Pony Express


The Pony Express was a mail service delivering messages, newspapers, and mail using relays of horse-mounted riders that operated from April 3, 1860, to October 24, 1861, between Missouri and California in the United States of America.
Operated by Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company, the Pony Express was a great financial investment to the U.S. During its 18 months of operation, it reduced the time for messages to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to about 10 days. Many people used the Pony Express as a communication link. It also encouraged catalogs to be created, allowing people to buy goods and have them brought by horse to the customers. It became the West's most direct means of east-west communication before the transcontinental telegraph was established, and was vital for tying the new U.S. state of California with the rest of the United States.
Despite a heavy subsidy, the Pony Express was not a financial success and went bankrupt in eighteen months, when faster telegraph service was established. Nevertheless, it demonstrated that a unified transcontinental system of communications could be established and operated year-round. When replaced by the telegraph, the Pony Express quickly became romanticized and became part of the lore of the American West. Its reliance on the ability and endurance of individual young, hardy riders and fast horses was seen as evidence of rugged American individualism of the Frontier times.

Inception and founding

The idea of a fast mail route to the Pacific coast was prompted largely by California's newfound prominence and its rapidly growing population. After gold was discovered there in 1848, thousands of prospectors, investors and businessmen made their way to California, at that time a new territory of the U.S. By 1850, California entered the Union as a free state. By 1860, the population had grown to 380,000. The demand for a faster way to get the mail and other communications to and from this westernmost state became even greater as the American Civil War approached.
William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William B. Waddell were the three founders of the Pony Express. They were already in the freighting and drayage business. At the peak of the operations, they employed 6,000 men, owned 75,000 oxen, thousands of wagons and warehouses, plus a sawmill, a meatpacking plant, a bank and an insurance company.
Russell was a prominent businessman, well respected among his peers and the community. Waddell was co-owner of the firm Morehead, Waddell & Co. After Morehead was bought out and retired, Waddell merged his company with Russell's, changing the name to Waddell & Russell. In 1855, they took on a new partner, Alexander Majors, and founded the company of Russell, Majors & Waddell. They held government contracts for delivering army supplies to the western frontier, and Russell had a similar idea for contracts with the U.S. Government for fast mail delivery.
By utilizing a short route and using mounted riders rather than traditional stagecoaches, they proposed to establish a fast mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, with letters delivered in 10 days, a duration many said was impossible. The initial price was set at $5 per, then $2.50, and by July 1861 to $1. The founders of the Pony Express hoped to win an exclusive government mail contract, but that did not come about.
Russell, Majors, and Waddell organized and put together the Pony Express in two months in the winter of 1860. The undertaking assembled 120 riders, 184 stations, 400 horses, and several hundred personnel during January and February 1861.
Majors was a religious man and resolved "by the help of God" to overcome all difficulties. He presented each rider with a special edition Bible and required this oath, which they were also required to sign.

Operation

In 1860, there were about 186 Pony Express stations that were about apart along the Pony Express route. At each station stop the express rider would change to a fresh horse, taking only the mail pouch called a mochila with him.
The employers stressed the importance of the pouch. They often said that, if it came to be, the horse and rider should perish before the mochila did. The mochila was thrown over the saddle and held in place by the weight of the rider sitting on it. Each corner had a cantina, or pocket. Bundles of mail were placed in these cantinas, which were padlocked for safety. The mochila could hold of mail along with the of material carried on the horse. Eventually, everything except one revolver and a water sack was removed, allowing for a total of on the horse's back. Riders, who could not weigh over, changed about every, and rode day and night. In emergencies, a given rider might ride two stages back to back, over 20 hours on a quickly moving horse.
It is unknown if riders tried crossing the Sierra Nevada in winter, but they certainly crossed central Nevada. By 1860 there was a telegraph station in Carson City, Nevada Territory. The riders received $100 a month as pay. A comparable wage for unskilled labor at the time was about $0.43–$1 per day.
Alexander Majors, one of the founders of the Pony Express, had acquired more than 400 horses for the project. He selected horses from around the west, paying an average of $200. These averaged about high and averaged each; thus, the name pony was appropriate, even if not strictly correct in all cases.

Pony Express route

The approximately route roughly followed the Oregon and California Trails to Fort Bridger in Wyoming, and then the Mormon Trail to Salt Lake City, Utah. From there it followed the Central Nevada Route to Carson City, Nevada Territory before passing over the Sierra into Sacramento, California.

