For purposes of supervision and supply, the proposed route was divided into three divisions. Haslam’s banner performance came about in a matter-of-fact way, as is generally the case with deeds of heroism. He rode only sixty miles each way but covered his round trip of 120 miles in just 12 hours, including all stops. Sam Hamilton It was a short route, one of the shortest on the system, aggregating only forty-five miles, and with three relays of horses each way. The horses were ridden at a fast trot, canter or gallop, around 10 to 15 miles per hour (16 to 24 km/h) and at times they were driven to full gallop at speeds up to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h). The term Pony Express is actually, a misnomer, for while the animals were generally small and compact, they were, in fact, horses. He rode in the pony service nearly a year, from November 1860, until the line was abandoned the following October, most of his service being rendered before he was seventeen. But the superior speed and endurance of his steed soon told; lying flat on the animal’s neck, he quickly distanced his assailants and thundered into Sweetwater, the next station, ahead of schedule. He arrived at Sand Springs safely, but here there was to be no rest nor delay. His suspicions were soon confirmed, for on reaching a particularly secluded spot, two highwaymen stepped from concealment, and with leveled rifles compelled the boy to stop, at the same time demanding the letter pouch. In this, his last fight, Fry is said to have killed five of his assailants before being struck down. Women aren't often mention in connection with the Pony Express. During the last five miles of his journey, he fell asleep in the saddle and in this manner concluded his long trip. — Dan O'Brien. Nearby lay the corpse of the faithful station-keeper. Pony Express - Pony Express - Final days: Technological advancement—namely, the completion of the transcontinental telegraph line in October 1861—was the immediate cause of the demise of the Pony Express, but many other factors contributed to its downfall, not least its parent company’s relentlessly deteriorating financial condition. During this same morning, a Mexican pony rider came in, mortally wounded, having been shot by the savages from ambush while passing through a dense thicket in the vicinity known as Quaking Asp Bottom. Jim Gilson George Spurr Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. They had no particular desire to harm him, but unless he handed over the pouch without delay they would shoot him full of holes, and take it anyhow. Don C. Rising, who afterward settled in Northern Kansas, was born in Painted Post, Steuben County, New York, in 1844, and came West when thirteen years of age. Without asking any favors of the man who had just arrived from the West, Moore resumed the saddle, after a delay of only ten minutes, without even stopping to eat, and was soon pounding eastward on his return trip. They met in Wyoming when Cody was only 15. They knew what he carried and they wanted it. (Last Privacy Policy Update July 2020), Byways & Historic Trails – Great Drives in America, Soldiers and Officers in American History, https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20000827&slug=4039077. We know of figures such as hard-as-nails coach driver “Stagecoach” Mary Fields and notorious outlaw Cherokee Bill. Required fields are marked *. Let Huntington Johnny Fry was the first rider out of St. Joseph, Missouri and was little more than a boy when he entered the pony service. The schedule, although varying with the seasons, required that the mail be carried about two hundred miles a day, good weather or bad. Here he found – as so often happened in the history of the express service – that the place had been raided, the keeper slain, and the horses were driven off. In the grueling test of actual operations, the animals selected by Major Solomon showed their worth. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. His run was from Box Elder to Julesburg, Colorado 110  miles and he made the entire distance both ways by night. The pony Express is so famous it hasnt been forgotten. The above are random extracts from frontier newspapers, printed while the Pony Express was running. He was born in London, England in 1840 and as a teen, immigrated to the United States. It's also a place that does not exist and never has. This he did, finishing the run without further incident. It was these same horses which were being used at that time with such spectacular success to draw the overland Butterfield stages. The fastest delivery time for news and mail was 22-25 days by the Overland stagecoach. They next erected a fort at Sand Springs, twenty miles from Carson Lake, and another at Cold Springs, 32 miles east of Sand Springs. Our cookies are delicious. Charles P. “Cyclone Charlie” Thompson But the mail must go; and the schedule, hard as it was, must be maintained. The journey was enshrouded with danger. Pony Express Wanted Poster available at Legends General Store. The Express could never have existed on its high plane of efficiency, without an abundance of coolheaded, hardened men; men who knew not fear and who were expert – though sometimes in vain – in all the wonderful arts of self-preservation practiced on the old frontier. The truth is that there has never been much fairness out here. Of course, he could not stop the mail to see why he had been shot at, but on his return trip he met the same crowd, and in unprintable language told them what he thought of their lawless and irresponsible conduct. Then when their guns were empty a hidden band of savages would make a furious onslaught. Solomon, United States Marshal for California. Melville Baughn, usually known as “Mel,” had a pony run between Fort Kearny, Nebraska and Thirty-two-mile Creek. Kelley, who was the lightest man in the place – he weighed but one hundred pounds – was now ordered by the boss to take the dead man’s place, and go on with the dispatches. In 1860, riding for the Pony Express was difficult work – riders had to be tough and lightweight. Reaching the Carson, they found a badly frightened lot of men who had been attacked by the Indians only a few hours previously. George Towne The Indians had been there. But pony riders were men of courage and nerve, and Bob was no exception. The Famous 1858 "Pony Express Bible." Its story has lasted because of the endurance and bravery of its riders and its connection to famous people like Mark Twain and Buffalo Bill Cody. Of course, they implored Haslam to remain with them and not risk his life venturing away with the mail. It was partly good horse-flesh which permitted such record runs as that of “Pony Bob” Haslam during the Pah-Ute war. Stations at which mounts were changed were twenty-five miles apart, and the ponies had to do their runs at full tilt. Johnny was born in Kentucky and moved with his family to Missouri when he was 16 years old. Whipping out his revolver, he disabled the farther villain; and before the other, who had stooped to recover the supposed mail sack, could straighten up or use a weapon, Cody dug the spurs into his horse, knocked him down, rode over him and was gone. Enjoy reading and share 7 famous quotes about Pony Express with everyone. In the mid-19th century, California-bound mail had to either be taken overland by a 25-day stagecoach or spend months…