Page 84 - July_2023

Every rider was required to swear the oath before joining the Pony Express. The company took the matter so seriously that– if an employee seriously broke their vow– they would be fired.
of God” whenever he met a challenge, Majors insisted that special-issue King
James Bibles – later known as Pony Express Bibles – be given to every rider. Employees were encouraged to read them “daily.” In a further attempt to safeguard their morals, Majors had the following oath printed on the first page of each Bible: “I, ....., do hereby swear, before the Great and Living God, that during my engagement, and while I am an employee of Russell, Majors, and Waddell,
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.” Every rider was required to swear the oath before joining the Pony Express. The company took the matter so seriously that if an employee seriously broke their vow they would be fired.
Once everything was finally in place,
the Pony Express began operations on April
3, 1860. Its first riders left at the same time
from Sacramento (eastbound) and St. Joseph (westbound). Each person in the relay system rode for 75- to 100-mile stretches – switching mounts every time their horse tired – before handing the mail off to the next rider. On April 13, the last person in the nearly 2000-mile relay arrived in California. The townspeople gave him the sort of welcome usually afforded to visiting presidents and war heroes. “Crowds rushed to and lined... [the] street on either side, and the excitement became intense,” a journalist declared. “Amid the clouds of dust, a troop of horsemen could be partially seen approaching at break- neck speed and in most delightful confusion.
On they came amid the shouts and cheers of
the assembled multitude. ‘Which is the Pony? Where is the Pony?’ resounded on all sides, and
at last the roan pony appeared, and was greeted with a hearty cheer.” Escorted by a “detachment of Sacramento Hussars [mounted soldiers],” the rider made his way to the agent’s office; handed over a satchel containing 49 letters, five telegrams, and a handful of newspapers; and dismounted
to “hearty” cheers. While the mail was loaded onto a ship bound for San Francisco, the “pony’s wants were carefully attended to at a neighboring stable.” The eastbound rider arrived in St. Joseph two days later to even greater fanfare.
As far as Russell, Majors, Waddell, and most of the public were concerned, the trial had been a tremendous success. By carrying mail from Missouri to California in just ten days, the Pony Express had shattered the record for the fastest transcontinental delivery. Perhaps more importantly, this feat earned the company adoring press coverage and propelled it to the center of national attention. “The Pony Express is a success,” California’s Marysville Appeal announced. “It is the avant courier [forerunner]
of the Telegraph, which in its turn will prove the same to the Continental Railroad.”
The country discovered the benefits of faster communication when campaigning
for the 1860 presidential election kicked off. Thanks to the Pony Express, people across the country were able to keep up with the latest developments from party conventions. “The Pony Express, quick as it brings us returns [news] from the Convention,” a journalist reported, “has but increased, not abated, the excitement by its last brought news.” This writer also mentioned that the mail service was keeping boxing fans up-to- date on the first “world title” bout – which took place in England between John Carmel Heenan (a 195-pound “enforcer” from San Francisco) and Tom Sayers (a 149-pound Englishman hailed as the “small, clever
little ring general”). The match was illegal, but that didn’t stop people as prominent as Charles Dickens and the Prime Minister from showing up to watch. Ultimately, after two hours and 27 minutes of fighting, the bout ended in a draw when the police arrived and broke it up.
Despite the recognition the Pony Express enjoyed, it soon became clear that the company wasn’t as perfect as its early rides made it seem. First of all, the company initially charged $5 –around $180 in 2023 – for every letter it delivered. Although the fee was eventually lowered to $1, it was roughly 1,000% more expensive than the government postal service (which cost around ten cents). The high price dissuaded most people from sending their mail through the Pony Express. In the end, its only dependable clients were newspaper companies.
This issue paled in significance beside the problems the Pony Express had to face later that spring. After several years of discontent, the Paiute tribe had become incensed by
A journalist reported that the mail service was keeping boxing fans up-to-date on the first “world title” bout – which took place in England between John Carmel Heenan (a 195-pound “enforcer” from San Francisco) and Tom Sayers (shown).
Frederick William Nichols
“Amid the clouds of dust, a troop of horsemen could be partially seen approaching at break-neck speed and in most delightful confusion. On they came amid the shouts and cheers of the assembled multitude.
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