The Pony Express (Cornerstones of Freedom)
What I Learned Section 1 -- Answer
the Following Questions:
1. The Pony Express ran between which two cities?
St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. In
the spring of 1860, the Pony Express hired 80 young men to carry
the U.S. mail on horseback between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento,
The route was 1,966 miles long, and the
Pony Express promised to deliver the mail within 10 days. Each
Pony Expressman rode a horse 15 miles and then switched horses.
After riding 75 miles, the rider passed his mailbag (a mochila)
to the next rider.
Along the route, the Pony Express riders
faced the winds on the prairies of Kansas and Nebraska, crossed
the Sweetwater River in Wyoming, traversed the hot deserts of
Utah and Nevada, and climbed the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California.
In the 1850's, before the Pony Express
was established, it was a difficult journey to carry the mail
between Salt Lake City, Utah, and California. Some men never completed
the trip. Some might have been wounded or killed by unfriendly
Native Americans, and some might have frozen to death in the deep
snow. Others who completed the trip took up to fifty-three days
to arrive in Salt Lake City.
2. Who started the Pony
William H. Russell, William B. Waddell, and Alexander Majors.
Russell was the chief promoter. A promoter
is a person who tries to bring success to a cause by spreading
news of its value. Waddell and Majors were investors.
Previously, Russell, Waddell, and Majors
ran one of the most successful overland freight businesses in
the United States. They owned thousands of oxen and wagons which
were used to carry freight across the Great Plains, over the Rocky
Mountains, and beyond. Russell knew the Pony Express would bring
better mail service and increase business opportunities for the
people living in the West.
Did you know
the Pony Express delivered the mail to and from California in
half the time it took a stagecoach to deliver the mail? The Pony
Express promised to get the mail to California in 10 days or less,
and the stagecoach took at least 20 days.
Since 1858, John Butterfield's Stage Line
had a contract with the government to deliver semi-monthly deliveries
to and from California. Butterfield received $600,000 a year for
this service. Butterfield's route was not direct. It swung south
through Texas and New Mexico, the present-day states of Arizona
and Nevada, and then headed into southern California.
California Senator William M. Gwin lobbied
the U.S. Congress for a better mail service to and from California.
Did you know to lobby means
to try to influence a public official?
3. What date did the
Pony Express begin?
April 3, 1860. On this date, the
westbound mail arrived in St. Joseph, Missouri, by train. It was
two and a half hours late which added to the excitement and anticipation
of the first Pony Express ride. The first Pony Express rider,
John "Johnnie" Frye, left St. Joseph at 7:15 p.m. on April 3,
1860. The journey was completed on time as William "Billy" Hamilton
arrived in Sacramento with the westbound mail.
The route of the Pony Express required
speed and endurance from the Pony Express riders for two reasons.
First, they needed to keep up the tight schedule. Second, they
needed to avoid encounters with unfriendly Native Americans, including
Paiute Indians. Paiute Indians did not like the white immigrants
because they were killing too many antelope and cutting down piñon
pine trees both of which were essential to the Paiute's way of
On May 31, 1860, the Pony Express discontinued
service because the relations with the Paiutes worsened and the
U.S. Army did not offer protection to the Pony Express riders
and employees. However, when several stagecoaches were attacked
by the Paiutes, the U.S. Army drove the Paiutes into the mountains.
The Pony Express resumed service on June 26.
4. Name ONE of the 120
relay stations along the Pony Express Route.
Some of the 120 relay stations are: St. Joseph, Marysville, Ft.
Kearney, Gothenburg, Julesburg, Mud Springs, Ft. Laramie, Sweetwater,
Salt Lake City, Ruby Valley, Stillwater, Carson, Sportsman's Hall,
Placerville, Folsom, and Sacramento.
The Pony Express had eighty riders and
at least 400 station men who maintained the outposts along the
Pony Express route.
A Pony Expressman changed horses every
10 to 15 miles at one of the 120 relay stations along the route.
The Pony Express had at least 500 high-grade horses at these stations.
Grain to feed the horses was shipped in from Iowa farms. Some
people believed it was the grain that gave the horses the speed
and endurance to complete the journey on time.
5. What was the name
of the mailbag used by the Pony Express riders?
A mochila. It was a blanketlike leather
mail pouch draped across the rider's saddle.
A Pony Express rider traveled light. His
horse could carry about 165 pounds. Since the rider weighed about
125 pounds and carried about 20 pounds of mail, this left about
20 pounds for a saddle and other belongings. Did
you know most riders carried a single pistol for self-defense?
