Pony Express

The idea of having a fast mail route to the Pacific Coast was prompted largely by California's newfound prominence and its rapidly growing population. After gold was discovered there in 1848, thousands of prospectors, investors, and businessmen made their way to California, at that time a new territory of the U.S. By 1850, California had entered the Union as a free state. By 1860, the population had grown to 380,000. The prospect of California and its national role became the source of bitter partisan debate in Congress. The demand for a faster way to get the mail and other documents to and from this westernmost state became even greater as the American Civil War approached. William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Bradford Waddell were the three founders of the Pony Express. They were already in the freighting and drayage business. At the peak of the operations, they employed 6,000 men, owned 75,000 oxen, thousands of wagons, and warehouses, plus a sawmill, a meatpacking plant, a bank, and an insurance company. Russell was a prominent businessman, well respected among his peers and the community. Waddell was co-owner of the firm Morehead, Waddell & Co. In 1859, C. R. Morehead took the proposal for the Pony Express to President Buchanan. After Morehead was bought out and moved to Leavenworth to enter the mercantile business, Waddell merged his company with Russell's, changing the name to Waddell & Russell. In 1855, they took on a new partner, Alexander Majors, and founded the company of Russell, Majors & Waddell. They held government contracts for delivering army supplies to the western frontier, and Russell had a similar idea for contracts with the U.S. government for fast mail delivery. By using a short route and mounted riders rather than traditional stagecoaches, they proposed to establish a fast mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, with letters delivered in 10 days, which many said was impossible. The initial price was set at $5 per , then $2.50, and by July 1861 to $1. The initial price was 250 times the price of mail through the normal mail service, which was $0.02. The founders of the Pony Express hoped to win an exclusive government mail contract, but that did not come about. Russell, Majors, and Waddell organized and put together the Pony Express in two months in the winter of 1860. The undertaking assembled 80 riders, 184 stations, 400 horses, and several hundred personnel during January and February 1861. Majors was a religious man and resolved "by the help of God" to overcome all difficulties. He presented each rider with a Pony Express special-edition Bible and required this oath, which they were also required to sign. ==Operation==

in St. Joseph, Missouri in Sacramento, California, western terminus of the Pony Express In 1860, the roughly 186 Pony Express stations were about apart along the Pony Express route. Eventually, everything except one revolver and a water sack was removed, allowing for a total of on the horse's back. Riders, who could not weigh over , changed about every , and rode day and night. In emergencies, a given rider might ride two stages back to back, over 20 hours on a quickly moving horse. Whether riders tried crossing the Sierra Nevada in winter is unknown, but they certainly crossed central Nevada. By 1860, a telegraph station was in Carson City, Nevada Territory. The riders received $125 a month as pay. As a comparison, the wage for unskilled labor at the time was about $0.43–1.00 per day, and for semi-skilled laborers like bricklayers and carpenters was usually less than $2 per day. Alexander Majors, one of the founders of the Pony Express, had acquired more than 400 horses for the project. He selected horses from around the west, paying an average of $200. These averaged about high and each; thus, the name pony was appropriate, even if not strictly correct in all cases. ==Pony Express route==

