Paying Tributes
"As at St. Joe and in the west bottoms the emigrants had been pestered by 'dirty looking redskins' looking for handouts. These were the more shiftless members of the Kickapoo,…
The Elephant
"It was not the river alone which demanded its pound of flesh. 'The Elephant'—that fantastic name for the heaped-up terror of the trail—took its share as well. the horror of…
‘Tis Better Thus
"Perhaps, as the lady journalists of the fifties would have phrased it, 'Tis better thus.' If the hundreds of persons who kept trail diaries could have an inkling of the…
Alexander Majors’ Life
"Alexander Majors was truly a remarkable man in many respects. His eighty-six years spanned the most critical period in American history. Born ten years after the Louisiana Purchase and only…
Failure of Russell, Majors & Waddell
"It has been said again and again that the Pony Express ruined Russell, Majors & Waddell. That is not true. It was a failure as a financial asset from the…
Stage Line and Settlement
"In founding the [Leavenworth & Pike's Peak Express] stage line, locating home stations, and opening regular traffic between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains, Jones and Russell made an…
Oxen and the Prairie Schooner
"In behalf of these hardy, versatile men who risked fortune and endured hardship along the Santa Fe trail [starting in 1821], it should be noted that they were the ones…
Russell, Majors, and Waddell’s Contributions
"[Russell, Majors, and Waddells'] contribution to the settlement of the Rocky Mountain region in the form of transportation, express and Mail facilities, and the freighting of supplies was incalculable. They,…
Secondary Consequences
"There was no government bailout for [Russell, Majors & Waddell]. Some could argue that the government or some officials did the opposite by making sure there were no government contracts…
A Successful Failure
"Today, the Pony Express is often referred to as 'a successful failure.' The founders realized that the Pony Express, commonly referred to as 'the Pony,' would not be financially successful,…