True or False: Buffalo Bill Cody rode for the Pony Express.
Buffalo Bill later became a famous entertainer.
When did the Pony Express end?
November, 1861. Here
are some interesting facts about the Pony Express:
The Pony Express lasted about one and a half years
Pony Express riders carried 24,753 pieces of mail
Pony Express riders traveled distances equivalent to twenty-four
laps around the earth
The Pony Express strengthened ties between the East Coast and
the West Coast by cutting the travel time of mail in half from
20 days to 10 days.
What I Learned Section 2 -- Define the
Invest: To give money to a company in hope the company
will be successful
Outpost: A branch of an organization
separate from the main group
Promoter: One who tries to bring
success to a cause by spreading news of its value
Spur: A pointed piece of metal
worn on a horse rider's boot heel; when the rider "spurs" the
horse (or kicks it with the spurs), the horse gallops faster
Stagecoach: A horse-drawn vehicle
carrying passengers and mail
Stamina: The ability to stand up
to harsh conditions
Bonus Questions (Answer 1 of the
Following Questions for Your FREE
a. Who was the first Pony Express rider?
John "Johnnie" Frye. Frye left St. Joseph, Missouri, at 7:15 p.m.
on April 3, 1860, as the first Pony Express rider. He wore flowered
leggings and jingling plated spurs.
Frye galloped out of town and took a half-hour
ferry ride across the Missouri River to Elmwood, Kansas. It was
here, Frye changed out of the fancy clothes his boss made him
wear for the opening ceremony and into more suitable riding clothes.
He followed the hard-packed Oregon Trail across the prairie.
Did you know
Sam Hamilton was the first Pony Express rider to carry the first
leg of the eastbound mail from Sacramento to St. Joseph? He began
riding from Sacramento to Folsom to Placerville. It was a 20 mile
trip in pouring rain, which took 59 minutes. Hamilton then rode
to Sportsman's Hall, California. On April 4, Hamilton passed his
mailbag onto the next rider, Warren Upson. Hamilton had used eight
horses to ride 60 miles with a rise of 4,000 feet in elevation.
Upson then climbed the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains facing
swift winds, limited visibility, and a blinding snowstorm.
b. How did writer Mark
Twain describe the sight of a Pony Express rider as seen from
"Here he comes! Away across the endless
dead level of the prairie a black speck appears against the sky...
In a second it becomes a horse and rider, rising and falling --
sweeping toward us nearer and nearer... still nearer and the flutter
of the hoofs come faintly to the ear -- another instant a whoop
and a hurrah from our upper deck, a wave of the rider's hand ...
[Then] man and horse burst past like a belated fragment of storm."
c. In March, 1861, the
Pony Express carried which President's Inaugural Address to California
in seven days and seventeen hours?
President Abraham Lincoln. In November,
1860, President Lincoln was elected president. On March 4, 1861,
he was sworn in and delivered his first Inaugural Address. The
Pony Express delivered Lincoln's Inaugural Address from St. Joseph
to Sacramento in less than eight days. Read
about Abraham Lincoln.
Did you know
"Pony Bob" Haslam recorded the fastest time during the Pony Express
rides? He once completed a 120-mile ride at an average speed of
almost 15 miles per hour.
d. List the factors
leading up to the end of the Pony Express.
The cross-country telegraph, the arrest of promoter William Russell,
and the transcontinental railroad.
On October 24, 1861, the cross-country telegraph was completed.
Businesses could use the telegraph to send news from east to west.
This marked the official end of the Pony Express.
The Pony Express was a very expensive endeavor. At one point William
Russell received an illegal government loan and was arrested.
Without Russell's support the days of the Pony Express were limited.
Although the transcontinental railroad was not completed until
May 10, 1869, the expansion of the railroad decreased the need
for the Pony Express. Mail could be delivered by train.
Use five of the words in Section 2 in a sentence.
Answers will vary. Here are sample sentences from our young readers:
people invest in companies.
The Pony Express had outposts
along the route.
William Russell was a promoter
for the Pony Express.
I spur my horse to make it
Cowboys ride on the stagecoach.
The riders for the Pony Express had a lot of stamina.
f. Have a parent or friend give you
a spelling test with EACH of the words in Section 2.
More Valuable Information about the
National Historic Trail (NPS)
Museum (St. Joseph, Missouri)
Express Information (American West)