Pony Express - Wikipedia

How the West was won


SMSgt Lawrence McCarter SrA Christopher Wright Sgt Randy Wilber SGT Gregory Lawritson Cpl (Join to see) Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth LTC (Join to see) MSG Frederick Otero SFC Pete Kain SSG David Andrews SCPO Morris Ramsey SPC Margaret Higgins SGT Jim Arnold PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SGT Charles H. Hawes CPL Dave Hoover TSgt Joe C. MSG Dan Walther Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price

very cool, the pony express is one of those things I really had no details on, thanks David.

Thanks SGT (Join to see) for reminding us that on April 3, 1860 the Pony Express connects St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California.
On April 3, 1860, a lone rider left on horseback from the gates of one of the nation’s most historic landmarks, the Pikes Peak Stables in St. Joseph, Missouri. Carrying saddlebags filled with our nation’s hopes and dreams, the Pony Express riders traveled 2,000 miles west to Sacramento, California.

Images: 1860 Pony express Advertisement; 1860 Riders Pony Express 'Billy' Richardson, Johnny Fry, Charles Cliff, Gus Cliff.; 1869 2 cent Pony Express Rider, Issue of 1869 Scott number 113.

Background from ponyexpress.org/about/
"The Pony Express was founded by William H. Russell, William B. Waddell, and Alexander Majors. Plans for the Pony Express were spurred by the threat of the Civil War and the need for faster communication with the West. The Pony Express consisted of relays of men riding horses carrying saddlebags of mail across a 2000-mile trail. The service opened officially on April 3, 1860, when riders left simultaneously from St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. The first westbound trip was made in 9 days and 23 hours and the eastbound journey in 11 days and 12 hours. The pony riders covered 250 miles in a 24-hour day.

Eventually, the Pony Express had more than 100 stations, 80 riders, and between 400 and 500 horses. The express route was extremely hazardous, but only one mail delivery was ever lost. The service lasted only 19 months until October 24, 1861, when the completion of the Pacific Telegraph line ended the need for its existence. Although California relied upon news from the Pony Express during the early days of the Civil War, the horse line was never a financial success, leading its founders to bankruptcy. However, the romantic drama surrounding the Pony Express has made it a part of the legend of the American West.
Billy Fisher was a rider from the Salt Lake City area. In the winter of 1861, while making his run, Fisher encountered a blinding blizzard. Fisher was tired from the effects of the storm. At one point, he dismounted and sat down by a tree. He started to fall asleep. Then, something jumped on his legs and started licking him in the face. Fisher was awakened and found a rabbit staring him in the face. The moment startled Fisher and the rabbit scampered away. Fisher said if the rabbit hadn’t did what it did, he may have never awakened and might have froze to death in his sleep. He called it an act of providence. Fisher’s great-great-grandson William Fisher is also an adventurer of a sort. He is an astronaut and flew in the space shuttle.

Bronco Charlie Miller claims to have been the youngest rider for the Pony Express. One day in Sacramento, a rider was needed. Miller says his father told the stationkeeper his 11-year old son knows the route and helped him on the horse ushering him off. Miller said he was then hired as a rider. Miller, along with Pony Bob Haslam and other riders, would go on to work in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. He claims to be the last Pony Express rider before it shut down and did outlive all other riders dying at the age of 105 in 1955.

James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok never worked as a rider and only worked as a stocktender. Reason being, he was older and heavier than the other riders. The incident at Rock creek station was the beginning of a career for Hickok as a gunfighter, lawman and gambler. He was good friends with Buffalo Bill and did perform in his Wild West Show for a brief period. Hickok would later move to Deadwood, South Dakota where he would be murdered while playing cards in a saloon.

Benjamin F. Ficklin quit his job with Russell, Majors and Waddell as general superintendent for the Pony Express three months after it started and worked for a telegraph company for a short period. He joined the Confederate army and became an officer and was a hero. Plagued by asthma, Ficklin took a desk job and was sent to England to buy war materials for the Confederacy. A month before General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, the Confederacy sent Ficklin to Washington to see President Lincoln. While he waited for an audience, Lincoln was assassinated. Ficklin was arrested and was thought to be a conspirator and sent to jail for two months. He was finally cleared of complicity in the assassination of Lincoln. Four years after starting a mail and stage service in Texas, Ficklin returned to Washington on business. He was having dinner when a fish bone became lodged in his throat. While a doctor was trying to remove it, the forceps slipped and cut an artery. On March 10, 1871, Ficklin who was involved in the thick of things from the War with Mexico, overland freight and stage travel, the Pony Express, the telegraph, the Civil War, and Lincoln’s assassination – bled to death.

Russell, Majors and Waddell’s firm fell apart eventually after the end of the Pony Express. In March 1862, stagecoach king Ben Holladay took over the company. Waddell returned home to Lexington, Missouri. Broke and terribly in debt, Waddell sold his home to his son for one dollar and continued to live there. Waddell was badly affected by one of his son’s death during the Civil War. William B. Waddell never worked in business again and died on April 1, 1872. The 48-year-old Russell went to New York and failed as a stockbroker because of the bond scandal. No one would trust him. Russell filed bankruptcy on April 3rd, 1865. Exactly five years since the first rider left St. Joseph. His assets were sold off to pay creditors. He returned to Missouri by way of family because of failing health. William H. Russell died at the age of 60 on September 10, 1872. Alexander Majors faired a little better than his other partners. But, not by much. In 1865, living in Kansas City, Majors sold what assets he had left and moved to Colorado. 30-years later, his old wagonmaster and Pony Express rider, William “Buffalo Bill” Cody came for a visit. He found Majors old, in poor health and penniless. Cody helped Majors publish his book, “70 Years on the Frontier” and wrote a foreword in it. Cody also put Majors in his Wild West Show and allowed him to stay at his Scouts’ Rest Ranch in Nebraska. Majors returned to Kansas City and died on January 13, 1900.

Alexander Majors was a religious and temperate man and required all his employees to take an oath and expected them to abide by it. Specifically, the oath below was written for employees of the Pony Express."

The Surprisingly Short History of the Pony Express
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vrzi-BEjWs

FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell Sgt Albert Castro SSG David Andrews Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. CPL Dave Hoover SGT Mark Halmrast SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright