An Indian for Breakfast
"'An Indian for breakfast and a pony to ride' was their [105 men who volunteered under Major Ormsby after the killings at William's Station] slogan as the command started across…
Mile 1677: Egan Canyon
"Special recognition is given to this canyon simply because it is given so much notice by the literature. Egan Canyon was named for Howard Egan who pioneered Chorpenning's mail service through there in…
Mile 395: Cozad, NE
"In 1879 the explorer and geologist John Wesley Powell, later the director of the U.S. Geological Survey, established the 100th meridian as the "moisture line," often locally called the 'dry line,'…
Cholera Along the Platte
"The swampy drainage of the Platte extended several hundred yards from the main river channels. The expanse of standing pools of brackish water and salty, alkaline mudflats often began just a few…
The Oregon Trail
"There is such thing anymore as the Oregon Trail. There never was a single Oregon Trail. After Fort Kearny on the Platte in eastern Nebraska, some wagon trains hugged the north side…
Advantages of Mules
"The advantages of mules have been known since ancient times. Fully grown mules tend to have the height and musculature of their mother, while inheriting the leaner physique and more nimble legs…
Missouri Mules
"The early descendants of the Mount Vernon stock-tall, drafty, and weighing between a thousand and 1,200 pounds-were initially called 'American Mammoth' mules, but the breed name gradually changed as the frontier moved west.…
Pony’s Bob’s Account of His Ride
"Pony Bob” Haslam’s Account of the May 18 Express and Indian Attacks The following account was provided by Robert “Pony Bob” Haslam in Seventy Years on the Frontier, the memoirs…
Pony Bob Halsam’s Ride
"The first Pony Express rider going east after the attack upon Williams Station was "Pony Bob" Haslam, who set out for [from?] Friday's Station on May 9. If he was not aware…
Mile 1925: Edwards Creek Station
"Party and train decamped at 1 P.M., and continue northwardly up valley. After proceeding 11 miles [from Smith Creek] come to rapid stream of pure water [Edwards Creek], 2 feet wide, deep, flowing…
Mile 1900: Smith Creek Station
"One story about Smith's Creek was reported in the August 1860 Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. 'One day last week H. Trumbo, station keeper at Smith's Creek, got into a difficulty with Montgomery Maze,…
Desert Springs
"While all is green and fresh on the summits of the mountains, in the surrounding deserts all is salt, alkali, sterility, and desolation. In the early days, when thousands on…
Meaning of “Pah-Ute”
"The Piutes belonged to the Ute band at the time that the original Shoshone tribe broke up through its own weight and unwieldy size. They settled about the lakes—Humboldt, Pyramid,…
Mile 1835: Dry Creek Monuments
There are two monuments near the site of Dry Creek Station: A Pony Express plaque An Central Overland Trail post The monuments are located at https://goo.gl/maps/M55hvLf5MFaKunwb7. In addition, various authors…
Mile 1834: Route Alternatives
At Mile 1834, you have the option of: Staying on the Pony Express Trail to Dry Creek Station, through Simpson Park Mountains, to Simpson Park Station. This route takes Streep’s Cutoff,…