Pony Express fun facts

Pony Express fun facts

Samuel Clemens had an encounter of less than two minutes with a Pony Express rider on a trip out West. But as Mark Twain, he got a whole chapter of "Roughing It" out of the meeting.

The Pony Express National Historic Trail was authorized by Congress in 1992 and is administered by the National Park Service and managed by the Bureau of Land Management, USDA Forest Service and other federal agencies, state and local governments and private landowners.

Short, pristine segments believed to be parts of the original trail are visible only in Utah and California. The rest has been paved or built over and otherwise lost to time. However, there are some 50 existing Pony Express stations or station ruins still remaining.

Pony Express riders had to swear an oath that "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."

The mochila could hold about 20 pounds of mail. Riders were also allowed 20 pounds of material, including a water sack, a Bible, a horn for alerting the relay station master, and a choice of rifle or another revolver.

In all, the Pony Express involved some 500 riders, who made about 300 trips each way, covering a total distance of approximately 660,000 miles and carrying more than 33,000 pieces of mail.

The riders received $25 per week. Unskilled laborers at the time received about $1 a week. Today there about 250 known examples of existing Pony Express mail.

In 1869, the U.S. Post Office issued the first stamp to depict a historic event. The subject: the Pony Express. Previously, only faces of historic individuals, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, had appeared on stamps.

Pony Express voices

"One of the hardest rides I ever had made was when I carried President Lincoln's inaugural address from the telegraph station at Fort Kearney.… Such things … made every Pony Express rider feel that he was helping to make history." — William Campbell, rider

"Our little friend the Pony is to run no more. "Stop it" is the order that has been issued by those in authority. Farewell and forever, thou staunch, wilderness-over-coming, swift-footed messenger. For the good thou hast done we praise thee; and, having run the race, and accomplished all that was hoped for and expected, we can part with thy service without regret." — Sacramento Daily Bee