History of the Pony Express

Old movies and television shows glamorize the Wild West days. In actuality they weren't that much fun. Especially if you're talking about the Pony Express. Orphans Preferred by Christopher Corbett (383.143 COR) fills you in on all the details.

With the gold rush in California more and more people were moving westward from the east. Before the Pony Express, it could take months for a letter to go across the continent.

The Pony Express route was between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, a distance of 1,950 miles. The first rider for the Pony Express was Johnny Frey who left St. Joseph, Missouri, on April 3, 1861 at 7:15 p.m. carrying 49 letters, some newspapers, five private telegrams, and many telegraphs. William Hamilton left Sacramento at 2:45 p.m. on April 4. The two met in a small town called Sportman's Hall.

Soon notices were in the newspapers promoting the new business exclaiming that it only took nine days for letters to be sent from San Francisco to New York.

The company paid good money to the riders and bought the best horses. But, the job was extremely treacherous, going through all sorts of nasty terrain and weather.

The history that leads up to the development of the Pony Express is rather fascinating. Different types of transportation were tried. Even camels were imported to the west to be used for carrying supplies. If they worked in the Middle East, why not in the dry Southwest?

Orphans Preferred is the perfect book for readers interested in the Wild West.

c Waterloo Public Library 2007