| Show THE PONY F express X P Rs P S released hel eased lugh gour courtesy tesy ot of iba the utah historical landmarks association asso ela newhouse so building salt like lake city utah I 1 the settlement of oregon and utah and the discovery ot of gold in california quickened the commercial pulse ot of the country speed in handling communications bro brought tight into existence a romantic lomant lc figure ot of the early west the pony express rider no old time celebration la Is complete ample tg today tod ay unless a pony express rief figures in the parade it la Is well that the owners the pony express d did ld not provide a pension system hysten tor for enouf enough riders have appeared I 1 tn different differ eni parts pa arts of the country during the pasi fast two decades to wreck the united stites states steel corporation quite a I 1 carml harmless ass role however compared with other current forms forma of publicity lity the history ot of the pony express system systems Is lost in antiquity the old tatar kings originated this method ot of communication centuries ap ago marco polo rela tees that tha Ethe the stations were tanty five miles apart and as aa many as as three hundred miles were were covered by a rider in n one day other similar enterprises were inaugurated in europe long before they were dreamed 0 of in the western none hone ot of this old history however de detracts t facts from the romance of the 1 I western pony express which was ithe 1 largest and most mos t dangerous from fie 0 ie viewpoint v ot of money invested and personal risk involved of bf any similar u undertaking der t aking ever attempted tn in america american speed was shown IP in this organization and a little more j than tour four months after the project was w as contemplated and the plans carried out with presumed seer secrecy a cy riders were dashing over the plains deserts and mountains william H il a leading citizen ot of leavenworth kansas was as the 1 prime mover he was wag assisted by majors and baddell dell his former part ners ner sinthe in the freighting business the first purchase of f pony express horses was made 1 salt SaltI lake ake city where russel picked up two hunched hundred care tare fully tully sele selected acted J animals at I 1 two hundred dollars each the riders were likewise selected with great care and very few were chosen who weighed more than one hundred bundled thirty f live ive pounds saddles and teather pouches were especially con tor this service fl nd alie ca combined m weight oi of the equipment n t was thirteen pounds firearms firearm were reduced to the minimum and as a rule only revolvers were carried the entire route was divided into stages which were from nine coffit to fit teen miles apart rach each rider was presumed to td cover three ahree stages riding three animals in succession band and covering longer distances than others due to differences I 1 in topography phy climate and danger along the route at either end ortheline of of theline the line the inaus odthe the pony express es s was mane made a gala affair 1 st joseph missouri was chosen as the eastern point ol 01 departure jo john hu A k prey the first paste eastern ra pony express rider left st joseph at P M april receiving a send oft by thousands af ot boale his departure wasi waa announced through the the tiring ot a cannon he ha made bade a spectacular ride to seneca a distance dist a ot eighty miles at an everge everage average ge speed ob twelve and one halt half nilles miles achour an hour Including 1 pony changes tn in sacramento western terminus 0 of the route an equally elaborate celebration announce d the dapar departure tyre of henry rott roff the th first pony express rider out of sacramento on the same day april 3 ball all business was suspended pe and the he city was decorated for the event frey rodda rode a J jet ee black horse hoise out of bt joseph a pure white steed dashed 0 out 4 t of Sa sacramento sacrament cramen to rott roff covered his first twenty cities in t eltty alne minutes chanad horses at folsom in ten seconds second sad ad rode on to io the end of his run the batal total distance ridden by rott roff was fit ty alve miles time two hours an and forty five minutes with par part of the country very hilly there was it a long llin through fort Ch churchill Chuc hlll smith creek and on to salt lake city which chich was reached fromuth fro from mth the west weapon on april 7 anufrom and from the easto east on ix april 11 0 9 tri for or the first time in its history the west was able to communicate with the pacific and the atlantic coast in a few days previous totham to that time it required from tour four weeks to fd three months tor for letters to td reach different parts of the west from the atlantic coast president Lincol ns first inaugural a address was carried from st joseph to sacramento a distance of 1980 miles in seven days and seventeen hours animals used on the route have usually been referred to as antes but they were tor for I 1 the most part 1 fine american horses edg h ay iy riders were employed on the her route guad and at times every one of the ha mark men was in the saddle forty going gestand we west stand and forty going east it was necessary to cover 1 amiles miles every twenty tour four hours day or night rain or shine the weight oi of the letters iett ers was limited to twenty pounds and the total weight of rider and ana equipment qu waa w aa Pres presumed imea not to io exceed pounds pound the mall mail was sacked in into to fo tour ur eual equal parts the mall mail pouches were locked and delivered to the rider and opened with duplicate keys in the ilia possession of officials at each end of the rouie or at designated stations A charge ot of five dollars was mado made for each halt ounce of mall mail and on this thid basis baks each each mall malf pouch earned twenty tour hundred dollars later laier the rate was reduced to one dollar per halt ounce Letters were ed in oil silk as a protection against swollen streams and heavy rains tha th mall mail was of more importance than the rider and ana on one occasion an express rider was killed and and scalped scalded but the pony escaped with the the mall which havy was as b rought brought through safely to the next station the VY pay of pony express riders ranged from fifty dollars to one bundred fifty a month with mith board only those who performed unusual feats or incurred special risks were paid the top price receipts of the pony express amounted at times to over overa a thousand dollars per day notwithstanding these iles seemingly eming ly high receipts the service lasted less leser than eighteen months months and nd resulted in financial failure the Pacific telegraph sounded the death deatle knell of the pony express the most romantic letter carrier system this country has ever known iowa |