~ Courtesy the Library of Congress ~
The Pony Express mail route, April 3, 1860 – October 24, 1861; Reproduction of Jackson illustration issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Pony Express founding on April 3, 1960. Reproduction of Jackson's map issued by the Union Pacific Railroad Company.
The route started at St. Joseph, Missouri on the Missouri River, it then followed what is modern-day U.S. Highway 36 to Marysville, Kansas, where it turned northwest following Little Blue River to Fort Kearny in Nebraska. Through Nebraska it followed the Great Platte River Road, cutting through Gothenburg, Nebraska, clipping the edge of Colorado at Julesburg, Colorado, and passing Courthouse Rock, Chimney Rock, and Scotts Bluff, before arriving at Fort Laramie in Wyoming. From there it followed the Sweetwater River, passing Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, and Split Rock, to Fort Caspar, through South Pass to Fort Bridger and then down to Salt Lake City. From Salt Lake City it generally followed the Central Nevada Route blazed by Captain James H. Simpson of the Corps of Topographical Engineers in 1859. This route roughly follows today's US 50 across Nevada and Utah. It crossed the Great Basin, the Utah-Nevada Desert, and the Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe before arriving in Sacramento. Mail was then sent via steamer down the Sacramento River to San Francisco. On a few instances when the steamer was missed, riders took the mail via horseback to Oakland, California.

Stations

There were 190 stations along the long and arduous route used by the Pony Express. The stations and station keepers were essential to the successful, timely and smooth operation of the Pony Express mail system. The stations were often fashioned out of existing structures, several of them located in military forts, while others were built anew in remote areas where living conditions were very basic. The route was divided up into five divisions. To maintain the rigid schedule, 157 relay stations were located from apart as the terrain would allow for. At each swing station, riders would exchange their tired mounts for fresh ones, while "home stations" provided room and board for the riders between runs. This technique allowed the mail to be whisked across the continent in record time. Each rider rode about per day.


Missouri:
1. St. Joseph Station
Kansas:
2. Troy Station
3. Lewis Station
4. Kennekuk Station
5. Kickapoo, Goteschall Station
6. Log Chain Station
7. Seneca Station
8. Ash Point, Laramie Creek Station
9. Guittard Station
10. Marysville Station
11. Cottonwood, Hollenberg Station
12. Atchison Station
13. Lancaster Station
Nebraska:
14. Rock House Station
15. Rock Creek Station
16. Virginia City
17. Big Sandy Station
18. Millersville, Thompson's Station
19. Kiowa Station
20. Little Blue, Oak Grove Station
21. Liberty Farm Station
22. Spring Ranch, Lone Tree Station
23. Thirty-two Mile Creek Station
24. Sand Hill, Summit Station
25. Hook's, Kearney, Valley Station
26. Fort Kearney
----


Nebraska :
27. Seventeen Mile, Platte Station
28. Garden Station
29. Plum Creek Station
30. Willow Island, Willow Bend Station
31. Cold Water, Midway Ranch Station
32. Gilman's Station
33. Machette's Station
34. Cottonwood Springs Station
35. Cold Springs Station
36. Fremont Springs Station
37. O'Fallon's Bluff, Dansey's/Elkhorn Station
38. Alkali Lake Station
39. Gill's, Sand Hill Station
40. Diamond Springs Station
41. Beauvais Ranch Station
Colorado:
42. Frontz's/South Platte Station
43. Julesburg Station
Nebraska :
44. Nine Mile Station
45. Pole Creek No. 2 Station
46. Pole Creek No. 3 Station
47. Midway Station
48. Mud Springs Station
49. Court House Station
50. Chimney Rock Station
51. Ficklin's Springs Station
52. Scott's Bluff Station
53. Horse Creek Station
Wyoming:
54. Cold Springs, Spring Ranch/Torrington Station
55. Verdling's, Bordeaux, Bedeau's Ranch/Fort Benard Station
56. Fort Laramie Station
57. Nine Mile, Sand Point, Ward's, Central Star Station
58. Cottonwood Station
59. Horseshoe Creek, Horseshoe Station
----


