Mexico weekly ledger., 1915-09-30
NAN N FAMOUS
PONY EXPRESS WAGER


FHmous Syftm.
ne manner in which the famsas
pouy Ezprsss q early Western days
vas organised h a romantic BIT of "
|pssi frontier history IN which ". A.
Cochran. Of Benton City, formerly Of
Msxico. plays an important part He
was o of the riders whose proweas
and feaflcssness net only won a $lor
|ooo age for William h. Russell. one
laf he oHners 81 the Overland Stage
Co. but pseyel to hose who doubted
that mail sd BE- dispatched through
The wilderness Of tie West even
though the Indian lufked in the for
ests and hills and ether dangers beset
the men who assumed the responsible
Iity.
Ii, speaking Of Mr.. Cochran il is IN
tsresting 70 note that while he was
one Of the regular riders who made It
possible for mail to travel from St.
Joseph 70 San Francisco Ia 2sz hssTs
he was also one Of theEa who aided in
carrying the news Of President Lin
coins assassination the same distance
in II hours.
In the autumn Of 1854 United States
senator w. NJ Gwin Of California
made the trip from San Francisco to
Washington, riding a relay Of ponies
overland.
Stopped a Big Steal
During part Of his trip he vas &C
eompaanied by B. r. Ficklin. who was
general superintendent for the firm of
Russell, Majors & WaddeIl, a wealthy
company engaged in freighting bus
mess across the plains.
On this trip the matter of estab-
fishing a Pony Express was seriously
discussed but no definite plan was
outlined.
The matter made a deep impression
on Senator OWNS mind, and when, in
the winter Of 1859, New York capital
lists endeavored to get Congress to
grant them a 10 million subsidy to car
ry the mails overland to California, Sen
ator Gwin sent for William H. Rus
sell, the senior member Of his freight
ing firm, to come to Washington and
give them the benefit of his advice.
This Russell did and stated plainly
that the amount Of the subsidy asked
was clear out Of reason, and backed
up his argument with the remark that
he could carry the mail from 81. Jos
eph, which was then the Western
terminus Of the railroad. to San Fran.
cisco in ten days.
Jeers and laughter greeted this pro-
posal, and when Russell offered to bet
$4,000 that he could do It, his bet was
promptly covered by the capitalists
who were interested in getting the
mail subsidy.
The Start Is Made.
Russell returned to Leavenworsh,
Kas., and with his partners, completed
their plans and formed aThe Overland
California and Pixies Peak Express
Company" the first Of which was to
win or lose his big wager.
No details were overlooked. The
riders hired were seasoned horsemen
Of light weight The toughest and
swiftest ponies to be found in the
Western country were purchased, and
finally saddles, brides and s~addlebags
were bought at st. Joseph from Israel
Landis, who had made a lame
throughout the border country for the
excellence Of his handwork on this
class Of horse equipment.
April 8, 1860, at $40 o'clock in the
afternoon, was the time set for the
beginning of the great ride, and riders
started both from San Francisco and
St Joseph, though the bet was on the
mail starting with the rider from San
Francisco.
Harry Rolf, the rider to start from
San Francisco, made his first twenty
miles in forty-nine minutes, but snow
and high waters made the time Of the
other riders much slower.
John Fry, a very close friend Of Mr..
cOchrans, who lived in st. Joseph, was
to make the last sixty miles Of the
ride, with relays of ponies ten miles
apart, and on the day on which he
must arrive with the California mail.
in order for Russell to win his bet. a
big crowd Of bis excited townsnen as
sembled to watch for him.
Hour BY hour went BY and still the
excited crowds on the river bank,
watching the Kansas shore, could see
nothing Of the expected rider.
When but a few minutes Of the fate
fnl time remained, the rider dashed
into sight on a foam covered horse and
reached his destination with FIVE min
utes and a fraction 10 spare, having
made the last mile in enc minute and
fifty seconds.
Russell, who had stood to win or
lose $4,000. had never betrayed bv 4
word or tremor Of c-ountenance his ex-
element and anxiety and now, as he
greeted his plucky rider, the two were
surrounded by the happy, cheering
tnrong' erowding to shake hands and
eong-atulatiag them both.
This was the first trip Of the PONY
Express and it continued in service
until Edward Creighton completed his
telegraph line from Omaha to sacra-
mento IN 1861. The pony Express
II
was IN operation seventeen months.
~ the beginning there were eighty