The Pony Express in a Nutshell By Donna Schlachter -- with Giveaway

Poster advertising for riders

Most people know a little about the Pony Express, but few realize it only operated from April 1860 through to November 1861. The first ride left St. Joseph, Missouri heading west, and from Sacramento, California heading east, on April 3rd, 1860. 

The idea for a Pony Express was conceived in the minds of its owners because of the possibility of winning the contract for the overland US mail. Another company, Butterworth, was running a southern route that took up to three weeks to deliver to the west coast, and Majors and Waddell thought they could beat that time by taking the shorter northern route.
The irony of the matter is they never won the contract; instead, they merged with Butterworth to form the Overland Mail Company, and closed with the Pony Express over $200,000 in debt.


From idea to the first mail run took less than six months. First they identified the easiest and shortest route; then they contracted with stagecoach stops, mercantiles or other businesses in small towns and cities for the home stations, where a rider lived and worked, making his runs about a hundred miles east and west. For the relay stations, where horses were changed out, the Pony Express contracted with ranches, outfitters, and ordinary folks to stable three to six horses and have somebody on hand with a saddled horse for the incoming rider. These relay stations were fifteen to twenty miles apart, depending on the terrain. Sometimes they had to start from scratch and hire somebody to build a barn, corral, and cabin to be in the right place at the right time.

For a period of about six weeks in the Spring 1861, the mail run was halted due to unrest between settlers and the native peoples, and while records aren’t clear, it appears no rider or mail bag was lost during the eighteen months of its operation. However, there are stories that talk about a horse shot out from under its rider and the mail bag being stolen, only to be recovered a year later.

As with any great piece of history, there will be myths and stories told. Among the famous legends are that Buffalo Bill Cody rode for the Pony Express. Records and recollections vary and contradict each other, but it is possible he rode for them for a short time as a young boy. Another great story is that women disguised themselves as men in order to sign up, but again, records are not clear whether this is true or not. However, it is documented as fact that women did sign up as soldiers in the Civil War, so it could be true.

Riders were hired for their ability to ride, endure the elements, as well as perform other necessary tasks around the home stations. Posters that advertise for wiry orphans are not completely true, but no doubt orphans could have been preferred. The pay started at around $25 a month plus room and board, which was a lot of money in those days, particularly for a teenage boy. However, along with their horsemanship and ranch skills, they were also exhorted not to drink, not to cuss, and not to shoot people without cause. At their swearing-in, each took an oath to act like a gentleman, and were issued a handgun, a rifle, and a Bible. Most carried their rifle in a scabbard, but often left the pistol and Bible in their bunk to reduce weight.

The time period, 1860, fascinates me as there were so many changes happening in America. The train is a near dream; the cross-country telegraph is nearing completion; the country is brewing for civil war; women are campaigning for voting and civil rights. In just a few short years, cameras will photograph the first war ever; telephones will be installed in people’s homes; electricity will light our lives into the dark of night. Despite the changes, one thing is sure: the Pony Express lives on in our hearts and our folklore much longer than it actually ran.

In my story in the “Pony Express Romance Collection”, Echoes of the Heart, both characters are running from bad situations, which mirrors the thinking of the day: go West and start over.

Leave a comment, and I will draw a lucky winner of a print copy (US only) of “Pony Express Romance Collection”.

Donna writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts, and has been published more than 30 times in novellas, full-length novels, and non-fiction books. She is a member of ACFW, Writers on the Rock, SinC, Pikes Peak Writers, and CAN; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests.

Echoes of the Heart: http://amzn.to/2lBaqcW
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Books: Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ci5Xqq and Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2gZATjm About Echoes of the Heart:

Catherine Malloy, an orphan girl running from a compromising situation in Boston, answers a personal ad in a magazine, on behalf of her illiterate friend. Through his letters, she finds herself falling in love with this stranger. Benjamin Troudt is crippled and illiterate, and knows nothing of this ad. His route supervisor, Warton, who was helping Benjamin with the paperwork, has been given only a short time to live, and knows Benjamin needs help, so he places the ad. Can Catherine overcome her belief that the God of her parents has abandoned her? And can Benjamin allow God to open his eyes and his heart to love?

