A Brief History of the Pony Express

The pony express was a private mailing service used to prove the chance of a central overland route. It started April 3, 1860 over a route between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California. This covered the distance of 2,000 miles, mostly in hostile Native American territory. Mail could pass between Missouri and California in 10 days. The cost was 5 dollars to mail a letter.

Each of the riders could only carry 135 lbs. The riders had to be thin, young, expert horsemen, caring dependable, and willing to risk death daily. There were 180 riders total, which none of whom ever broke their trust. Occasionally a rider was killed by Native Americans, but only 1 mail pouch was ever lost. They earned $100 to $150 per month. The riders carried to revolvers and a knife as defense against attacks by bandits and Native Americans.

The horses they rode had to be fast. They rode day and night and in all kinds of weather. The mail was carried in waterproof pouches, strapped to the front and back of the saddle.

The young riders rode at top speed from one station to the next. Routes were broken into units of 15 miles each, at which point a new rider, freshly mounted, took the packets. At the stations, lonely keepers took care of the stations and ponies. Paiute Indians burned stations and killed keepers.

The pony express was working for almost 19 months. It came to Salt Lake City for the very first time on April 7, 1860. It brought news of the Civil War. After the telegraph came out in 1861, the pony express service ended. It was great in performance but was a financial failure.

I think it would have been exciting, yet dangerous to be a pony express rider.