The Pony Express

Since we didn't start our trip west until noon on Sunday, September 15, our main goal for that day was just to get Chicago behind us, so we traveled only as far as Joliet, Illinois. The next day, the 16th, we crossed the rest of Illinois and all of Iowa and stayed that night in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The first two pictures in this post were taken on the afternoon of the 16th, as we drove across Iowa.

A farm scene in Iowa. Wind turbines are visible on the horizon, on the right.

This tower is at a scenic overlook on I-80 at Mile 15. I didn't really think the view was worth the climb, but it was good for stretching the legs and getting some fresh air.

These next photographs were taken on Tuesday, September 17, in the Nebraska town of Gothenburg, where an original Pony Express station is on display in a local park.

The plaque in front of the building says: "This old station once stood on the Upper 96 Ranch west of here and south of the Platte River, on the original Pony Express route. It was moved and restored by Gothenburg Post No. 64, American Legion."

The Pony Express was a private, non-governmental, mail service that carried mail from St. Joseph, Missouri, across the Great Plains, over the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, to Sacramento, California, by horseback, using a series of relay stations spaced every 10 to 12 miles. Horses were changed at every relay station. Riders changed about every 75-100 miles and rode day and night. In spite of the many hazards on the route, only one mail delivery was ever lost.

Founded by William H. Russell, William B. Waddell, and Alexander Majors, the Pony Express operated for just under 19 months, from April 3, 1860, to October 24, 1861, when the completion of the Pacific Telegraph line ended the need for its existence. The Pony Express was never a financial success, but it has become part of the legend of the American West.

On display inside the Pony Express station in Gothenburg were some items of interest from the Pony Express days.

The mail was carried in a "mochila (pronounced mo-CHEE-lah)," a removable, lightweight, leather cover placed over a regular saddle. There were slits cut into the leather that allowed the saddle horn and cantle to protrude through. The mochila pictured above is an exact replica of those used by the Pony Express riders and is set on a Mexican saddle that is over 100 years old.

The mochila had four pockets, each of which could carry five pounds of mail. The price to send mail via the Pony Express started at $5.00 per half-ounce, although it had dropped to $1.00 per half-ounce by the end period of the Pony Express.

Above is a photograph of a painting depicting the change of horses at a relay station. You can see the bare saddle on the tired horse, the mochila having been quickly transferred to the saddle of a fresh horse.

Buffalo Hide Coat

The flyer advertising for Pony Express riders says: "WANTED...Young, Skinny, Wiry Fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages $25 per week." It also states the goal of covering the distance from St. Joseph, Missouri to California (roughly 2,000 miles) in 10 days or less.

A flyer showing the Pony Express schedule

A map of the Pony Express route and locations of the relay stations

The Pony Express Rider Oath: "I, ........, do hereby swear, before the Great and Living God, that during my engagement, and while I am an employee of Russell, Majors, and Waddell, I will, under no circumstances, use profane language, that I will drink no intoxicating liquors, that I will not quarrel or fight with any other employee of the firm, and that in every respect I will conduct myself honestly, be faithful to my duties, and so direct all my acts as to win the confidence of my employers, so help me God."

To read that oath is to be sadly reminded of how far America has fallen from those days when she honored and trusted in "the Great and Living God."