This Day in American History October 24

The Library Of Congress

The Pony Express


On October 24, 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph system was completed, making it possible to transmit messages rapidly (by mid-19th-century standards) from coast to coast. This technological advance, pioneered by inventor Samuel F.B. Morse, brought an end to the Pony Express, the horseback mail service which had previously provided the fastest communication between the East and the West.

Established in April 1860 as a subsidiary of a famous freight company, the Pony Express operated between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, using a continuous relay of the best riders and horses. The nearly 2000 mile route — running through present-day Kansas, Nebraska, the northeast corner of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California — included vast stretches of rugged terrain once thought impassable in winter. Pushing the physical limits of man and beast, the Pony Express ran nonstop. Summer deliveries averaged ten days, while winter deliveries required twelve to sixteen days, approximately half the time needed by stagecoach. When delivering President Lincoln’s Inaugural Address, the Express logged its fastest time ever at seven days and seventeen hours.

The Pony Express was founded with high hopes for securing a lucrative government contract. Political pressures and the outbreak of the Civil War prevented such an arrangement. When the enterprise closed it was in the red, its founders having lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Although a financial failure, the Pony Express is considered a success for keeping communication open with California during the early months of the Civil War and proving that a central route to the West could be traveled year round. Additionally, the mail service is credited with having lost only one mail pouch, or mochila, during its entire run.

Some 200 horsemen rode for the Pony Express. Most were in their late teens and early twenties and small in stature; theoretically, the lighter the rider, the faster the horse could travel. Famous riders included William “Buffalo Bill” Cody and “Pony Bob” Haslam.

During a typical shift riders traveled 75 to 100 miles, changing horses every ten to fifteen miles at relief stations along the route. Station keepers and stock tenders ensured that changes between horses and riders were synchronized so that no time was wasted. For their dangerous and grueling work riders received between $100 and $125 per month. A few with unusually treacherous routes were paid $150, more than twice the salary of the average station worker.