Wyoming :
60. Elk Horn Station
61. La Bonte Station
62. Bed Tick Station
63. Lapierelle/La Prele Station
64. Box Elder Station
65. Deer Creek Station
66. Little Muddy Station
67. Bridger Station
68. Platte Bridge/North Platte Station
69. Red Butte Station
70. Willow Springs Station
71. Horse, Greesewood Creek Station
72. Sweetwater Station
73. Devil's Gate Station
74. Plant's, Plante Station
75. Split Rock Station
76. Three Crossings Station
77. Ice Slough, Ice Springs Station
78. Warm Springs Station
79. Rocky Ridge, St. Mary's Station
80. Rock Creek Station
81. Upper Sweetwater, South Pass Station
82. Pacific Springs Station
83. Dry Sandy Station
84. Little Sandy Creek Station
85. Big Sandy Station
86. Big Timber Station
87. Green River Station
88. Michael Martin's Station
89. Ham's Fork Station
90. Church Buttes Station
91. Millersville Station
92. Fort Bridger
93. Muddy Creek Station
94. Quaking Asp, Aspen, Springs Station
95. Bear River Station
Utah:
96. The Needles, Needle Rock Station
97. Echo Canyon Station
98. Halfway Station
99. Weber Station
100. Brimville Emergency Station
101. Carson House Station
102. East Canyon Station
103. Wheaton Springs Station
104. Mountain Dell/Dale Station
105. Salt Lake City Station
----


Utah :
106. Trader's Rest, Traveler's Rest Station
107. Rockwell's Station
108. Dugout, Joe's Dugout Station
109. Camp Floyd, Fairfield Station
110. Pass, East Rush Valley Station
111. Rush Valley, Faust's Station
112. Point Lookout, Lookout Pass Station
113. Government Creek Station
114. Simpson's Springs, Egan's Springs Station
115. River Bed Station
116. Dugway Station
117. Black Rock Station
118. Fish Springs Station
119. Boyd's Station
120. Willow Springs Station
121. Willow Creek Station
122. Canyon, Burnt Station
123. Deep Creek Station
Nevada:
124. Prairie Gate, Eight Mile Station
125. Antelope Springs Station
126. Spring Valley Station
127. Schell Creek Station
128. Egan's Canyon, Egan's Station
129. Bates', Butte Station
130. Mountain Spring Station
131. Ruby Valley Station
132. Jacob's Well Station
133. Diamond Springs Station
134. Sulphur Springs Station
135. Robert's Creek Station
----


Nevada :
136. Camp Station, Grubs Well Station
137. Dry Creek Station
138. Simpson Park Station
139. Reese River, Jacob's Spring Station
140. Dry Wells Station
141. Smith's Creek Station
142. Castle Rock Station
143. Edward's Creek Station
144. Cold Springs, East Gate Station
145. Middle Gate Station
146. West Gate Station
147. Sand Springs Station
148. Sand Hill Station
149. Carson Sink Station
150. Williams Station
151. Desert, Hooten Wells Station
152. Buckland's Station
153. Fort Churchill Station
154. Fairview Station
155. Mountain Well Station
156. Stillwater Station
157. Old River Station
158. Bisby's Station
159. Nevada Station
160. Ragtown Station
161. Desert Wells Station
162. Miller's, Reed's Station
163. Dayton Station
164. Carson City Station
165. Genoa Station
166. Friday's, Lakeside Station
California:
167. Woodford's Station
168. Fountain Place Station
169. Yank's Station
170. Strawberry Station
171. Webster's, Sugar Loaf House Station
172. Moss/Moore, Riverton Station
173. Sportsman's Hall Station
174. Placerville Station
175. El Dorado, Nevada House/Mud Springs Station
176. Mormon Tavern, Sunrise House Station
177. Fifteen Mile House Station
178. Five Mile House Station
179. Pleasant Grove House Station
180. Duroc Station
181. Folsom Station
182. Sacramento Station
183. Benicia Station
184. Martinez Station
185. Oakland Station
186. San Francisco Station

