The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-02-04


ing war against the tribes Of hostile In
dams along Its routes The equipment OF
the line cost 100000 and consisted Of about
800 horses OF the hardy California broncho
kind. about eighty riders picked from the
most daring and experienced scouts and
frontiersulen Of the entire West, and 20
station-keepers. The first ride was start
cd at p. m, according to Mr.. Bailey, ana
at noon, by the record OF Col. fnman. April
3. 1850. Henry Rolf was the first pony ex-
press mount out Of Sacramento and Henry
Wallace out OF St. Joseph The frlng OF
guns. the blowing Of whistles and the
ringing Of bells gave these daring riders
a hearty godspeed on their perlous trips
Sam Hamilton's Run.
In the course OF its initial trip eastward
Sam Hamilton rode one Of the most sensa-
tional runs-that from Genoa TO Fort
Churchill. distance Of seyeaty-hve miles
across the western crest OF the Sierra Me-
vada range, which was covered with snow
TO depth, in many places, OF thirty
feet. From this point the pouches were
carried forward by Robert Haslam, Pony
Bob" who became one Of the most cele-
brated and daring Of all pony expressmen.
His route lay over more than 100 miles OF
dangerous country In which roamed tribes
OF Indians eager for the blood of the white
man.
obliged to face are brought vividy TO mind
by several excerpts from the reports Of
the expressmen, reproduced in Mr. Bailey's
article. Among them are the following
entries
The pony expressman has just returned
from Cod Springs, being driven back by
the Indians.
The men at Dry Creek station have all
been killed. aud ii Is thought those at Rob
erts creek have met the same fate. Eight
~ from Af-fff nsa rs u
Monday, supposedly by road agents.
six Pixies Peakers found the body OF
the station keeper horribly mutilated. the
station burned and all the stock missing
from Simpsons"
For their perilous services the riders re-
ceived, as a rule. SID a MONTH although
sometimes those obliged to cover particu
larry hazardous runs were allowed SIPS a
month When the pony express system
nrst was put into operation the express
man generally considered It necessary to
carry rifle slung over his back in addi-
tion 10 "a. pair Of heavy reyolvers Very
soon. however, he discovered that the long
range weapon was not only bnrdensome
but practically useless. inasmuch as near
y all the encounters with the road agents
and Indians were at c.ose range. and when
once they succeeded in getting beyond re-
volver shot OF the enemy their best reh-
ance was on the flying heels of their ponies
How stations Were Placed.
In the earlier period OF the pony ex-
press the stations generally were about
twenty-five miles apart bat experience
soon demonstrated that few Of the horses
were capable of traversing this distance
at their maximum speed. and an effort
was made TO provide so far as practica-
BILE, relays at intervals of ten miles
Each expfessman was required 10 cover
run of approximately 100 miles. On
the most difficult portions of the routes
this distance was reduced considerably
but II often happened that as the eX-
pressman rode into his last station he
found that the rider who should take his
place had been killed and disabled. and
In some cases the entire station had been
wiped out by Indians This meant that
he must press forward without an in
stant's delay and cover the entire run
Of the missing expressman.
Col lnnan gives Col w. r. Cody bet
ter known as ''Bunalo Bill" credit for
having ridden the longest run on record
that OF 322 miles
The mail was carried in two pouches,
attached TO the saddle IN front and be-
mind the rider, maximum weight OF
this burden being limited to twenty
pounds. At first the charge for carrying
letter of half an ounce or less was FIX
ed AT s., but th4s was reduced 70 half
that amount. The eplstles were invari-
ably written on tissue paper and care
fully wrapped in oil paper
When the first transcontinental tele-
graph line was completed after the pony
express had been in operation about six
teen months. the utility OF the latter was
at an end. Many OF the expressmen. how
ever, found employment in similar serv-
ice with the Welis-Fargo Express Com
pany, which operated various routes
through sections of the great West not
affected by the telegraph line This com
pany used private pony express stamps
bearing the picture OF rider dashing at
tuil speed over his route. The stamps are
highly priced By philatelists paying spe-
oial attention to this interesting field
OF stamp collecting, Not a few OF these
stamps are owned by Chicago collectors