Beginning at St. Joseph, Missouri, the approximately route roughly followed the Oregon and California trails to Fort Bridger in Wyoming, and then the Mormon Trail (known as the Hastings Cutoff) to Salt Lake City, Utah. From there, it followed the Central Nevada Route to Carson City, Nevada Territory, before passing over the Sierra and reaching to Sacramento, California. From there mail was transferred to boats to go downriver to San Francisco or, on occasion, via a combination of riders and ferries to the destination. The route started at St. Joseph, Missouri, on the Missouri River, and then followed what is modern-day U.S. Highway 36 (the Pony Express Highway) to Marysville, Kansas, where it turned northwest following Little Blue River to Fort Kearny in Nebraska. Through Nebraska, it followed the Great Platte River Road, cutting through Gothenburg, Nebraska, clipping the edge of Colorado at Julesburg; and passing Courthouse Rock, Chimney Rock, and Scotts Bluff, before arriving first at Fort Laramie and then Fort Caspar (Platte Bridge Station) in Wyoming. From there, it followed the Sweetwater River, passing Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, and Split Rock, through South Pass to Fort Bridger and then south to Salt Lake City, Utah. From Salt Lake City, it generally followed the Central Nevada Route blazed in 1859 by Captain James H. Simpson of the Corps of Topographical Engineers. This route roughly follows today's US 50 across Nevada and Utah. It crossed the Great Basin, the Utah-Nevada Desert, and the Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe before arriving in Sacramento. Mail was transferred and sent by steamer down the Sacramento River to San Francisco. An alternative overland route was used for the first month and whenever the steamer departure was missed. The alternative route, roughly following first today's Interstate 80, then Interstate 680, then California Route 24, took the mail by horseback through Benicia, California. This route would then cross the Carquinez Strait via ferry to Martinez, then on horseback onward to Oakland and across the San Francisco Bay by ferry to San Francisco. Stations Along the long and arduous route used by the Pony Express, 190 stations were used. The stations and station keepers were essential to the successful, timely, and smooth operation of the Pony Express mail system. The stations were often fashioned out of existing structures, several of them located in military forts, while others were built anew in remote areas where living conditions were basic. The route was divided into five divisions. To maintain the rigid schedule, 157 relay stations were located from apart, as the terrain would allow. At each "swing station", riders would exchange their tired mounts for fresh ones, while "home stations" provided room and board for the riders between runs. This technique allowed the mail to be moved across the continent in record time. Each rider rode about per day. Missouri: 1. St. Joseph Station Kansas: 2. Troy Station 3. Lewis Station 4. Kennekuk (Kinnekuk) Station 5. Kickapoo, Goteschall Station 6. Log Chain Station 7. Seneca Station 8. Ash Point, Laramie Creek Station 9. Guittard Station (aka Gantard's, Guttard) 10. Marysville Station 11. Cottonwood, Hollenberg Station 12. Atchison Station 13. Lancaster Station Nebraska: 14. Rock House Station 15. Rock Creek Station 16. Virginia City 17. Big Sandy Station 18. Millersville, Thompson's Station 19. Kiowa Station 20. Little Blue, Oak Grove Station 21. Liberty Farm Station 22. Spring Ranch, Lone Tree Station 23. Thirty-two Mile Creek Station 24. Sand Hill, Summit Station 25. Hook's, Kearney, Valley Station 26. Fort Kearney ---- Nebraska (continued): 27. Seventeen Mile, Platte Station 28. Garden Station 29. Plum Creek Station 30. Willow Island, Willow Bend Station 31. Cold Water, Midway Ranch Station 32. Gilman's Station 33. Machette's Station (Gothenburg) 34. Cottonwood Springs Station 35. Cold Springs Station 36. Fremont Springs Station 37. O'Fallon's Bluff, Dansey's/Elkhorn Station 38. Alkali Lake Station 39. Gill's, Sand Hill Station 40. Diamond Springs Station 41. Beauvais Ranch Station Colorado: 42. Frontz's/South Platte Station 43. Julesburg Station Nebraska (continued): 44. Nine Mile Station 45. Pole Creek No. 2 Station 46. Pole Creek No. 3 Station 47. Midway Station 48. Mud Springs Station 49. Court House (Rock) Station 50. Chimney Rock Station 51. Ficklin's Springs Station 52. Scott's Bluff(s) Station 53. Horse Creek Station Wyoming: 54. Cold Springs, Spring Ranch/Torrington Station 55. Verdling's, Bordeaux, Bedeau's Ranch/Fort Benard Station 56. Fort Laramie Station 57. Nine Mile, Sand Point, Ward's, Central Star Station 58. Cottonwood Station 59. Horseshoe Creek, Horseshoe Station ---- Wyoming (continued) : 60. Elk Horn Station 61. La Bonte Station 62. Bed Tick Station 63. Lapierelle/La Prele Station 64. Box Elder (Creek) Station 65. Deer Creek Station 66. Little