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Show Page 36A THE HERALD, Provo, Utah, Sunday. February 29, 1976 Pony Express: Its Daring Deeds Live On By LARRY HEIST It was one of the great experiments in the rapidly and opening American West even though it lasted a mere 18 months, the daring deeds of a small group of heroic Pony Express riders have become a permanent part of frontier folklore. In 1860, times were changing in the West. There were an estimated 500,000 white settlers living west of the Rocky and California had entered the Union as a free state a decade earlier. There was a monumental problem of Mountains, sending communications between the populous Fast and the sparsely settled West. In Utah Territory, news from the East often arrived in Salt Lake City at the Deseret News as much as three months after it was reported in the East. No then that Utahns wonder generally were enthusiastic about the prospects of a speedy mail service connecting them with the United States. With the impending Civil War, Congress finally moved toward the establishment of an alternative route to the southern mail route, fearing its blockage by the Confederacy. Five years earler, the Congress had been urged to subsidize a mail route which would pass through Utah. The telegraph provided instant communication in the East, but it was still in the future. uncharted West's Before the telegraph line was completed in Salt Lake City, the West saw 18 exciting months of the Pony Express. Debut in 1860 firm A large freighting Russell, Majors and Waddell, which transported mostly government supplies to the western outposts, organized the Pony Express and started the first riders simultaneously from St. Joseph, Mo. and Sacramento, Calif, on April 3, 1860. Along the 1,966 miles from St. Joseph to Sacramento were 190 relay stations 10 to 15 miles apart where the riders changed horses. Home stations, where a new rider took over, were from 45 to 85 miles apart. A rider leaving Salt Lake City could change horses at five way stations and then find a relief rider at the home station in Rush Vallev, 75 miles west of Salt Lake City. Across Utah, the route followed south of the Great Salt Lake and around the south edge of the salt fiats to Deep Creek, later renamed Ibapah, near the Nevada border. Tooele County The Pony Express route through Tooele County was probably the most desolate, and dangerous uninhabited section of the entire run, covering mostly desert and Indian territory. During 1975, the Bureau of Land Management undertook a study of the original Pony cicpress route across Utah as part of its bicentennial effort. Two other trails were studied also the Oregon Trail and the Dominguez-EscalantTrail. The Pony Express route was marked with concrete markers clear across Utah to Nevada at intervals and an effort was made to locate the original way stations and mark them. The BLM contracted with the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University for research in an effort to straighten out conflicting stories about the express and to find the exact locations of some of the way stations. e one-mi- le Simpson Station John Bluth. oral projects director for the Charles Redd Center, said that in two years of research, location of the Simpson Spring Station has been positively identified. In the summer of 1974, the BLM and the Tooele Chapter of Future Farmers of America reconstructed the the Simpson Springs Station using original rock materials on the site and from date collected by Mr. Bluth's research. The foundation was excavated under the direction of Dr. Dale Burge. a BYU archeologist in order to find the exact location of the original building. After the foundation was found, the rocks were cemented together to provide a firm support and the building and was reconstructed accurately using the research date. The only major difference between the original building and the reconstruction is the cementing of the rocks in the latter, according to Mr Bluth. Sometime this spring, the BLM plans to install signs explaining the site and the significance of the site and its history, according to Geoff Middaugh, BLM outdoor recreation planner. Stone Marker A large stone marker near the reconstructed way station was built there in the late 1930 s by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of its project to mark the Pony Express route. Mr. Bluth said one of the most fortunate breaks researchers found in preparing a history on the express route is the discovery of three photographs of way stations taken in 1868. The Pony Express, of course, went out of business by late 1861, but many of the way stations were continued in use by the Overland Mail Co. which operated over the route until the completion of the in railroad transcontinental 1 JS ::Vtt.,,::; JV TO i OHM. SIMPSON SPRINGS STATION of the Pony Express as reconstructed in the summer of 1974 by the Bureau of Land Management and the Tooele Chapter of the Future Farmers of America. The marker at right, was constructed in 1939 by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of its project to mark the original Pony Express trail. The station was reconstructed using the original stones however, unlike the original building, the