the projectors
decided to carry out their design, win or
lose. They purchased 600 Texas bronchos.
built all the necessary stations, employed
all the men required to operate and de-
fend them, and secured seventy-five
on the borders. The wages paid the rid
ers were from SIPS to $3.50 month with
ratlons, and, singular as 1t may seem to
people OF today, these positions were
much sought for. Danger among this
class of men has an irresistible fascina-
ton, and writing about it recalls an in
cident which Verifies the assertion fully,
When lived in Carson City, New, the
office of sheriff of Ormsby county, in
Which Carson situated ha
most coveted position in the gift of the
people, and it was we'll known that there
never was an incumbent of 1t who had
not died in his boots.
The whole arrangement was perfected
with Western rapidity, and the first
pony started from st. Joseph, in Mis-
souri,, on the third day of April, 1860; on
the same day and hour the Western
pony started from Sacramento, in Cali
fornia. The distance between sta
lions was about forty miles, and was
ridden in the shortest time possible. Two
minutes We're allowed for refreshments
and change of. horses. Each rider car
ried about ten pounds, and the freight
charged for the full distance was S. an
ounce. The line was maintained success
fully for about two years without any
interruption more serious than the occa-
sional killing of a rider by the Indians
when In June, 1862, the first transconti-
mental telegraph went into operation,
and the pony express, being no longer
profitable, yielded, as many other things
have since, to the all-conquering invader.
electricity.
The first pony carried from the presi-
dent of the United States a congratulate
tory message to the governor of Cali
fornia. The best time ever made be-
tween the two extreme points was when
the last message of President Buchan-
an reached Sacramento in eight and one
half days from Washington 1t seems
almost incredible that such time could
have been made with animals, when we
reflect that the first expedition sent out
by Mr.. Astor was eleven months in cross
ing the continent.
The pony express was a success fnan-
cially to its projectors and satisfied the
hungering of the people for news at
points so distant from each other and
immensely facilitated the transaction of
business, but in my opinion it was most
important in demonstrating that the
Western American never shrinks from
encountertng and overcoming obstacles
that to most people would seem insur-
mountable. Charles E. Flandrau.