Show THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE SUNDAY MORNING AUGUST 11 13 Saga of West Written Into Trails Personalities Scenes Reminiscent of Pony Express Days Courier Systems Stand Unequaled In Annals of U S The history of the pony expreM U in the annals of American transportation It gave birth to the carrying of mall on a nationwide From the populous eastern cope centers dauntless riders pounded into the trackless west constantly endangering their lives but ever alert to the necessity for getting the mails a saga unequaled through To William Gwin United States senator from California goes the glory for conceiving the pony express pla£ In 1834 Gwin covered a large part of the journey to Washington on horseback passing through Salt Lake City He met B F Ficklin general manager for Russell Majors & Waddell and they discussed the feasibility of a fast mail line from the Missouri river to the Pacific coast the mail' to be carried by riders on horseback Bill Filed In Congress Carrying the idea a step further Gwin Introduced a bill at the next session of congress providing for a weekly mall or "letter express" between St Louts and San Francisco The bill was referred to the committee on military affairs which never made a re- port But by 1859 there were three recognized lines of mall transit between the east and the west They included the Panama line the “Butterfield route” which started from St Louis and ran far to the south entering California near the southeast corner and the central route which followed the Platte river and reached California by way of Salt Lake City The latter route was recommended by the Gwin bill of 1853 b t s $ Leaders Renew Attempt Near the end of 1859 William Russell senior member of Russell Majors A Waddell conferred in Washington with Gwin on the Idea of a pony express He committed his firm to the The Central Overland undertaking California and Pike’s Peak Express company was incorporated and was Ranted a charter by the territorial legislature of Kansas and was authorized to operate a passenger and freighting business as well as a pony express The first courier of the pony express left the Missouri river Tuesday April 8 1860 at 5 p m Johnny Frey took the first mail out of St Joseph and at the same hour the eastbound mail left San Francisco on a fast steamer and was sent up the Sacramento river to Sacramento where It was taken by Harry Roff the first pony express rider out of Sacramento Passes Through Salt Lake The express passed through Fort Kearney Fort Laramie Fort Bridger Salt Lake City Camp Floyd Carson City Washoe Silver Mines Placerville and Sacramento At stations along the route relay riders and steeds were ready and when the two mails met the riders set out on the return trip Each rider received a salary of from $125 to $150 a month and was required to abstain from Intoxicating liquors and profane language From the Missouri river (he route traversed In general the Oregon and California trails with occasional short cuts From Fort Kearney the rider followed the south bank of the Platte river about 200 miles At Cottonwood Springs junction of the north and south iorks of the Platte he took a course almost due west to Julesburg Colo where he forded the south fork of the Platte and then went to Fort Laramie Branch Line Included The route then lay up the North Platte and Sweetwater rivers through the South Pass to Fort Bridger and thence by the most direct route to Salt Lake City A "branch line” ran from Fort Bridger along the Oregon trail to the northwest From Salt Lake City the main line passed along the Humboldt valley through Carson City gad the Placerville to Saoramento Letters were wrapped in oiled silk to foiiiirlfftw Four Hundred Ponies 80 Boys Usod Over First Run of 2000 Miles April 3 of this year was the I’i vvnj8 ii funiEifrrh’i ‘T Above W H Russell one of the founders of the Pony Express center Major Howard Egan superintendent of the western division with headquarters in Salt Lake City and below Alexander Majors associate of Russell In the founding of the "fast mall” The old Salt Lake house at top was headquarters now occupies the for the Pony Express here The Salt Lake Tribune-Telegrasite Center view of Salt Lake City’s main street in the early sixties when the Pony Express was In operation Below the first postoffice here (Pictures of Russell and Majors courtesy of Arthur Chapman author of "The Pony Express” and the publishers of the book G P Putnam’s Sons) m The protect them from moisture letter was charge for each half-oun$5 at first but the rate afterward was reduced to $L Eighty riders were constantly traveling except for brief rest periods Eacn man carried a “six gun” and d cartridge belt Indispensable ce well-fille- because of Indiana Buffalo BUI Was Rider Among the most noted of the riders were Johnny Frew Harry Roff William F Cody better known as "Buffalo BiU” Jim Moore Major Egan Robert Hasiam commonly known as fony Bob Joaquin Miller who later became known as the “Poet of the’ Sierras” George Gardner "Irish Tom” Dan Westcott H J Faust Sam Hamilton and J G Kelly When Edward Creighton completed the Pacific Telegraph in October 1861 the pony express went out of business It had been a losing venture from the start but one which rings out as among the most picturesque in the history of the country While the pony express was operated it added romance and adyenture to the history of the great west During its 16 months of existence the riders traveled more than 650000 miles All had adventures with hostile Indians road agents and bUzzards and some of them lost their lives in the discharge of duty Oldest House The oldest house of record now standing In Nevada built by a white man Is the old Overland mail station at Dayton seventy-fift- h anniversary of the starting of the pony express On that day in 1860 two American boys —one at St Joseph Mo and the other at Sacramento Cal— leaped on their horses and sped west and east with their bags of maiL It was the beginning of a relay race against time along nearly 2000 miles of Indian trails that led over plains and mountains and deserts— with 80 daring boys and about 400 wiry ponies taking part After a wait of about 10 days when the dusteovered boys on their ponies finally dashed back with the mail from the far west and th far east a thrill went through the nation It was not only a challenging achievement but a momentous event in history Half a million Americans then were in the regions beyond the Rockies hungry for news from their eastern homeland More than this the country was on the verge of civil war That dramatic bit of American achievement and heroism— the pony express— is being reenacted now The pony express la being rerun from California to its eastern terminus St Joseph Mo and then on to Washington Expenses Paid Pony express riders and other employes of the service were housed and fed at the company’s expense although the cost of food on the frontier and throughout the west was very high In addition they were paid from $228 to $150 a month In salaries i |