First journeys

Westbound

The first Westbound Pony Express trip left St. Joseph on April 3, 1860 and arrived ten days later in Sacramento, California, on April 14. These letters were sent under cover from the East to St. Joseph, and never directly entered the U.S. mail system. Today there is only a single letter known to exist from the inaugural westbound trip from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. It was delivered in an envelope embossed with postage that was first issued by the U.S. Post Office in 1855.
The messenger delivering the mochila from New York and Washington, DC, missed a connection in Detroit and arrived in Hannibal, Missouri, two hours late. The railroad cleared the track and dispatched a special locomotive called Missouri with a one-car train to make the trek across Missouri in a record 4 hours 51 minutes, an average of. It arrived at Olive and 8th Street, a few blocks from the company's new headquarters in a hotel at Patee House at 12th and Penn Street, St. Joseph, and the company's nearby stables on Penn Street. The first pouch contained 49 letters, five private telegrams, and some papers for San Francisco and intermediate points.
St. Joseph Mayor M. Jeff Thompson, William H. Russell, and Alexander Majors gave speeches before the mochila was handed off. The ride began at about 7:15 pm. The St. Joseph Gazette was the only newspaper included in the bag.
The identity of the first rider has long been in dispute. The St. Joseph Weekly West reported Johnson William Richardson was the first rider.
Johnny Fry is credited in some sources as the rider. Nonetheless, the first westbound rider carried the pouch across the Missouri River ferry to Elwood, Kansas. The first horse-ridden leg of the Express was only about from the Express stables/railroad area to the Missouri River ferry at the foot of Jules Street. Reports indicated that horse and rider crossed the river. In later rides, the courier crossed the river without a horse and picked up his mount at a stable on the other side.
The first westbound mochila reached its destination, Sacramento, on April 14, at 1:00 am.

Eastbound

The first eastbound Pony Express trip left Sacramento, California, on April 3, 1860 and arrived at its destination ten days later in St. Joseph, Missouri. From St. Joseph, letters were placed in the U.S. mails for delivery to eastern destinations. There are only two letters known to exist from the inaugural eastbound trip from San Francisco to St. Joseph.

Mail

As the Pony Express Mail service existed only briefly in 1860 and 1861, few examples of Pony Express mail survive. Contributing to the scarcity of Pony Express mail is that the cost to send a letter was $5.00 at the beginning. By the end of the Pony Express, the price had dropped to $1.00 per ounce but even that was considered expensive to mail one letter. There are only 250 known examples of Pony Express mail.

Postmarks

Various postmarks were added to the mail to be carried by the Pony Express at the point of departure.

Fastest mail service

William Russell, senior partner of Russell, Majors, and Waddell and one of the biggest investors in the Pony Express, used the 1860 presidential election as a way to promote the Pony Express and how fast it could deliver the U.S. Mail. Prior to the election, Russell hired extra riders to ensure that fresh riders and relay horses were available along the route. On November 7, 1860, a Pony Express rider departed Fort Kearny, Nebraska Territory with the election results. Riders sped along the route, over snow-covered trails and into Fort Churchill, Nevada Territory. California's newspapers received word of Lincoln's election only seven days and 17 hours after the East Coast papers, an "unrivaled feat at the time".

Attacks

The Paiute War was a minor series of raids and ambushes initiated by American expansion into the territory of the Paiute Indian tribe in Nevada, which resulted in the disruption of mail services of the Pony Express. It took place from May through June 1860, though sporadic violence continued for a period afterward.
In the brief history of the Pony Express, it only happened once that the mail did not go through. After completing eight weekly trips from both Sacramento and Saint Joseph, the Pony Express was forced to suspend mail services because of the outbreak of the Paiute Indian War in May 1860.
Approximately 6,000 Paiutes in Nevada had suffered during a winter of fierce blizzards that year. By spring, the whole tribe was ready to embark on a war, except for the Paiute chief named Numaga. For three days Numaga fasted and argued for peace.
Meanwhile, a raiding party attacked Williams Station, a Pony Express station located on the Carson River near present-day Lake Lahontan. One account says the raid was a deliberate attempt to provoke war. Another says the raiders had heard that men at the station had kidnapped two Paiute women, and fighting broke out when they went to investigate and free the women. Either way, the war party killed five men and the station was burned.
During the following weeks, other isolated incidents occurred when whites in the Paiute country were ambushed and killed. The Pony Express was a special target. Seven other express stations were also attacked; 16 employees were killed, and approximately 150 express horses were either stolen or driven off. The Paiute war cost the Pony Express company about $75,000 in livestock and station equipment, not to mention the loss of life. In June of that year, the Paiute uprising had been ended through the intervention of U.S. government troops, after which four delayed mail shipments from the East were finally brought to San Francisco on June 25, 1860,.
During this brief war, one Pony Express mailing, which left San Francisco on July 21, 1860, did not immediately reach its destination. That mail pouch did not reach St. Joseph and subsequently New York until almost two years later.

