Show THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE' SUNDAY MORNING I AUGUST 11 1935 Fete Recalls Monument No One 9 6 Shaft of Granite Unveiled in S L As First of Series The rerunning of the pony express now being conducted from Sacramento Cal to the eastern terminus St Joseph Mo and then on to Washington D C recalls that the courageous exploits of the pony express riders were commemorated auspiciously in Salt Lake City Friday June 12 1931 when the monument No 1 was unveiled in front of The Salt Lake elegram building site of the Salt Lake City pony express station A simple shaft of Utah granite bearing six bronze plaques was the first of 60 planned to mark pony express stations on the route from St Joseph Mo to Sacramento CaL The colorful ceremony was attended by several hundred persons and the assemblage saw two young riders dash up to the platform just preceding the program in a revival of the days in the early sixties when the pony express carried the mails Last of Nine Relays The youths were the last of nine relays carrying letters of congratulation from the governors of Wyoming and Nevada on the erection of the monument The beautiful shaft was unveiled by Miss Carmen Streeper of Centerville granddaughter of the late “Bill” Streeper who “pounded” the pony express train through Salt Lake City The marker was erected by The Salt Lake Tribune and The Salt Lake Telegram and the plaques were gifts of the Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks association Many Officials Present George Albert Smith president of the association was in charge of the program Secretary of State Milton H Welling read the messages from Nevada and Wyoming and Hugh Ryan member of the history committee of the association outlined facts concerning the pony express riders Mayor John F Bowman spoke The principal speaker was Dr Howard R Driggs of New York City president of the Oregon Trail Memorial association sponsor of the marking of the pony express stations along the route Tribune-T- ’ y' !’vr f ffJA A N - 4 Jx ' )' d - 'v “1 JiYv -- i ' at Salem Mass A£SM - V t The site of the Salt Lake City Pony Express station has been adequately marked for the benefit of future generations The Salt Lake Tribune-Telegrabuilding now occupies the site and in front of the building on Main street the newspapers erected a monument June 12 1931 in cooperation with the Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks association The monument is shown on the cover page A plaque placed in 1924 by the Spirit of Liberty chapter Daughters of the American Revolution on The Tribune-Telegrabuilding front is reproduced above m m In October 1841 he was naturalized an American citizen later joining the L D S church and moving to Nauvoo III He became one of the NauVoo police and the guard of Joseph Smith He became a major in the Nauvoo legion and his family moved with the first Mormon exodus toward the west His diary on the trek of these pioneers across the plains since he was a member of Brigham Young’s party has been used extensively by the L D S church Major Egan was appointed deputy clerk of the U S district court for He was among the Utah territory first riders of the pony express He picked up the mail at the end of the run west of Salt Lake City and brought it to the city making remarkable time from Rush valley His son Richard Erastus Egan carried the mail for 16 months from Salt Lake City to the Fdust station Kil Carson First Courier Kit Carson famous Indian fighter scout and guide won the distinction of carrying the first overland mail from the east to the Pacific coast He made the trip in April 1848 The mail consisted mostly of government dispatches Ox of ?r J'si &Lyi '$' vivjv '00 lt y r A6 ::: Major Howard Egan Given Big Share of Glory in Pioneer Task Much of the glory rising out of the pony express is attached to the late Major Howard Egan It was Major Egan who blazed the trail to Sacramento from Salt Lake City He also was superintendent of the division from Salt Lake City to Ruby Valley Nevada It was in 1855 that Major Egan blazed the trail He left Sacramento July 4 Far out in-- the wilds three of his mules ran off on July 10 and Major Egan hunted them all night finding them in the morning Three days later the explorer became lost but found his camp the following day That was in the Humboldt range Those facts were gleaned from his diary along with other comments on the arduous trip When the major arrived in Salt Lake City he made a wager that he could ride to Sacramento in 10 days on a mule Major Egan in carrying out his pledge left Salt Lake City September 19 1855 and arrived in Sacramento September 29 The trip was 658 miles Major Egan was born in Tullemore King’s county Ireland June 15 1815 coming to America when he was 8 years of age The family settled in Montreal and Major Egan later went to sea returning to make his home ’’''' ' i e3a ' If m4 ®si - Utah Vitally Concerned With Success of the Pony Express' By GEORGE ALBERT SMITH President Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks Association Probably no state through which the pony express ran was more vitally concerned with the success of that venture or was more definitely benefited by its operation than was the state of Utah Then a territory the people had been accused of rebellion and the long delay in communication between Salt Lake City and the national capital made it difficult to maintain contacts which would have prevented much of the misunderstanding Then too the population of the territory had grown to many thousands whose relatives were in the New England and central states for the most part and who were greatly agitated over the possibility of war between the north and the south The financial benefits to the people of this section should not be overlooked Agents of the promoters of the pony express went to all the communities and ranches to buy the finest horses available Good prices were paid Hay and grain were purchased in large quantities In addition employment was furnished to a large number of men who were to become riders station keepers etc When on that memorable day April 3 1860 the first riders were sent on their way amid the cheers of the thousands who had gathered history was in the making—history that would have its effect upon the fortunes of this nation and its people The civil war Tension between the was pending north and south was high Gold had been discovered in California and was being produced” in large quantities That gold was needed to help win the war There were those who hoped to win California to the cause of the south Some hoped to carry Utah Oregon and other western states into the ranks of the southern states Strangely enough although the government at Washington realized just what was at stake nothing was done to encourage the pony express promoters in a substantial way' Government officials who lived in the north naturally offered their moral support But more than moral support was required for such a gigantic undertaking The government had subsidized a mail route to the west through the southern states but it took longer to carry mail by that route from Washington to San Francisco than by stage coach over the overland route which traversed the heart of the nation with Salt Lake So station City as the “half-way- ” without government support but with confidence in the undertaking Russell Majors & Waddell a firm of freighters and stage coach operators decided to go ahead with their plans Salt Lake City was not only the principal station between the two terminals but it was the largest city in the entire mountain country With St Joseph Mo and Sacramento Cal Salt Lake City takes its place as one of the three major cities in the pony express venture Here the headquarters of the western divisions were located in the old Salt Lake House which stood on the site of The Tribune-Telegrabuilding Howard Egan one of the original Mormon pioneers of 1847 was the superintendent Incidently he also was the first rider to carry mail into Salt Lake City from tip west When the civil war actually began telegraphic communication between east and west became Imperative The overland telegraph which had been under way for some time was speeded up The very life of a nation seemed to depend on it And so on October 24 1861 a little more than 18 months after the pony express was inaugurated the two ends of the telegraph line met In Salt Lake City and Brigham Young who had aided both the pqny express and the telegraph line sent the first message It was to President Abraham Lincoln and contained the assurance that Utah had not seceded but was loyal to the union With the coming of the telegraph the need for the pony express was gone The day telegraph service commenced the pony riders made their last rides They had rendered what service they could and now withdrew in favor of more modern means of communication Their exploits became history Their stations were put to other uses and many have since been entirely obliterated The owners lost 3156000 in the ven ture That was the price they paid to help preserve the union m |