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Preferred Title: History: The Pony Express
Section: A&E
Author: Doc Stern
The Pony Express lasted less than two years (19 months, in fact), formally starting on April 3, 1860, and running from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. With around 190 stations, main stops containing beds and feeding facilities and situated between 40 and 100 miles apart, and smaller relay stations every 10 to 20 miles where there were horses and stables, the idea was that the riders would carry their packages at high speed through some of the most rugged and dangerous terrain on the continent, changing horses at each station so that a gallop could be maintained for much of the route.
Each man, of whom there were 80 at the start and a total of 183 over the 19-month period, was issued a Bible and a pair of Colt revolvers, and paid $25 a week (compared to the average unskilled labour wage of around $1/week) to carry mail which was charged at the regular U.S. Postage 10 cents, plus $5 per half-ounce! This, however, had fallen to $1 per half-ounce by the end of the company to try and attract more business. The riders had to be under 125 pounds, to allow the horse to carry them, some water and up to 20 pounds (10kg) of mail at sustained speed. However, the completion of the trans-continental telegraph system brought a swift end to much of the need for the manual transportation of letters, and the Pony Express was discontinued when the telegraph reached California, having carried almost 35,000 items in its short history. On October 26th, 1861, the company announced its closure, and a piece of the Old West entered the history books.
(This article was compiled from online sources by Doc Stern)
Section: A&E
Author: Doc Stern
The Pony Express lasted less than two years (19 months, in fact), formally starting on April 3, 1860, and running from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. With around 190 stations, main stops containing beds and feeding facilities and situated between 40 and 100 miles apart, and smaller relay stations every 10 to 20 miles where there were horses and stables, the idea was that the riders would carry their packages at high speed through some of the most rugged and dangerous terrain on the continent, changing horses at each station so that a gallop could be maintained for much of the route.
Each man, of whom there were 80 at the start and a total of 183 over the 19-month period, was issued a Bible and a pair of Colt revolvers, and paid $25 a week (compared to the average unskilled labour wage of around $1/week) to carry mail which was charged at the regular U.S. Postage 10 cents, plus $5 per half-ounce! This, however, had fallen to $1 per half-ounce by the end of the company to try and attract more business. The riders had to be under 125 pounds, to allow the horse to carry them, some water and up to 20 pounds (10kg) of mail at sustained speed. However, the completion of the trans-continental telegraph system brought a swift end to much of the need for the manual transportation of letters, and the Pony Express was discontinued when the telegraph reached California, having carried almost 35,000 items in its short history. On October 26th, 1861, the company announced its closure, and a piece of the Old West entered the history books.
(This article was compiled from online sources by Doc Stern)