Famous riders

In 1860, riding for the Pony Express was difficult work – riders had to be tough and lightweight. A famous advertisement allegedly read:
Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred

The Pony Express had an estimated 80 riders traveling east or west along the route at any given time. In addition, there were also about 400 other employees, including station keepers, stock tenders and route superintendents. Many young men applied; Waddell and Majors could have easily hired riders at low rates, but instead offered one hundred dollars a montha handsome sum for that time. Author Mark Twain described the riders in his travel memoir Roughing It as: "... usually a little bit of a man". Though the riders were small, lightweight, generally teenage boys, they came to be seen as heroes of the American West. There was no systematic list of riders kept by the company, but a partial list has been compiled by Raymond and Nancy Settle in their Saddles & Spurs.

First riders

The identity of the first westbound rider to depart St. Joseph has been disputed, but currently most historians have narrowed it down to either Johnny Fry or Billy Richardson. Both Expressmen were hired at St. Joseph for A. E. Lewis' Division which ran from St. Joseph to Seneca, Kansas, a distance of. They covered at an average speed of, including all stops. Before the mail pouch was delivered to the first rider on April 3, 1860, time was taken out for ceremonies and several speeches. First, Mayor M. Jeff Thompson gave a brief speech on the significance of the event for St. Joseph. Then William H. Russell and Alexander Majors addressed the gala crowd about how the Pony Express was just a "precursor" to the construction of a transcontinental railroad. At the conclusion of all the speeches, approximately 7:15 pm, Russell turned the mail pouch over to the first rider. A cannon fired, the large assembled crowd cheered, and the rider dashed to the landing at the foot of Jules Street where the ferry boat Denver, under a full head of steam, alerted by the signal cannon, waited to carry the horse and rider across the Missouri River to Elwood, Kansas Territory. On April 9 at 6:45 pm, the first rider from the east reached Salt Lake City, Utah. Then, on April 12, the mail pouch reached Carson City, Nevada Territory at 2:30 pm. The riders raced over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, through Placerville, California and on to Sacramento. Around midnight on April 14, 1860, the first mail pouch was delivered via the Pony Express to San Francisco. With it was a letter of congratulations from President Buchanan to California Governor Downey along with other official government communications, newspapers from New York, Chicago, and St. Louis, along with other important mail to banks and commercial houses in San Francisco. In all, 85 pieces of mail were delivered on this first trip.
James Randall is credited as the first eastbound rider from the San Francisco Alta telegraph office since he was on the steamship :File:Steamer antelope.jpg|Antelope to go to Sacramento. Mail for the Pony Express left San Francisco at 4:00 pm, carried by horse and rider to the waterfront, and then on by steamboat to Sacramento where it was picked up by the Pony Express rider. At 2:45 am, William Hamilton was the first Pony Express rider to begin the journey from Sacramento. He rode all the way to Sportsman Hall Station where he gave his mochila filled with mail to Warren Upson. A California Registered Historical Landmark plaque at the site reads:

William Cody

Probably more than any other rider in the Pony Express, William Cody epitomizes the legend and the folklore, be it fact or fiction, of the Pony Express. Numerous stories have been told of young Cody's adventures as a Pony Express rider. At the age of 15, Cody was on his way west to California when he met Pony Express agents along the way and signed on with the company. Cody helped in the construction of several way-stations. Thereafter, he was employed as a rider and was given a short delivery run from the township of Julesburg which lay to the west. After some months he was transferred to Slade's Division in Wyoming where he made the longest non-stop ride from Red Buttes Station to Rocky Ridge Station and back when he found that his relief rider had been killed. The distance of over one of the most dangerous sections of the entire trail was completed in 21 hours and 40 minutes, and 21 horses were required to complete this section. On one occasion when carrying mail he unintentionally ran into an Indian war party but managed to escape. Cody was present for many significant chapters in early western history, including the gold rush, the building of the railroads and cattle herding on the Great Plains. A career as a scout for the Army under General Phillip Sheridan following the Civil War earned him his nickname and established his notoriety as a frontiersman.

