![]() However, before they would be hired, they were required to make this oath to the owner and religious man, Alexander Majors: One Hundred eighty-three men rode for the Pony Express, each receiving $100 per month in pay. The Pony Pony Express’s most famous rider was Buffalo Bill Cody. Orphans preferred.” Most of the riders were around 20, but one named Bronco Charlie Miller was only 11, and the oldest rider was in his mid-40s. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. For this reason, an 1860 Pony Express advertisement in California read: “Wanted. Pony Express riders were usually lightweight young men, often teenagers. This was about 12-14 days shorter than the time required by the Overland Mail Company. Though the schedule allowed for ten days, most trips were usually made in eight or nine days, the quickest run occurring in seven days and 17 hours when riders were carrying President Lincoln’s Inaugural Address. The mail was then carried by boat to San Francisco. Passing through Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California, the schedule allowed ten days to cross the plains, deserts, and mountains. Closely following the Oregon-California Trail, the path diverted south of the Great Salt Lake and headed west across the Sierra Nevada Mountains to save over 100 miles. The mail cost was first $5 per ½ ounce but was later reduced to $1 per ½ ounce. ![]() Pikes Peak Express stage line, which created the Pony Express, would run into financial problems right away, and the eastern portion was sold off to be operated by Ben Holladay.ĭuring its time, the Pony Express, running in addition to the stage lines, carried mail rapidly overland on horseback for nearly 2000 miles between the Missouri River and the Pacific coast. There was only enough equipment to handle about one-third of the distance to California, so the Pioneer Stage Line was contracted for the western sections and Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express for the eastern section. Part of Butterfield’s equipment and personnel were transferred to the Central Overland Trail to operate. It was meant to complete the six-year contract of the southern “ Butterfield Route,” which was discontinued in 1861 due to the breakout of the Civil War. The million-dollar mail contract given to Overland Mail Company was almost double the original contract of 1858. But, it was a dangerous job, fraught with Indian attacks, rough terrain, and severe weather. The Pony Express alleviated this problem with riders who could dramatically reduce the time it took to deliver the mail. Joseph, Missouri, and mail traveled west by stagecoach and wagons, a trip that could take months if it arrived at all. Joseph, Missouri, thus inaugurating the famous Pony Express.īefore the advent of the Pony Express, the railroads and telegraph lines extended no further west than St. A lone rider on a bay mare galloped from Pike’s Peak Stables in St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, the first successful Pony Express run took place on April 3, 1860. The Pony Express was born, envisioning a similar contract for fast mail delivery.įrom St. Before the Pony Express, the freight and stage company held government contracts for army supply delivery, employing 4,000 men and owning 3,500 wagons and 40,000 oxen. Waddell, and Alexander Majors, the Pony Express became a subsidiary of the larger Central Overland California and Pike’s Peak Express Company. The outfit began as a “publicity stunt” in hopes of winning a million-dollar government mail contract for Central Overland California and Pike’s Peak Express Company, a freight and stage organization. The Pony Express was the first “express” mail line across the United States. ![]()
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