Painting by Frederick Remington "Coming and going of the Pony Express"
My sixteen-year-old daughter will soon be getting her driver’s license. I’ve already experienced this anxiety-ridden time once, with her older brother. We parents know all the statistics about teenagers and risk taking. We know how dangerous driving is. To make matters worse, I’m a gasper. The older kid can’t stand when I sit in the passenger seat, because even though the kid has had his license for over two years, I still gasp at everything. (I blogged about risk-taking, fun-loving genetic predispositions here.)
Obviously, risk-taking teens are not a new phenomenon. Over a century and a half ago, teenage boys flocked to be part of the Pony Express system, a terribly dangerous job.
By 1860, thanks to the gold rush, almost half a million people were living in the western states. And they were eager to have the delivery time of their mail improved, which often took months to arrive.
So the call went out for cross-country riders–young, lightweight men under the age of eighteen–who were not only expert horsemen, but also willing to risk outlaws, hostile Indians, and bad weather. It was an extremely hazardous route. Orphans were preferred. About 80 teenagers were hired. They had to sign a pledge not to swear, drink alcohol, or fight.
The Pony Express consisted of relays ten miles apart, of men riding horses carrying saddlebags of mail across a 2000-mile trail. They covered about 250 miles in a day, and even rode throughout the night. The letters were wrapped in oiled silk to protect them from the elements. The price of sending a letter was $5, but it dropped to $1 per half-ounce. The first westbound trip was completed in just under ten days, which is pretty impressive when you consider how long it takes to drive across the country in a car. According to the Smithsonian’s National Postal System website, the arrival of the first rider into San Francisco, shortly before midnight on April 13th, 1860, was met with throngs of cheering people.
Despite the name, the riders rode horses, not ponies. But the horses were definitely small, chosen for their speed and stamina.
In October, 1861, the Pony Express was replaced by the telegraph system.