The Pony Express & Overland Mail Service

By Miralee Ferrell

I really, really want to write a book featuring a Pony Express rider, as I love writing books set in the Old West. The Pony Express existed for such a short time in history. It was in operation from April, 1860, to October, 1861--only a short 18 months. It made an impact on our nation and is still depicted in books and movies today, and it's strongly associated with the Old West. In the era before any type of electronic communication, the Pony Express is what tied the East to the West. 

And here's something I didn't know prior to researching this subject...there were other's who came before the Pony Express--the Butterfield Overland Mail Service started deliveries in 1857 along with other private carriers in the following years. However, Butterfield did things a bit differently--he didn't send out riders who changed horses at each station, he sent the mail by stage. 

A Butterfield stage wagon on the trail, early October 1858, in Arizona by William Hayes Hilton. This drawing is a good representation showing the wild mules used to pull the stage wagons on the rougher sections of the trail. Some wild horses were also used. Credit for this photo goes to https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-butterfield/

Here's an interesting quote from a reporter who rode the stage/mail route on the very first trip. Had I not just come out over the route, I would be perfectly willing to go back, but I now know what Hell is like. I’ve just had 24 days of it.”

—Waterman Ormsby, special correspondent for the New York Herald, after having made the first westbound trip on the Butterfield Stage.

  From Wikipedia...
The Pony Express was set up on a different basis. William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell organized and put together the Pony Express in two months in the winter of 1860. The undertaking assembled 120 riders, 184 stations, 400 horses, and several hundred personnel during January and February 1861.[7]

Majors was a religious man and resolved "by the help of God" to overcome all difficulties. He presented each rider with a special edition Bible and required this oath,[8][9] which they were also required to sign.[10]

The actual name of the company wasn't Pony Express, it was the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. And I love this oath--can you imagine anyone asking an employee to sign this today? From Wikipedia...

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."
— Oath sworn by Pony Express Riders[11][12]

It's also hard to conceive that a man riding a selection of horses, trading off at each station for a fresh horse, and traveling on trails and dirt road and crossing eight states, could make it from Missouri to California, a trail cover 1966 miles, in 10 days! Buffalo Bill Cody was one of the most famous riders who worked for the Pony Express and made those wild rides from East to West. Riders encountered Indian attack, accidents, wild animals, and other dangerous situations on their ride across country, risking their lives to deliver the mail.

Pony Express stables in St. Joseph, Missouri. Photo by Wikipedia poster in August 2006
In 1860, there were about 186 Pony Express stations that were about 10 miles (16 km) apart along thePony Express route.[7] At each station stop the express rider would change to a fresh horse, taking only the mail pouch called a mochila (from the Spanish for pouch or backpack) with him. (Wikipedia)

So why did the Pony Express fade away after only 18 months? The first transcontinental telegraph was established October 24, 1861, where messages could be sent easily from one side of the country to the other.

The National Pony Express Association (NPEA) strives to keep the spirit and memory of the Pony Express alive. NPEA was established in 1978 to honor the memory and endeavors of the Pony Express riders of 1860-1861 and to identify, preserve, and mark the original Pony Express route through the eight states it crossed: Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California. (From https://nationalponyexpress.org/)

In 1992, Congress added the trail to the National Trails System as a Historic Trail, administered by the National Park Service.
Miralee Ferrell is a best-selling, award-winning writer who lives in the Pacific NW with her husband, two dogs, two cats and seven chickens. Many of her books are set in the Old West, but she also has a few contemporary novels as well as a set of five middle-grade horse novels with a sixth in the works. She had the privilege of having one of her book, Runaway Romance, made into a movie. It aired on UP TV in January and is now available on Hallmark on Demand. You can find out more about Miralee HERE
 My featured book is Finding Love in Bridal Veil, Oregon, a historical romance set in 1904 in the Columbia River Gorge, where I live. It contains a number of historical facts woven into the story, and the book is going to be made into a TV movie as a contemporary, sometime in 2019.