stones were cemented to make the building stronger. of Dr. Dale Burge, a BYU Archeologist and other site data were provided by the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at BYU. Excavation of the site was done under the direction Although the Pony Express pioneered the route to the Pacific, the Overland Mail Co. used it more extensively and people still think of it as the Pony Express trail primarily because of the frontier lore and romance associated with the Pony Express, said Mr. Bluth. The added research has allowed the BLM to pinpoint the exact locations of all of the way stations except Burnt Station, Black Rock and Callao, at one time called Willow Trrvn nothing Springs. Futile Search The correct location of Burnt Station is unknown, he explained, even though there is a marker out in the desert designating its site. He said that in the early 1930's five men who previously had been at the correct location, attempted to return there and mark it, however, they were unable to locate the exact spot. Previously the group had located the station by a small cemetery nearby, however, natural erosion and the bedding down of sheep over the years destroyed all trace of the site. Human scavengers pose a problem for those attempting site restoration as do vandais. Mr. Bluth remarked of his amazement that the Simpson has Springs reconstruction existed a year without major vandalism. In Utah County, the only Pony Express stop was at Camp Floyd, near Fairfield. In 1860, Fairfield was Utah's third largest city with a population of 7,000. Camp Floyd was the garrison for Johnson's Army which came to Utah in 1858 during the sell for - Through the years of business we have found that it is not possible to sell furniture for nothing. We do however strive to sell at a fair markup . because we must pay our bills too. Yes that is right. We must make enough to for the money rent, the lights, pay the heat, and the wholesale price of our merchandise, taxes, insurance and still make a profit. We don't mark our furniture with on outrageous price and then mark it back down with a fictitious sale price . No! We just mark it with a regular selling price that is fair to the customer and with an operation margin so we may continue to operate in a very fair business like manner. . . We D ) . . sell Quality We strive to set the standards of quality furniture that all people can afford. We feel that people have worked hard for the dollars that they are investing in furnishing their home. Jherefore we arrange easy terms that allow them to buy home furnishings that will last for a longer period of time. We still have people returninq to buy furniture from us who bought during our first year of business in Salt Lake & Provo ... that was 1958. We feel that this is testimonial enough to guarantee you that we maintain the best of standards in business. Mormon "outbreak." The Pony Express station was located about 500 feet east and 200 feet north of where a monument built of stones from the barracks and camp guard house stands. Home Station Salt Lake City's Pony Express station was located on Main Street between First and Second South Streets and was a home station, where riders changed. The next stop on the route west, was Traveller's Rest, nine miles directly south of Salt Lake City. Another 12 miles south was Rockwell Station, operated by Orson Porter liockwell before he became Brigham Young's bodyguard. It was located near some hot springs southwest of Draper. The route continued almost straight south to the Point of the Mountain where it entered Utah County, crossed the Jordan River and stopped next at Joe's logout. 10 miles south of Rockwell Another 10 miles in a more wvsterly direction was Camp Floyd then on to East Rush Valley Station and Faust, named for a "Doc" Faust who used to ride the express out of there and later purchased the station for a ranch Eight miles to the southwest is Lookout Pass, which separates Rush from Skull Next is Simpson Valley. Springs, named for J H Simpson who was sent from Gimp Floyd to find a route to Carson Valley, Nine miles south from Simpson Springs is the site of River Bed Station and about 10 miles southwest of that is Dugway Station Another 10 miles west is Fish Springs, then Callao and another 13 or so miles northwest is Canyon Station then on to the last Utah station, Deep Creek, which is now known as Ibapah. Mr. Bluth doesn't believe all of the mentioned stations were actually used by the Pons' Express, but were added later by the Overland Mail Co A special breed of men and (Continued on 37A) W(eMD stand behind our furniture when we sell furniture we stand behind the sale. We want you back because you are happy, not because you are mad. There is only one way fhaf we know to have You 4PPLIAN(S3y; nci KitchenAid Frigldairc - ii Mi JMLit .... r ...... ULt bet . . . happy customers and that is to buy good quality furniture from reputable manufacturers that stand behind their products, and then we stand behind the sale. We have been doing this for 17 years and will continue to do this in the future . . because we carry the finest Gibson YNiTH . tarafi Bassett Lane larf, in quality. m KELLER MM MM0 560 NORTH STATE STREET in OREM 224-152- 1 |
