The stories of the riders, station keepers, and Division Superintendents can only add color and excitement to the Pony Express history. Not everyone was honest in their employment, but the ramrods who managed the divisions left behind colorful tales and characters in the history of the Pony Express.
Jack Slade added to the exploits of the Pony Express. A noted gunslinger, he made sure his Division was kept honest. Slade rid his area of gangs who preyed on the Pony Express Company. “There are a number of graves in Echo Canyon. No doubt some holding the bodies of members who found the Pony Express ponies and stagecoach horses a good source on income.” He is credited with ‘coming to terms’ with many a man determined to steal a Pony Express pony.
“Pony Express riders encountered nearly every type of natural surroundings imaginable, from roaring rivers that could sweep away man and horse to bone-dry deserts that could burn the last drop of life sustaining moisture from rider and beast.” The trail climbed more than 7,000 feet in elevation as it entered the Wyoming Territory. “As treacherous as the Pony Express Trail was through the Rockies – with its steep winding grades, often blanketed with several feet of snow or glazed with ice – the worst part was yet to come.”
It then crossed hundreds of miles of desert where few living creatures could survive. “Dust storms could blot out the sun and tear at a rider’s and horse’s skin/hide like sandpaper.”
Two names immortalize the Pony Express riders and employees. Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill served as Pony Express employees and later attained world fame. Hickok served as wagon and stagecoach driver delivering supplies to the relay and home stations. His Rock Creek Pony Express station in southern Nebraska became famous as the site of a gunfight between Hickok and the McCanles gang.
William Cody (Buffalo bill) became a rider at 14 and served 2 tours as a Pony Express rider. He rode several routes, but the toughest was the 76 mile route between Red Butte and Three Crossings in Wyoming. Hostile Indians and road bandits frequented the trail. The North Platte River, 12 feet deep and riddled with quicksand, had to be crossed.
Few documents record the heroism of the loyal personnel of the Pony Express, but the headlines reflect the dangerous conditions: ‘BART RILES, THE PONY RIDER, DIED THIS MORNING FROM WOUNDS HE RECEIVED AT COLD SPRINGS.’ ‘THE MEN AT DRY CREEK STATION HAVE ALL BEEN KILLED AND IT IS THOUGHT THOSE AT ROBERTS CREEK HAVE MET WITH THE SAME FATE.’ ‘SIX PIKE’S PEAKERS FOUND THE BODY OF THE STATION KEEPER HORRIBLY MULILATED, THE STATION BURNED AND ALL THE STOCK MISSING FROM SIMPSON’S [PARK STATIONS].’ ‘EIGHT HORSES WERE STOLEN FROM SMITH’S CREEK ON LAST MONDAY, SUPPOSEDLY BY ROAD AGENTS’. “The mail had to go through, and no circumstance, no matter how difficult or grave, dissuaded the riders and station keepers from performing their duties.”
The fame of the young riders spread throughout the land. They were considered a very special class of citizen. Their image became bigger than life. But the days of the Pony Express were numbered. The invention of the telegraph heralded the demise of the Pony Express.
Multiple events conspired and caused the gradual death of the Pony Express. The flare of the Indian Wars that burned stations, killed station keepers, stole equipment and horses dealt a blow to the financial health of the Pony Express Company. Bad investments also put a financial strain on already strained conditions.
There was a lack of support by the general public because of the prohibitive cost of sending mail. It was terribly expensive for the ordinary Joe to send a letter by the Pony Express. In the end the income could not meet the basic expenses; which were about $1,000.00 a day. The completion of the telegraph signaled the end of the Pony Express.
In October of 1861 the Pony Express rider took his place in history. They had completed 308 runs and covered 616,000 miles. More than enough to circle the earth over 30 times. They delivered 34,753 letters through all kinds of weather and insurmountable odds and lost only one Mochila as a result of an Indian attack on a rider.
“The only failure of the Pony Express had been its inability to make a profit. It served our nation well during a difficult time, yet the federal government refused to help support it. Its demise was not due to any lack of effort on the part of its 3 founders” – William Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell. “The fact that they were able to assemble and operate such an incredible service under such challenging circumstances was the ultimate tribute to their courage and ingenuity.”
The failure of the Pony Express was also not the fault of the dutiful men who rode the trails and operated the stations. These dedicated men served selflessly and valiantly, sometimes at the cost of their lives. The incredible rides of the riders showed they performed above and beyond any expectations. “What better symbol of the American Spirit than the heroes of the Pony Express?” “The men of the Pony Express earned their place of honor in American history.”
Perhaps their achievement was best expressed by an editorial in the ‘Sacramento Daily Bee on October 26, 1861: “Farewell Pony: Our little friend, the Pony, is to run no more. ‘Stop it’ is the order that has been issued by those in authority. Farewell, thou staunch, wilderness-over-coming, swift-footed messenger. For the good thou has done we praise thee; and, having run thy race, an accomplished all that was hoped for and expected, we can part with thy services without regret, because, and only because, in the progress of the age, in the advance of science and by the enterprise of capital, thou has been superseded by a more subtle, active, but no more faithful service. Thou weret the pioneer of a continent in the rapid transmission of intelligence between its people, and have dragged in your train the lightning itself, which in good time, will be followed by steam communication by rail. Rest up on your honors; be satisfied with them, your destiny has been fulfilled – a new and higher power has superseded you. Nothing that has blood and sinews was able to overcome your energy and ardor; but a senseless, soulless thing that eats not, sleeps not, tires not – a thing that cannot distinguish space – that knows not the difference between a rod of ground and the circumference of the globe itself, had encompassed, overthrown and routed you. This is no disgrace, for flesh and blood cannot always war against the elements. Rest, then in peace; for thou has run thy race, thou has followed thy course, thou has done the work that was given tee to do.”
Interestingly enough we have a family in the community whose Great Grandfather rode for the Pony Express. He is mentioned several times rather prominently in the book. Oh how history follows us and meets us today. If you would like to know more details about the Pony Express perils and adventures faced by the employees; stop by the library and discover. What if you met your ancestor in a book?