Evening star., 1935-03-31

Apfu S, 1ooU, 10 De exaCt-tNe
Pony Express was put in oper-
~ alton between the Missouri
River and California. thus
completing the first transcontinental
fast mail. The Pony Express was not
a Government institution. Not until
| its closing weeks, when it was already
| doomed by the rapid strides Of the
transcontinental telegraph, did it have
any semblance of Government sup
| port.
It was private enterprise. launched
in the hope of securing mail subsidies
which were not forthcoming. 1t car
ried on for almost 18 months in the
| face of untold discouragements. in
cluding storm blocked trails, Indian
uprisings and finally the Civil War.
The Pony as it was lovingly
called, broke its financial hackers, but
it was a glorious failure. 1t fulfilled
every promise that was made in its
behalf. It took many days of the
time in sending press dispatches and
important commercial letters to and
from California; it proved the feast
bility of the central overland route
to California as against the round
about route through the Southwest
which previously had been favored by
oficial Washington.
1000 Miles of Leather.
From 8 picturesque standpoint,
there had been nothing like the
Pony" since the days when the relay
riders of Genghs Khan dashed across
the plains of TartAry with official
messages. Daring and tireless horse
men, mounted on the fleetest animals
that could be secured, rode back and
forth along the 2,00O-nile trail be-
tween st. Joseph, Mo, and Sacra-
mento, Calf. Fresh horses were held
at relay stations from 10 to IS miles
apart. Two minutes was the outside
time allowed for changing horses.
The Pony Express riders were spe-
cially chosen from the rugged men OF
the frontier for their skill and endur-
ance in the saddle. They faced snow
storms in the Rockies and the Sierras,
the blistering heat Of the desert in
Utah and Nevada and the dangers OF
Indian ambush all along the way. Not
the least of the dangers faced by
riders east of the Rockies was riding
into herds of buffaloes at night and
being caught in stampede which
meant death.
How did such madly picturesque
enterprise develop, and what could its
sponsors hope to gain from a service
which seemed to have a thousand
chances to one against it from the
start?
Storms and Stampedes.
The answer is that politics played
its part in the development of Cali
fornia mail service from the days
of 40. With thousands of indi-
viduals suddenly transplanted from
the Eastern seaboard to the isolation
of California, there was demand
for mail service which the Govern
ment could not meet satisfac ctorily.
Sending mail around the Horn was
too slow; via the Isthmus Of Panama
was not much better. The remaining
alternative was to search out the
safest, shortest trail between the Mis-
souri, River and California.
John Butterfield, New York States
genius of stage transportation, estab-
lished line extending from st. Louis,
through Fort Smith, Ark, and thence
to Gainesville, Tex, and Fort Yuma,
where 1t connected with the old San
Diego trail, taking the traveller to
Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Owing to its roundabout nature, this
was known as "the great ox-bow
route" but Butterfield had secured a
heavy mail subsidy from the Bu-
chanan administration.
The most direct route lay north of
this trail followed by Butterfield. It