Early Overland Mail Proposals
The idea of carrying mails overland by stage was of early origin. In 1849, a petition embodying a plan for a continental mail was recommended to the Senate by the Committee on the…
Postmaster Brown’s Comments on the Central Route
Having furnished the above detail of facts, the department does not consider it improper to submit a few observations in relation to the reasons which induced a preference for the route selected.…
Ethics in Writing About American Indians
Different schools of thought like the Germ theory and Turner thesis have encouraged historians to ignore the original inhabitants of the entire western hemisphere. Why did this happen, if a…
Rancho
"Rancho" in Mexico means primarily a rude thatched hut where herdsmen pass the night; the "rancharia" is a sheep-walk or cattle-run, distinguished from a "hacienda," which must contain cultivation. In California it…
Kublai Kaan’s Pony Express
[T]he great Kaan had his Pony Ex- press 500 years earlier. Thus Marco wrote in Book ii, Chapter xxvi (Vol. i, pp. 433-437) how from the royal city of Cambalue…
Persian Angareion
While Xerxes was doing thus, he sent a messenger to the Persians, to announce the calamity which had come upon them. Now there is nothing mortal which accomplishes a journey with more speed…
Pony Express Stations
From St. Joseph to Fort Kearny, Fort Bridger to Rush Valley, and from Carson City to Sacramento, most of the stations were located in fairly good country and were reasonably comfortable. All others…
Civil War Interrupted Pony Express Research
The Civil War, still America's most deadly conflict, became the blinding focal point of public attenton, juat as the flet little poniesd had chalked up a year's service freighting the…
Onward The Pony Rushed
Onward, onward, he rushed, dutifully bringing the tidings, glad or sad. Fearlessly, his rider explored the unknown desert, crossed the raging streams and swept through the pathless forest. He shined on mountain tops…
Pony Finances
Exactly what was the monetary worth of the Pony as a stake in this fabulous wager has been debated for years. At the outset, merely to equip the stations along the road…
Pony’s Accomplishments
His [Pony Expresses'] work—that's an interesting point. It may be well to cast the account, to see just what he did do. First, consider his speculating founder. For the optimistic, hopeful…
Daily Stage and Pony Express Goes Federal
On July 1st [1861] the changeover was official. The country's first daily overland stage service commenced from either end of the long route to the west. And the Pony Express, for the…
Russell Admits the Firm is Weak
Russell's "great faith" in winning the coveted mail contract was obviously from a more modest viewpoint than as the reigning lord of the Central. A few days after Godard Bailey broke confidence and…
1861 Mail Appropriation
Despite all the sound and fury, however, the Post Route Bill enjoyed surprisingly good progress and early in February reached the upper house. In it was a provision for daily mail between California…
1860 Mail Appropriation
In the next try during the spring of 1860 Russell nearly squeaked through with his gamble on the Pony Express. While applause for the equine mail was still ringing in the nation's press,…