Muddy Station 67. Bridger Station 68. Fort Caspar, Platte Bridge/North Platte Station 69. Red Butte (s) Station 70. Willow Springs Station 71. Horse, Greesewood Creek Station 72. Sweetwater Station 73. Devil's Gate Station 74. Plant's, Plante Station 75. Split Rock Station 76. Three Crossings Station 77. Ice Slough, Ice Springs Station 78. Warm Springs Station 79. Rocky Ridge, St. Mary's Station 80. Rock Creek Station 81. Upper Sweetwater, South Pass Station 82. Pacific Springs Station 83. Dry Sandy Station 84. Little Sandy Creek Station 85. Big Sandy Station 86. Big Timber Station 87. Green River Station (crossing Station) 88. Michael Martin's Station 89. Ham's Fork Station 90. Church Buttes Station 91. Millersville Station 92. Fort Bridger 93. Muddy Creek Station 94. Quaking Asp, Aspen, Springs Station 95. Bear River Station Utah: 96. The Needles, Needle Rock(s) Station 97. (Head of) Echo Canyon Station 98. Halfway Station 99. Weber Station 100. Brimville Emergency Station 101. Carson House Station 102. East Canyon Station 103. Wheaton Springs Station 104. Mountain Dell/Dale Station 105. Salt Lake City Station ---- Utah (continued): 106. Trader's Rest, Traveler's Rest Station 107. Rockwell's Station (Hot Springs Hotel and Brewery) 108. Dugout, Joe's Dugout Station 109. Camp Floyd, Fairfield Station 110. Pass, East Rush Valley Station 111. Rush Valley, Faust's Station 112. Point Lookout, Lookout Pass Station 113. Government Creek Station 114. Simpson's Springs, Egan's Springs Station 115. River Bed Station 116. Dugway Station 117. Black Rock Station 118. Fish Springs Station 119. Boyd's Station 120. Willow Springs Station 121. Willow Creek Station 122. Canyon, Burnt Station 123. Deep Creek Station Nevada: 124. Prairie Gate, Eight Mile Station 125. Antelope Springs Station 126. Spring Valley Station 127. Schell Creek Station 128. Egan's Canyon, Egan's Station 129. Bates', Butte Station 130. Mountain Spring(s) Station 131. Ruby Valley Station 132. Jacob's Well Station 133. Diamond Springs Station 134. Sulphur Springs Station 135. Robert's Creek Station ---- Nevada (continued): 136. Camp Station, Grub(b)s Well Station 137. Dry Creek Station 138. Simpson Park Station 139. Reese River, Jacob's Spring Station 140. Dry Wells Station 141. Smith's Creek Station 142. Castle Rock Station 143. Edward's Creek Station 144. Cold Springs, East Gate Station 145. Middle Gate Station 146. West Gate Station 147. Sand Springs Station 148. Sand Hill Station 149. Carson Sink Station 150. Williams Station 151. Desert, Hooten Wells Station 152. Buckland's Station 153. Fort Churchill Station 154. Fairview Station 155. Mountain Well Station 156. Stillwater Station 157. Old River Station 158. Bisby's Station 159. Nevada Station 160. Ragtown Station 161. Desert Wells Station 162. Miller's, Reed's Station 163. Dayton Station 164. Carson City Station 165. Genoa Station 166. Friday's, Lakeside Station California: 167. Woodford's Station 168. Fountain Place Station 169. Yank's Station 170. Strawberry Station 171. Webster's, Sugar Loaf House Station 172. Moss/Moore, Riverton Station 173. Sportsman's Hall Station 174. Placerville Station 175. El Dorado, Nevada House/Mud Springs Station 176. Mormon Tavern, Sunrise House Station 177. Fifteen Mile House Station 178. Five Mile House Station 179. Pleasant Grove House Station 180. Duroc Station 181. Folsom Station 182. Sacramento Station 183. Benicia Station 184. Martinez Station 185. Oakland Station 186. San Francisco Station ==First journeys==

Westbound was canceled in Virginia City, Nevada, and used on a revived Pony Express run between there and Sacramento beginning in 1862. The first westbound Pony Express trip left St. Joseph on April 3, 1860, and arrived 10 days later in Sacramento, California, on April 14. These letters were sent under cover from the east to St. Joseph, and never directly entered the U.S. mail system. Today, only a single letter is known to exist from the inaugural westbound trip from St. Joseph to Sacramento. It was delivered in an envelope embossed with postage (depicted below) that was first issued by the U.S. Post Office in 1855. The messenger delivering the mochila from New York and Washington, DC, missed a connection in Detroit and arrived in Hannibal, Missouri, two hours late. The railroad cleared the track and dispatched a special locomotive called Missouri with a one-car train to make the trek across Missouri in a record 4 hours and 51 minutes, an