Robert Haslam

was among the most brave, resourceful, and best-known riders of the Pony Express. He was born January 1840 in London, England, and came to the United States as a teenager. Haslam was hired by Bolivar Roberts, helped build the stations, and was given the mail run from Friday's Station at Lake Tahoe to Buckland's Station near Fort Churchill, to the east.
His greatest ride, in 8 hours and 20 minutes while wounded, was an important contribution to the fastest trip ever made by the Pony Express. The mail carried Lincoln's inaugural address. Indian problems in 1860 led to Pony Bob Haslam's record-breaking ride. He had received the eastbound mail at Friday's Station. When he reached Buckland's Station his relief rider was so badly frightened over the Indian threat that he refused to take the mail. Haslam agreed to take the mail all the way to Smith's Creek for a total distance of without a rest. After a rest of nine hours, he retraced his route with the westbound mail where, at Cold Springs, he found that Indians had raided the place, killing the station keeper and running off all of the stock. On the ride he was shot through the jaw with an Indian arrow, losing three teeth.
Finally, he reached Buckland's Station, making the round trip the longest on record.
Pony Bob continued to work as a rider for Wells Fargo and Company after the Civil War, scouted for the U.S. Army well into his fifties, and later accompanied his good friend Buffalo Bill Cody on a diplomatic mission to negotiate the surrender of Chief Sitting Bull in December 1890. He drifted in and out of public mention but eventually died in Chicago during the winter of 1912 in deep poverty after suffering a stroke. Buffalo Bill paid for his friend's headstone at Mount Greenwood Cemetery on Chicago's far south side.

Jack Keetley

Jack Keetley was hired by A. E. Lewis for his Division at the age of nineteen, and put on the run from Marysville to Big Sandy. He was one of those who rode for the Pony Express during the entire nineteen months of its existence.
Jack Keetley's longest ride, upon which he doubled back for another rider, ended at Seneca where he was taken from the saddle sound asleep. He had ridden in thirty-one hours without stopping to rest or eat. After the Pony Express was disbanded, Keetley went to Salt Lake City where he engaged in mining. He died there on October 12, 1912 where he was also buried.
In 1907, Keetley wrote the following letter :

Billy Tate

Billy Tate was a 14-year-old Pony Express rider who rode the express trail in Nevada near Ruby Valley. During the Paiute uprising of 1860 he was chased by a band of Paiute Indians on horseback and was forced to retreat into the hills behind some big rocks where he killed seven of his assailants in a shoot-out before being killed himself. His body was found riddled with arrows but was not scalped, a sign that the Paiutes honored their enemy.

Horses

At the west end of the Pony Express route in California, W.W. Finney purchased 100 head of short coupled stock called "California Horses"' while A.B. Miller purchased another 200 native ponies in and around the Great Salt Lake Valley. The horses were ridden quickly between stations, an average distance of, and then were relieved and a fresh horse would be exchanged for the one that just arrived from its strenuous run.
During his route of, a Pony Express rider would change horses 8 to 10 times. The horses were ridden at a fast trot, canter or gallop, around and at times they were driven to full gallop at speeds up to. Horses of the Pony Express were purchased in Missouri, Iowa, California, and some western U.S. territories.
The various types of horse ridden by riders of the Pony Express included Morgans and thoroughbreds which were often used on the eastern end of the trail. Mustangs were often used on the western end of the mail route.

Saddle

In 1844, years before the Pony Express came to St. Joseph, Israel Landis opened a small saddle and harness shop there. His business expanded as the town grew, and when the Pony Express came to town Landis was the ideal candidate to produce saddles for the newly founded Pony Express. Because Pony Express riders rode their horses at a quick pace over a distance of or more between stations, every consideration was made to reduce the overall weight the horse had to carry. To help reduce this load, special lightweight saddles were designed and crafted. Using less leather and fewer metallic and wood components, they fashioned a saddle that was similar in design to the regular stock saddle generally in use in the West at that time.
The mail pouch was a separate component to the saddle that made the Pony Express unique. Standard mail pouches for horses were never employed because of their size and shape, as it was time-consuming detaching and attaching it from one saddle to the other, causing undue delay in changing mounts. With many stops to make, the delayed time at each station would accumulate to appreciable proportions. To get around this difficulty, a mochila was thrown over the saddle. The saddle horn and cantle projected through holes which were specially cut to size in the mochila. Attached to the broad leather skirt of the mochila were four cantinas, or box-shaped hard leather compartments, where letters were carried on the journey.

