The South did leave the nation and, yes, there was war. The Pony Express carried the news westward. But this terrible war brought about the dire need to transport information across country even more quickly than the Pony Express had shown could be done.
A Changing Landscape
On October 24, 1861, after nearly forty thousand wooden poles had been placed upright in the ground across the Great Plains, and wires had been strung the length of those poles, the telegraph was connected at Salt Lake City, Utah. The nation was now tied together by electrical wires that the Indians called "Talking wires." News of the nation and telegrams could now be sent from coast to coast faster than any pony could ever run.
The Ponies Run No More
Two days later, the Pony Express was ended. It had carried some 34, 753 pieces of mail and traveled a total mileage equal to 24 times around the globe. In all of those hard miles only one man had fell into the hands of the Indians, however his horse escaped and went on to finish the run and deliver the mail all on its own.
Previous:
Lincoln's Words By Pony Express
Recommended Reading:
Speedwell and Mayflower: After two failed attempts to sail from England to America, the Pilgrims are forced to abandon the Speedwell and dangerously crowd some one hundred passengers aboard the Mayflower.
The First Voyage of Henry Hudson: A huge iceberg loomed above Hudson's tiny ship. A quick decision had to be made or all aboard would perish at sea.
Powhatan and Roanoke Colonists: Powhatan was the chief of a federation of Algonquian Indian tribes who lived in the tidewater region of Virginia. His rule may hold a clue to the disappearance of the white Roanoke Island settlers who disappeared sometime between 1587 and 1591. He was also the father of the famed Indian woman Pocahontas, who may have saved Captain John Smith's life.
Sources:
Harness, Cheryl. They're Off! The Story of the Pony Express. Simon & Schuster, New York, 1996.
Nevin, David. The Expressmen: The Old West. Time-Life Books, New York, 1974.