average of . It arrived at Olive and 8th Street, a few blocks from the company's new headquarters in a hotel at Patee House at 12th and Penn Street, St. Joseph, and the company's nearby stables on Penn Street. The first pouch contained 49 letters, five private telegrams, and some papers for San Francisco and intermediate points. St. Joseph Mayor M. Jeff Thompson, William H. Russell, and Alexander Majors gave speeches before the mochila was handed off. The ride began at about 7:15 pm. The St. Joseph Gazette was the only newspaper included in the bag. The identity of the first rider has long been in dispute. The St. Joseph Weekly West (April 4, 1860) reported Johnson William Richardson was the first rider. Johnny Fry is credited in some sources as the rider. Nonetheless, the first westbound rider carried the pouch across the Missouri River ferry to Elwood, Kansas. The first horse-ridden leg of the Express was only about from the Express stables/railroad area to the Missouri River ferry at the foot of Jules Street. Reports indicated that horse and rider crossed the river. In later rides, the courier crossed the river without a horse and picked up his mount at a stable on the other side. The first westbound mochila reached Sacramento, on April 14, at 1:00 am. Eastbound The first eastbound Pony Express trip left Sacramento on April 3, 1860, and arrived at its destination 10 days later in St. Joseph, Missouri. From St. Joseph, letters were placed in the U.S. mails for delivery to eastern destinations. Only two letters are known to exist from the inaugural eastbound trip. ==Mail==

As the Pony Express mail service existed only briefly in 1860 and 1861, few examples of Pony Express mail survive. Contributing to the scarcity of Pony Express mail is that the cost to send a letter was $5.00 at the beginning (, or 2 days of semi-skilled labor). By the end of the Pony Express, the price had dropped to $1.00 per ounce but even that was considered expensive to mail one letter. Only 250 known examples of Pony Express mail remain. Postmarks Various postmarks were added to the mail to be carried by the Pony Express at the point of departure. ==Fastest mail service==

William Russell, senior partner of Russell, Majors, and Waddell, and one of the biggest investors in the Pony Express, used the 1860 presidential election, of Abraham Lincoln, as a way to promote the Pony Express and how fast it could deliver the U.S. Mail. This was an important event because just four years earlier, in the prior election, it took months to get news of James Buchanan's win. The election of Lincoln was important because the newly-named president would have to take the country into the Civil War. ==Attacks==

under present-day Lake Lahontan (reservoir), not to be confused with the large endorheic Pleistocene lake of the same name (Lake Lahontan). One account says the raid was a deliberate attempt to provoke war. Another says the raiders had heard that men at the station had kidnapped two Paiute women, and fighting broke out when they went to investigate and free the women. Either way, the war party killed five men and the station was burned. During the following weeks, other isolated incidents occurred when whites in the Paiute country were ambushed and killed. The Pony Express was a special target. Seven other express stations were also attacked; 16 employees were killed, and around 150 express horses were either stolen or driven off. Those who worked at the stations had no one around, possibly for miles, to help defend against the attacks, making working at the stations one of the deadliest jobs in the whole operation. The Paiute War cost the Pony Express company about $75,000 in livestock and station equipment, not to mention the loss of life. In June of that year, the Paiute uprising had been ended through the intervention of U.S. troops, after which four delayed mail shipments from the East were finally brought to San Francisco on June 25, 1860. During this brief war, one Pony Express mailing, which left San Francisco on July 21, 1860, did not immediately reach its destination. That mail pouch (mochila) did not reach St. Joseph and subsequently New York until almost two years later. ==Famous riders==

