Better than starving, and it gets the kids off the street corners and out of the saloons while providing a sense of adventure. Call it Outward Bound circa April 1860 to November 1861.
* * *
The Pony Express sign above was actually an advertisement in a California newspaper, looking for "young fellows ... willing to risk death daily." 183 people are known to have ridden for the Pony Express. We say "people" and not "men" because the youngest was 11. Incredible.
Riders were paid $25 per week, with new riders taking over every 75 to 100 miles. Fresh horses were provided every 10 - 15 miles at each of approximately 165 stations. The trail ran almost 2,000 miles through what is now Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada.
The Pony Express was formed to provide the fastest mail delivery between Sacramento and St. Joseph, Missouri. It ran for only a year and a half, the major purpose of it being to attract publicity so as to win a million dollar U.S. government mail contract for the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company.
The owners spent $700,000 on the Pony Express and ended with $200,000 in debt. The million dollar contract was lost. But the legend lived on!
Interesting, and thanks for the additional detail!
