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From April 1860
to October 1861 the Pony Express was the fastest way to
get your message from the East to the West; and back again.
The "young, skinny, wiry fellows" all had
to weight less than 125 lbs, and had to cover the 1966 miles
from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California in ten
days.
As
you may have guessed the riders were mostly boys and at
it's height the Pony Express had up to a hundred riders
- all working for a hundred dollars a month. Through
every imaginable type of hardship they rode across the States
of Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and
California.
The
fastest crossing was done in seven days and 17 hours, with
riders being changed every 75-100 miles and the horses every
15-20 miles. Relay stations were positioned 5-20 miles apart
and the mail cost a dollar per half ounze.
In
October, 1861 the telegraph wire was completed to the West
Coast and the Pony Express was finished.
Buy
this poster for 12 dollars here.
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