In 1860, riding for the Pony Express was difficult work – riders had to be tough and lightweight. An advertisement allegedly read, "Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred," but one historian, Joseph Nardone, claims that it is a hoax (dating no earlier than 1902), as no one has found the ad in contemporary newspaper archives. The Pony Express had an estimated 80 riders traveling east or west along the route at any given time. In addition, about 400 other employees were used, including station keepers, stock tenders, and route superintendents. Many young men applied; Waddell and Majors could have easily hired riders at low rates, but instead offered $100 a montha handsome sum for that time. Author Mark Twain described the riders in his travel memoir Roughing It as: "... usually a little bit of a man". Though the riders were small, lightweight, generally teenaged boys, they came to be seen as heroes of the American West. There was no systematic list of riders kept by the company, but a partial list has been compiled by Raymond and Nancy Settle in their Saddles & Spurs (1972). Wild Bill Hickok never worked as a rider and only worked as a stocktender for the Pony Express. First riders The identity of the first westbound rider to depart St. Joseph has been disputed, but currently most historians have narrowed it down to either Johnny Fry or Billy Richardson. Mail for the Pony Express left San Francisco at 4:00 pm, carried by horse and rider to the waterfront, and then on by steamboat to Sacramento, where it was picked up by the Pony Express rider. At 2:45 am, William (Sam) Hamilton was the first Pony Express rider to begin the journey from Sacramento. He rode all the way to Sportsman Hall Station, where he gave his mochila filled with mail to Warren Upson. A California Registered Historical Landmark plaque at the site reads: William Cody Probably more than any other rider in the Pony Express, William Cody (better known as Buffalo Bill) epitomizes the legend and the folklore, be it fact or fiction, of the Pony Express. Numerous stories have been told of young Cody's adventures as a Pony Express rider, though his accounts may have been fabricated or exaggerated. At age 15, Cody was on his way west to California when he met Pony Express agents along the way and signed on with the company. Cody helped in the construction of several way-stations. Thereafter, he was employed as a rider and was given a short delivery run from the township of Julesburg, which lay to the west. After some months, he was transferred to Slade's Division in Wyoming, where he is said to have made the longest nonstop ride from Red Buttes Station to Rocky Ridge Station and back when he found that his relief rider had been killed. This trail of was completed in 21 hours and 40 minutes, and 21 horses were required. On one occasion when he is said to have carried mail, he unintentionally ran into an Indian war party, but managed to escape. Cody was present for many significant chapters in early western history, including the gold rush, the building of the railroads, and cattle herding on the Great Plains. A career as a scout for the Army under General Phillip Sheridan following the Civil War earned him his nickname and established his notoriety as a frontiersman. Robert Haslam "Pony Bob" Haslam was among the most brave, resourceful, and best-known riders of the Pony Express. He was born in January 1840 in London, United Kingdom, and came to the United States as a teenager. Haslam was hired by Bolivar Roberts, helped build the stations, and was given the mail run from Friday's Station at Lake Tahoe to Buckland's Station near Fort Churchill, to the east. His greatest ride, in 8 hours and 20 minutes while wounded, was an important contribution to the fastest trip ever made by the Pony Express. The mail carried Lincoln's inaugural address. Indian problems in 1860 led to Haslam's record-breaking ride. He had received the eastbound mail (probably the May 10 mail from San Francisco) at Friday's Station. When he reached Buckland's Station, a few days after the death of Pony Express rider Bart Riles, his relief rider was so badly frightened over the Indian threat that he refused to take the mail. Haslam agreed to take the mail all the way to Smith's Creek for a total distance of without a rest. After a rest of 9 hours, he retraced his route with the westbound mail, where at Cold Springs, he found that Indians had raided the place, killing the station keeper and running off all of the stock. On the ride, he was shot through the jaw with an Indian arrow, losing three teeth. Finally, he reached Buckland's Station, making the round trip the