The Short Life of the Pony Express

While the name of the famed “Pony Express,” which was a transcontinental mail route on horseback which operated briefly during the mid nineteenth century, has survived for more than a century and a half, few people truly knew just why it was so impressive.

While this remarkable organization only lasted for about sixteen months, it is rather phenomenal that these talented and dependable riders actually managed to deliver a bundle of letters from St. Joseph, Missouri all the way to San Francisco in less than ten days! While it sounds hard to believe that letters could be delivered this quickly on horseback, this is just a testament to how efficient The Pony Express system truly was.

The Efficiency of the Pony Express

Originally founded in 1860 by a company called Central Overland California and Pike’s Peak Express Company (C.O.C. & P.P. for short), the transcontinental mail route followed by the pony express consisted of a series of relay posts, placed roughly ten miles apart (which is about the distance that a good horse can run at its fastest speed before it begins to tire) laid out in a chain across the country. The express rider (who usually weighed only about 120 lbs) would pull up to the post, quickly change horses and then be off again hardly even having to slow down. Every 200 miles or so the rider would hand his letter bag (called a 'mochila') off to the next rider, who would then continue on the same path.

In this way, the letters moved continually, day and night, through all seasons (through rain, sleet and snow), and with an unbelievable rate of success. If there was a banker in St. Louis, The Pony Express was the fastest, most efficient way (and at only 25 cents, quite a bargain) to get a letter to his cousin, the gold miner in San Francisco – through all of the “untamed” wilderness of the west.

The Quick Demise of the Express

So why did The Pony Express last only 16 months if it was so amazing? There are two simple answers to this question: 1) They simply did not make enough money to stay in business, and 2) a transcontinental telegraph service was finally completed on October 24, 1861, and many people in the 1860's thought that no one would bother to write letters when they could instantly telegraph something across the country.

To add even another nail into the coffin of the business, eight years after this, the final spike would be driven into the Transcontinental Railroad, making the horse-based business even more obsolete. So The Pony Express was sold for $1.5 million to Wells Fargo, but not before showing the nation that speedy transcontinental mail was a possibility.

Today, the name “Pony Express” is a registered trademark of the United States Postal Service, effectively preventing anyone from attempting to restart the operation of this company – not that anyone would be foolish enough to attempt such a thing.

References:

“Pony Express Information.” American West.

“Great Race Against Time: Birth of the Pony Express.”

“Pony Express History.”

A Stamp Commemorating the Pony Express

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