Pony Express

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Pony Express Memorial in St. Joseph, Missouri
Pony Express memorial
Pony Express Memorial in Sacramento, California

The Pony Express was a mail service organized as an equestrian relay in the United States and the fastest mail connection in North America for around a year. The more than 3000 km long route ran from Saint Joseph and the developed settlement areas in Missouri through the largely deserted prairies and over the Rocky Mountains to Sacramento in California.

The Pony Express started operating on April 3, 1860 on an initiative by William Hepburn Russell . Its course was designated as the Pony Express National Historic Trail in 1992 and included in the National Trails System .

business

Headquarters of the Pony Express at Patee House in St. Joseph, Missouri
Pony Express route

The route ran from Saint Joseph , Missouri , to Sacramento , California over a distance of 3,100 km. There was an intermediate stop approximately every 15 to 20 km. The mail riders were on horseback. The work was not without danger; so mainly young, unattached men, preferably orphans , who were not older than 18 years and not heavier than 60 kg were employed. One of the most famous was Buffalo Bill .

The Pony Express was very fast because of its relay system. Each courier was changed after a maximum of 300 km. He carried about 10 kg of express mail with him. On average, a new boy took over the post after 80 km. They needed around 120 horses and 40 riders for the entire route. After ten days they were there.

The Pony Express comprised 153 intermediate stations, 80 couriers, 500 horses and 200 grooms.

Most of their ride went through hostile Indian territory. Again and again operations had to be stopped due to attacks by hostile Indians . In addition, horses and riders quickly reached their performance limits.

On October 22, 1861, after only about one and a half years, her service was taken over by the transcontinental telegraph line . Despite its logistics, the Pony Express turned into a financial disaster; however, he had a great reputation among the population.

Routing

The route, which extends over approximately 3,100 km, followed the Oregon Trail and the California Trail to Fort Bridger , Wyoming, and on the Mormon Trail to Salt Lake City , Utah . From here it followed the Central Nevada Route to Carson City , Nevada , and from there to cross the Sierra Nevada to Sacramento in California . If you include the transport to San Francisco , which was carried out on horseback or by ship, the total length is about 3200 km.

The route began in Saint Joseph (Missouri) and followed today's Route 36 (the "Pony Express Highway") to Marysville , Kansas , and from there in a northwesterly direction to follow the Little Blue River to Fort Kearny , Nebraska . From here it followed the Great Platte River Road through Gothenburg (Nebraska), Courthouse Rock , Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff until it reached Julesburg Colorado , from where it continued to Fort Laramie and Register Cliff in Wyoming . From here she followed the Sweetwater River to Independence Rock , Devils Gate and Split Rock to Fort Caspar , over the South Pass to Fort Bridger and on to Salt Lake City. From Salt Lake City it followed exactly the Central Nevada Route, as mapped in 1859 by Captain James H. Simpson of the Corps of Topographical Engineers . This route corresponds roughly to today's US Highway 50 through Nevada and Utah. It crosses the Great Basin , the Utah-Nevada Desert, and the Sierra Nevada at Lake Tahoe before reaching Sacramento. From here the mail was sent on by steamboat across the Sacramento River to San Francisco . If a steamboat was not available, the riders would take the mail on horseback to Oakland , California .

Course of the Pony Express

statistics

  • First ride: April 3, 1860 to April 14, 1860
  • Youngest riders: David Lay and William Frederick Cody ( Buffalo Bill ), each 14 years old
  • Fastest Transfer: 7 days, 17 hours with Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address
  • Longest rides: "Pony Bob" Haslam with 380 miles and WF Cody with 384 miles
  • Total statistics: 120 riders, 650,000 miles traveled, one rider was killed by Indians, one shipment did not arrive in full, one was lost.

reception

Frank E. Webner, Pony Express rider, around 1861

literature

Web links

Wiktionary: Pony Express  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : Pony Express  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nancy Pope: National Postal Museum: The Story Of The Pony Express ( English ) National Postal Museum. 1992. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  2. ^ Anthony Godfrey: Pony Express National Historic Trail: Historic Resource Study ( English ) National Park Service. August 1994. Retrieved March 25, 2010.