Closing

During its brief time in operation, the Pony Express delivered approximately 35,000 letters between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. Although the Pony Express proved that the central/northern mail route was viable, Russell, Majors and Waddell did not get the contract to deliver mail over the route. The contract was instead awarded to Jeremy Dehut in March 1861, who had taken over the southern Congressionally favored Butterfield Overland Mail Stage Line. The so-called 'Stagecoach King', Ben Holladay, acquired the Russell, Majors and Waddell stations for his stagecoaches.
Shortly after the contract was awarded, the start of the American Civil War caused the stage line to cease operation. From March 1861, the Pony Express ran mail only between Salt Lake City and Sacramento. The Pony Express announced its closure on October 26, 1861, two days after the transcontinental telegraph reached Salt Lake City and connected Omaha, Nebraska, and Sacramento, California. Other telegraph lines connected points along the line and other cities on the east and west coasts.
Despite the subsidy, the Pony Express was a financial failure. It grossed $90,000 and lost $200,000.
In 1866, after the Civil War was over, Holladay sold the Pony Express assets along with the remnants of the Butterfield Stage to Wells Fargo for $1.5 million.

Commemorations

In 1869, the United States Post Office issued the first U.S. Postage stamp to depict an actual historic event, and the subject that was chosen was the Pony Express. Until then only the faces of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson were found on the face of U.S. Postage. Sometimes mistaken for an actual stamp used by the Pony Express, the 'Pony Express Stamp' issue was released in 1869 to honor the men who rode the long and sometimes dangerous journeys and to commemorate the service they provided for the nation. In 1940 and 1960 commemorative stamps were issued for the 80th and 100th anniversaries of the Pony Express respectively.


National Pony Express Association is a non-profit, volunteer-led historical organization. Its purpose is to preserve the original Pony Express trail and to continue the memory and importance of Pony Express in American history in partnership with the National Park Service, Pony Express Trail Association, and the Oregon-California Trails Association.
April 3, 2010 was the Pony Express' 150th anniversary. Located in St. Joseph, Missouri, the Patee House Museum, which was the Pony Express' headquarters, hosted events celebrating the anniversary.

Historical research

The foundation of accountable Pony Express history rests in the few tangible areas where records, papers, letters and mailings have yielded the most historical evidence. Until the 1950s most of what was known about the short-lived Pony Express was the product of a few accounts, hearsay and folklore, generally true in their overall aspects, but lacking in verification in many areas for those who wanted to explore the history surrounding the founders, the various riders and station keepers or who were interested in stations or Forts along the Pony Express route.
The most complete books on the Pony Express are The Story of the Pony Express and Saddles and Spurs by Raymond & Mary Settle and Roy Bloss. Settle's account is unique as he was the first writer and historical researcher to make use of Pony Express founder William B. Waddell's papers, now in a collection at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Mr. Settle wrote in the mid-1950s. Mr. Bloss was a writer for the Pony Express Centennial. While Settle's work was published generally without his annotations and notes, the writer's background here is unique and Settle does have an excellent bibliography. When Settle prepared to publish his well-researched account he had a good volume of footnotes, citations prepared, but the editors chose not to use most of them. Instead, they opted for a less expensive approach to print and publish and released an accurate, but simplified account. Settle was not pleased with this new and sudden development, as he put much time and effort into the annotations. Yet, the account Settle wrote was and is a definitive one and is considered the best account on the history of the Pony Express amongst many historians.

Legacy

From 1866 until 1889, the Pony Express logo was used by stagecoach and freight company Wells Fargo, which provided secure mail service. Wells Fargo used the Pony Express logo for its guard and armored car service. The logo continued to be used when other companies took over the security business into the 1990s. Since 2001, the Pony Express logo is no longer used for security businesses since the business has been sold.
In June 2006, the United States Postal Service announced it had trademarked "Pony Express" along with "Air Mail."
The Pony Express route was designated the Pony Express National Historic Trail August 3, 1992 by an act of Congress. The public can auto-tour the route, visit interpretive sites and museums, hike, bike, or horseback ride various trail segments.
On April 14, 2015, Google released a playable doodle game celebrating their 155th Anniversary.

In popular culture

The continued remembrance and popularity of the Pony Express can be linked to Buffalo Bill Cody, his autobiographies, and his Wild West Show. The first book dedicated solely to the Pony Express was not published until 1900. However, in his first autobiography, published in 1879, Cody claims to have been an Express rider. While this claim has recently come under dispute, his show became the "primary keeper of the pony legend" when it premiered as a scene in the Wild West Show.

Film