Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-09-03

the firing of a cannon and while the
sound was echoing through the town
the rider was speeding up the street
on his way to the office of the COM
pany. Catching the pouch of mail, the
rider. Johnny Frey, rode onto the
ferry. and as the boat touched land on
the other side the first messenger
dashed off toward the setting sun.
Thus was initiated an enterprise that
did much TO hurry forward the span
ming of the continent by telegraph
wire and iron rail. The new schedule
OF mail delivery beat all previous rec
ords across the plains to California
by nearly two weeks.
Frey's horse was jet black, and at
the same hour he left st. Joseph an
other rider. Harry Rolf. left Sacra-
mento on the first stage eastward.
While the event was celebrated with
much enthusiasm at st. Joseph, the
celebration at Sacramento was on A
much more elaborate scale. The mer-
chants subscribed a liberal amount and
the streets were gaily decorated with
flags and banners. Thousands of peo-
pie came in from the gold fields and
business was suspended for the day
From surrounding hills cannon boom
ed during the afternoon, bands playe ed
on the city streets and orators made
speeches. 1t was the proudest day in
the history of the Pacific coast for
that decade.
Rolf dashed out Of town and made
the first 20 miles-two stages-in SO
minutes. He changed horses in 10
seconds and completed his run to Pla-
c~erville, a distance of SO miles, in two
hours and 40 minutes. At Placerville
Rolf threw his pouch to the second
rider, Boston, who was off like a shot
on his 72-mile stretch. He climbed
the western slope of the Sierras and
pushed on across the range to Fort
Churchill. The first express reached
Salt Lake from Sacramento four days
later, on April Z, while the first mail
from st. Joseph arrived April 9th, W
days later. There was great rejoicing
there, for the citizens of Salt Lake
had, up to this time, been accustomed
to receiving news from six weeks to
three months old. The most thrilling
bit of intelligence transmitted by pony
during the early days of the express
was that war was imminent. Soon
after news of the declaration of war
came and the troops in Utah were or
dered to the national capital. The
first tidings of the firing on Fort
Sumter reached Sacramento in eight
days. IA hours. From that time Cali
fornia business men and public Off
Gals subscribed to a bonus fund to be
paid to riders for carrying war news
as fast as possible. The riders along
the route were given $500 for carrying
a bundle of Chicago papers containing
news of the battle Of Antietam to Sac
ramento a day faster than usual.
The fastest trip made by the ex-
press riders was in March, 1851, when
Lincoln's first inaugural address was
carried through from st. Joseph to
Sacramento, q distance of 1880 miles,
in seven days and IL hours.
Horses GaIIop to Maintain Schedule
In making their stages it was nee
essary, where the stations were not
too far apart, for riders to keep their
horses on a dead run continuously in
order to get through on schedule time.
Not to exceed two minutes was al
lowed for changing mounts. The route
westward from st. Joseph lay south
of west until it struck the old over
land military road at K%ennekuk, A