The Pony Express - Riders and Horses

The riders and horses of the Pony Express had to be tough, fast, and have stamina.  Riders could not weigh over 125 pounds and usually rode a "leg" of 75 to 100 miles in both day and night.  In an emergency, the rider sometimes rode two legs, staying in the saddle almost 20 hours.  During a single trip, the rider would change horses 8 to 10 times - dismounting, putting the mochila onto the new mount, stepping into the saddle and taking off again. The horses were ridden at a fast trot, lope (canter) or gallop, averaging about 12 miles per hour.
   Alexander Majors had acquired more than 400 horses for the project.  He selected horses born and bred in the west and paid an average of $200 per head.  They averaged about 14.2 hands - just at the edge of the pony/horse divide - and weighed about 900 pounds each.  Because of this the name "Pony" Express was appropriate, if not strictly correct in all cases. Morgans and Thoroughbreds were frequently used on the eastern part of the route, but mustangs were the preferred mount on the western (and more rugged) areas of the route. Mounts were purchased in Missouri, Iowa, western territories, and California.  At the west end of the Pony Express route, W. W. Finney purchased 100 head of short-coupled stock called "California horses," while A. B. Miller purchased another 200 head of native ponies in and around the Salt Lake Valley.
   As stated previously, riders could not weigh more than 125 pounds.  The mochila itself, made of leather and modeled with four pouches, could weigh up to 20 pounds, including the mail.  Then there was water for the rider, and a few staples to be eaten in the saddle, along with a gun and ammunition.  In all, the horse was expected to carry about 165 pounds of equipment, rider and mail. It is unknown if riders tried crossing the Sierra Nevada in winter, but they certainly crossed central Nevada.  The riders received $25 per week for their strenuous work. The comparable wage for unskilled labor at that time was between 43 cents and $1 per day.
  - The first west-bound delivery -  On 3 April 1860 St. Joseph, Missouri Mayor M. Jeff Thompson, William H. Russell, and Alexander Majors gave speeches before handing the mochila to the first rider at about 7:15 p.m. The St. Joseph Gazette was the only newspaper included with the mail.  The identity of the first rider has long been in dispute.  The 4 April 1860 edition of the St. Joseph Weekly West reported that Billy (Johnson William) Richardson was the first rider; other sources credit Johnny Fry.  The first westbound rider carried the pouch across the Missouri River ferry to Elwood, Kansas.  The first leg of that Express ride was only about 1/2 mile, from the Express stables to the ferry at the foot of Jules Street.  Both horse and rider crossed the Missouri on the ferry.  Later couriers crossed to the ferry on foot, and mounted their horse in Kansas.  The first westbound mochila reached its destination in Sacramento, California on 14 April 1860, at 1 a.m.  Inside the mochila was a letter of congratulations from President Buchanan to California Governor Downey, along with other official government communications, and other mail to banks and commercial houses in San Francisco.  In all, 85 pieces of mail were delivered on the first westbound trip.
    Who were the Pony Express riders?  They were small men and boys, and many were orphans.  Billy Tate was the youngest hired at age 14.  He died at that age, making a delivery for the Pony Express - his body was found with over 20 Paiute arrows in it.  Young William Cody, known later as Buffalo Bill, rode for the Pony Express at age 15.  Jack Keetley hired on at age 19, while Robert (Pony Bob) Haslam began as a courier at the age of 20. Other known and documented riders were: Billy Richards, Johnny Fry, Charles Cliff, Gus Cliff, Frank E. Webner, Charles Peck Thompson, Richard Clarke,Joaquin Miller, Alexander Toponce,William Sloan Tough, and Elijah Nicholas Wilson.