Pony Express Riders

Mark Twain Glimpses a Pony Express Rider on a Delivery

/ sandramervillehart

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It can’t be said the Mark Twain met a Pony Express Rider on his stagecoach trip from Missouri to Carson City, Nevada.

He and his brother deeply desired to see a “pony-rider.” A few streaked past during the night, hailing the passengers who didn’t get their heads out the windows quickly enough to catch a glimpse of the man racing by.

But Twain hoped for better luck during daylight hours. The driver alerted his passengers to look behind them.

All Twain saw at first was a moving speck on the prairie. In two seconds, the speck became a horse and rider sweeping closer.

Twain kept his gaze trained on the pony-rider. Hoofs fluttered against the ground as he neared.

The driver whooped and hollered. The rider’s only answer was a wave as he burst past the coach.

Then the man disappeared on the road ahead in a cloud of dust.

It ended so quickly that Twain almost wondered if he actually witnessed the rider racing past.

Twain was about twenty-five at that time and full of adventure. Did that adventurous spirit long to join the ranks of those chosen few?

The author who gave us such characters as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn probably would have ridden one of the relays if asked.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Twain, Mark. Roughing It, Penguin Books, 1985.

 

 

Mark Twain’s Observations about Pony Express Riders

/ sandramervillehart

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Pony Express Riders delivered mail from 1860 – 1861. Mark Twain traveled west by stagecoach during this time and longed to see one of the riders.

Twain and his fellow travelers hoped to spot one of the “pony-riders” on their way from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. It took a remarkable eight days for letters to travel 1,900 miles, an unheard-of speed.

Before seeing a pony-rider, Twain already had an idea what to expect. Small men filled with spirit and endurance rode fifty miles by day or night.

Splendid horses “fed and lodged like a gentleman” raced at top speeds for ten miles or so until reaching the next relay station. The rider crashed up to two men holding a fresh steed. He mounted the new horse and transferred the precious mailbag “in the twinkling of an eye” and was off again in a cloud of dust.

Riders wore thin, close-fitting clothing and a skull-cap. His pantaloons were tucked into his boots “like a race-rider.” He carried no weapons.

Horses traveled lightly, too. A small racing saddle hid a blanket if one existed.

A child’s primer would fill one of the two mail pockets. Mostly business or newspaper letters filled these mail bags; postage alone was five dollars per letter.

Forty pony-riders rode west toward California at the same time as forty traveled east toward Missouri all day and night, in spite of bad weather.

Stagecoaches traveled between 100 and 125 miles in twenty-four hours; pony-riders managed about 250 miles.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Pony Express,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2016/06/03 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express.

Twain, Mark. Roughing It, Penguin Books, 1985.