longest on record. Pony Bob continued to work as a rider for Wells Fargo and Company after the Civil War, scouted for the U.S. Army well into his 50s, and later accompanied his good friend "Buffalo Bill" Cody on a diplomatic mission to negotiate the surrender of Chief Sitting Bull in December 1890. He drifted in and out of public mention, but died in Chicago during the winter of 1912 (age 72) in deep poverty after suffering a stroke. Buffalo Bill paid for his friend's headstone at Mount Greenwood Cemetery (111 Street and Sacramento) on Chicago's far south side. Jose Zowgaltz Jose Zowgaltz (also recorded as Zowglat, Zowgalty, and Zogwalt) was an Hispanic pony express rider documented as killed by Paiute Indians. Zowgaltz was ambushed along Edwards Creek, as recorded by assistant station keeper J. G. Kelly in 1860.. He was one of three pony riders documented as killed by hostiles. Bart Riles Bart Riles was a shy Mexican teenager who had a vast knowledge of the Nevada desert, an experience that the Pony Express company wanted to capitalize on. Riles was assigned the Pony Express trail of relay stations heading east, starting from Fort Churchill (also known as Buckland's Station) and ending at Smith's Creek, a distance of about 117 miles one way. Moonlighting as a U.S. Army scout, he had just returned to Smith's Creek from army duty, when he was tasked to carry a mochila to Fort Churchill, which was his usual route, but in reverse. Moody writes that Riles was ambushed and wounded by rifle fire in the Shoshone mountains by a Paiute war party, though a contemporary source states that he was shot accidentally. Riles tied himself to his saddle, knowing his horse would follow the route to the Cold Spring relay station, which it did. While one Pony Express employee at the Cold Spring relay station comforted Riles until he died at dawn, the other delivered the mochila to its destination at Ft. Churchill 87 miles away. Jack Keetley Jack Keetley was hired by A. E. Lewis for his division at the age of 19 and put on the run from Marysville to Big Sandy. He was one of those who rode for the Pony Express during the entire 19 months of its existence. Jack Keetley's longest ride, upon which he doubled back for another rider, ended at Seneca, where he was taken from the saddle sound asleep. He had ridden in 31 hours without stopping to rest or eat. After the Pony Express was disbanded, Keetley went to Salt Lake City, where he engaged in mining. He died there on October 12, 1912, where he was also buried. In 1907, Keetley wrote the following letter (excerpt): Billy Tate Billy Tate was a 14-year-old Pony Express rider who rode the express trail in Nevada near Ruby Valley. During the Paiute uprising of 1860, he was chased by a band of Paiute Indians on horseback and was forced to retreat into the hills behind some big rocks, where he killed seven of his assailants in a shoot-out before being killed himself. His body was found riddled with arrows, but was not scalped, a sign that the Paiutes honored their enemy. Major Howard Egan Egan emigrated to the United States from Ireland with his parents in the early 1830s. While living in Massachusetts, he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was with the pioneer party of 1847 that journeyed to the west to modern day Salt Lake City, Utah. At the start of the Pony Express, he was appointed Superintendent of the Division from Salt Lake City to Robert's Creek which is in present day Nevada. Egan filled in when others could not ride. After the Pony Express, he ranched and became involved with the court system in Utah. ==Horses==

At the west end of the Pony Express route in California, W.W. Finney purchased 100 head of short-coupled stock called "California horses", while A.B. Miller purchased another 200 native ponies in and around the Great Salt Lake Valley. The horses were ridden quickly between stations, a distance of . They were then relieved, and a fresh horse was exchanged for the one that just arrived from its strenuous run. During his route of , a Pony Express rider would change horses 8 to 10 times. The horses were ridden at a fast canter of around and at times they were driven to full gallop at speeds up to . Horses of the Pony Express were purchased in Missouri, Iowa, California, and some western U.S. territories. The types of horses ridden by riders of the Pony Express included Morgans and thoroughbreds, which were often used on the eastern end of the trail. Mustangs were often used on the western (more rugged) end of the mail route. ==Saddle==

