Daily Curiosities: The Pony Express
POSTED by: on 10/02/2009
Its April of 1860 and you are out following your daily routine. Suddenly you see on the horizon a small dust cloud. As the source draws near, you see a lone horse and rider, galloping quickly across the American countryside in a race to complete their part of the nation’s newest mail delivery system: The Pony Express.
In April of 1860, a new fast mail delivery service was started. It consisted of horses and riders carrying mail in a relay system across the US from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. Each rider would carry saddle bags full of mail from one station to the next, where it would be handed off to the next rider for the next leg of the journey.
The Pony Express lasted for only 18 months before it was disbanded in favor of stage coaches and later a transcontinental telegraph system. The Pony Express was never a commercial success and ended completely bankrupt.
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