Contents
I--At A Nation's Crisis
II--Inception and Organization of the Pony Express
III--The First Trip and Triumph
IV--Operation, Equipment, and Business
V--California and the Secession Menace
VI--Riders and Famous Rides
VII--Anecdotes of the Trail and Honor Roll
VIII--Early Overland Mail Routes
IX--Passing of the Pony Express
Illustrations
Transportation and communication across the plains
"A whiz and a hail, and the swift phantom of the desert was gone."
The Story of the Pony Express
Chapter I
At A Nation's Crisis
The Pony Express was the first rapid transit and the first fast mail
line across the continent from the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast.
It was a system by means of which messages were carried swiftly on
horseback across the plains and deserts, and over the mountains of the
far West. It brought the Atlantic coast and the Pacific slope ten days
nearer to each other.
It had a brief existence of only sixteen months and was supplanted by
the transcontinental telegraph. Yet it was of the greatest importance in
binding the East and West together at a time when overland travel was
slow and cumbersome, and when a great national crisis made the rapid
communication of news between these sections an imperative necessity.
The Pony Express marked the highest development in overland travel prior
to the coming of the Pacific railroad, which it preceded nine years. It,
in fact, proved the feasibility of a transcontinental road and
demonstrated that such a line could be built and operated continuously
the year around--a feat that had always been regarded as impossible.
The operation of the Pony Express was a supreme achievement of physical
endurance on the part of man and his ever faithful companion, the horse.
The history of this organization should be a lasting monument to the
physical sacrifice of man and beast in an effort to accomplish something
worth while. Its history should be an enduring tribute to American
courage and American organizing genius.