by William Henry Jackson In 1844, years before the Pony Express came to St. Joseph, Israel Landis opened a small saddle and harness shop there. His business expanded as the town grew, and when the Pony Express came to town, Landis was the ideal candidate to produce saddles for the newly founded Pony Express. Because Pony Express riders rode their horses at a quick pace over a distance of or more between stations, every consideration was made to reduce the overall weight the horse had to carry. To help reduce this load, special lightweight saddles were designed and crafted. Using less leather and fewer metallic and wood components, they fashioned a saddle that was similar in design to the regular stock saddle generally in use in the West at that time. The mail pouch was a separate component to the saddle that made the Pony Express unique. Standard mail pouches for horses were never used because of their size and shape, as detaching and attaching it from one saddle to the other was time-consuming, causing undue delay in changing mounts. With many stops to make, the delayed time at each station would accumulate to appreciable proportions. To get around this difficulty, a mochila (a covering of leather) was thrown over the saddle. The saddle horn and cantle projected through holes that were specially cut to size in the mochila. Attached to the broad leather skirt of the mochila were four cantinas, or box-shaped hard leather compartments, where letters were carried on the journey. ==Closing==

During its brief time in operation, the Pony Express delivered about 35,000 letters between St. Joseph and Sacramento. Although the Pony Express proved that the central/northern mail route was viable, Russell, Majors, and Waddell did not get the contract to deliver mail over the route. The contract was instead awarded to Jeremy Dehut in March 1861, who had taken over the southern, congressionally favored Butterfield Overland Mail Stage Line. The so-called "Stagecoach King", Ben Holladay, acquired the Russell, Majors, and Waddell stations for his stagecoaches. Shortly after the contract was awarded, the start of the American Civil War caused the stage line to cease operation. From March 1861, the Pony Express ran mail only between Salt Lake City and Sacramento. The Pony Express announced its closure on October 26, 1861, two days after the transcontinental telegraph reached Salt Lake City and connected Omaha, Nebraska, and Sacramento.--> Other telegraph lines connected points along the line and other cities on the east and west coasts. Despite the subsidy, the Pony Express was a financial failure. It grossed $90,000 and lost $200,000. In 1866, after the Civil War was over, Holladay sold the Pony Express assets along with the remnants of the Butterfield Stage to Wells Fargo for $1.5 million. ==Legacy==

Postage stamps In 1869, the United States Post Office issued the first U.S. postage stamp to depict an actual historic event, and the subject chosen was the Pony Express. Until then, only the faces of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson were found on the face of U.S. postage. Sometimes mistaken for an actual stamp used by the Pony Express, the "Pony Express Stamp" issue was released in 1869 (8 years after the Pony Express service had ended) to honor the men who rode the long and sometimes dangerous journeys and to commemorate the service they provided for the nation. In 1940 and 1960, commemorative stamps were issued for the 80th and 100th anniversaries of the Pony Express, respectively. Historical research The foundation of accountable Pony Express history rests in the few tangible areas where records, papers, letters, and mailings have yielded the most historical evidence. Until the 1950s, most of what was known about the short-lived Pony Express was the product of a few accounts, hearsay, and folklore, generally true in their overall aspects, but lacking in verification in many areas for those who wanted to explore the history surrounding the founders, the various riders, and station keepers, or who were interested in stations or forts along the Pony Express route. The most complete books on the Pony Express are The Story of the Pony Express by Raymond and Mary Settle and Saddles and Spurs by Roy Bloss. Settle's account is unique, as he was the first writer and historical researcher to make use of Pony Express founder William B. Waddell's papers, now in a collection at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Mr. Settle wrote in the mid-1950s. Mr. Bloss was a writer for the Pony Express Centennial. While Settle's work was published generally without his annotations and notes, the writer's background here is unique and Settle does have an excellent bibliography. When Settle prepared to publish his well-researched account, he had a good volume of footnotes, citations prepared, but the editors chose not to use most of them. Instead, they opted for a less expensive approach to print and publish and released an accurate, but simplified account. Settle was not pleased with this new and sudden development, as he put much time and effort into the annotations. Yet, the account Settle wrote was and is a definitive one and is considered the best account on the history of the Pony Express among many historians. National Historic Trail The Pony Express route was designated the Pony Express National Historic Trail August 3, 1992, by an act of Congress. Its route goes through eight states and includes substantial sections of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The public can auto-tour the route, visit interpretive sites and museums, and hike, bike, or horseback ride various trail segments. Sites open to public visitation along the trail include the Sand Mountain Recreation Area in Nevada; automobile access to a backcountry byway (the Pony Express Trail National Back Country Byway) along the route itself, Boyd Station and Simpson Springs Campground in Utah; and the Little Sandy Crossing in Wyoming. In total, approximately 120 historic sites along the trail may eventually be open to the public, including 50 stations or station ruins. The National Pony Express Association is a nonprofit, volunteer-led historical organization. Its purpose is to preserve the original Pony Express trail and to continue the memory and importance of Pony Express in American history in partnership with the National Park Service, Pony Express Trail Association, and Oregon-California Trails Association. Other commemorations From 1866 until 1889, the Pony Express logo was used by stagecoach and freight company Wells Fargo, which provided secure mail service. Wells Fargo used the Pony Express logo for its guard and armored-car services. The logo continued to be used when other companies took over the security business into the 1990s. Since 2001, the Pony Express logo is no longer used for security businesses, since the business has been sold. In June 2006, the United States Postal Service announced it had trademarked "Pony Express" along with "Air Mail". April 3, 2010 was the Pony Express's 150th anniversary. Located in St. Joseph, Missouri, the Patee House Museum, which was the Pony Express's headquarters, hosted events celebrating the anniversary. On April 14, 2015, Google released a playable doodle game celebrating their 155th anniversary. ==In popular culture==

The continued remembrance and popularity of the Pony Express can be linked to Buffalo Bill Cody, his autobiographies, and his Wild West Show. The first book dedicated solely to the Pony Express was not published until 1900. However, in his first autobiography, published in 1879, Cody claims to have been an Express rider. While this claim has recently come under dispute, • Winds of the Wasteland (1936) • Frontier Pony Express (1939) • Pony Express Days (short) (1940) • Pony Post (1940) • Saddle Silly (1941) • Plainsman and the Lady (1946) • Pony Express (1953) • Last of the Pony Riders (1953) • The Pony Express Rider (1976) • Pony Express Rider (1996) • Spirit of the Pony Express (2012) Television • The Range Rider (1951–1953) season-one episode "The Last of the Pony Express" • Crossroad Avenger (1953) • Pony Express (1959–1960) • Bonanza (1959–1973) season seven, two-part episode "Ride the Wind" • The Young Riders (1989–1992) • Into the West (2005) • My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (2013) • Legends of the Pony Express (2024) Comic books • Lucky Luke: The Pony Express (1988) Video Games • An intergalactic mail delivery version of the Pony Express is central to the plot of the space-based horror game Mouthwashing, in which it is depicted as a soulless corporation, the last delivery service using human-piloted spaceships, sending its last crew on a year-long delivery mission before going bankrupt. ==See also==