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(pony Express,
Historic MailSei
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fUE Pony Express Is to be
rest aged this fall, 03 years
after Alex Carlyle on a
“nice brown mare” raced
out of St. Joseph, Mo.,
beaded west, and Harry
Hoff on a “spirited half
breed broncho" sprinted
out of Sacramento, Cal.,
headed east, the entire
population of both cities
massed along the street
and yelling their heads off, and the
whole country watching this spectacu
lar race against time across the 1,1)00
miles of the “Great American Desert.”
To say the “Pony Express” is to be
‘‘restaged” looks like a bad mlxup of
language, since it was a horseback mall
service established on purpose to beat
the stage. Just the same, the an
nouncement is one to stir the bl<x>d of
the West between the Mississippi and
the Paclllc. Nearly all of the Pony Ex
press riders have lilt the Ixng Trail,
ibut the story of the “Winning of the
West” without them would be like the
“Wild West Show” with Buffalo Bill
out.
The 1023 Pony Express riders will
leave “Saint Jo" about August 29 and
will finish at San Francisco September
9, the anniversary of the admission to
the Union of California. There will
also be a Mark Twain and Bret Harte
celebration In the West this fall. This
vear is the seventy-fifth anniversary of
the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill.
September 15, 1858, Butterfield’s “Over
land Mall” was established. Septem
ber 13, 1870, the first transcontinental
railroad train left Omaha for San
Francisco.
So there Is likely to be a grand com
bination celebration, with an “evolu
tion of transportation” exhibit, with
[Covered wagon, stage, Pony Express,
(railroad train and airplane all In the
picture, and cities aloqg the “Central
Route" taking part.
Buffalo Bill’s Grave.
Anyway, representatives of seven
western states and of the Mark Twain
Memorial association met the other
day in Denver and organized the Pony
Express Memorial association. For
mer Senator James D. Phelan of Cali
fornia, Is president, Johnny Baker of
Denver, vice president, and Earle
Snelle of Reno, manage-.
And then Johnny Baker, Buffalo
Bill's foster son and right-hand man,
champion rifle and shotgun shot of the
world and manager of Pabaska Tepee,
the Cody museum established by the
city of Denver, took them all up on
Lookout mountain to the grave of the
most famous of all the Pony Express
riders. After MaJ. Gordon W. L'llle
(Pawnee Bill) had placed a wreath In
memory of his old comrade, the visi
tors went on the great balcony of the
museum and gazed long out over the
historic ground of which a hint is given
In the accompanying photograph. Den
ver is down on the plains, ten miles
away. With field glasses the visitors
could see into Wyoming, Kansas and
Nebraska. Almost under foot seemed
Julesburg, nhere Buffalo Bill did his
first riding, and the Union Pacific,
where In 18 months, 1807-8, he killed
4.330 buffalo with “Lucretla Borgia"
for the railroad builders. Incidental
ly, the artist has trtkon a liberty with
the photograph and shown Buffalo j
£LU,Mj CZRAXZ . Mop**6i*a//Z*
Bill’s grave not as It is but as it will
be when bis equestrian statue is set up.
The Pony Express riders did some
wonderful riding, but, as a matter of
fact the record performance in that
age and country of hard-riding horse
men—it is probably the record of all
history—was the ride of F. X. Aubrey
In 1831 from the plaza of Santa Fe, N.
M., to the public square of Independ
ence, Mo., a distance of about SCO miles
across a sandy desert infested by hos
tile Indians In five days and 19 hours.
Aubrey rode alone, killed several of his
best horses, was never off n fast gallop
during the whole ride, fell fainting
from his saddle, lay In a stupor for 48
hours, and waked up none the worse,
with a wager of SI,OOO won.
Some Record Rides.
Buffalo Bill was the “Boy Wonder”
of the Pony Express. He began In
April, 1800, at the age of fourteen. He
first rode 45 miles out of Julesburg,
with the stations 15 miles apart and
three changes of horses. After two
months he was assigned to a 76-mile run
between Red Buttes on the North Platte
to the Three Crossings of the Sweet
waiter —a bad Indian country. One day
lie pill oped Into Three Crossings, his
home station, and found that his relief
had been killed. So he rode on to
Rocky Ridge, 85 miles away, and made
the round trip of 322 miles without a
mishap and on time—a record perform
ance. Shortly afterward the Indians
killed so many riders and drove off so
many ponies that the Pony Express
had to be discontinued while “Wild
Bill" Hlckok (who once single-handed
killed ten desperadoes), young Cody
and forty men chased the Indians four
d*ys’ ride Into the hills and returned
with their own horses and 100 Indian
ponies—and several scalps.
Robert (Pony Bob) Haslnm at the
time of the IMute war In Nevada (No
vember of 1800) made an emergency
ride of 380 miles of desert route, with
one rest of nine hours, within four
hours of schedule time. Then after a
rest of 90 minutes, he went on to cover
his own route.
James Moore had a run of 140 miles
across western Nebraska. On one run
he made the distance In 11 hours, and
without rest went hack In the same
time —280 miles In 22 hours.
The Pony Express deserves Immor
tality ns an object lesson of American
daring, pluck, endurance and efficiency.
The advertisement of Russell, Majors
and Waddell, the famous stage and
freighting firm, carried the heading:
“To San Francisco In Eight Days by
the Central Overland California and
Pike’s Peak Express.” This was ex
plained to mean that telegrams, carried
by Pony Express between St. Joseph
and Placerville. would reach the coast
In eight days and that letters would he
carried In ten days between St. Joseph
and San Francisco. The Missouri city
was the rail-end farthest west. There
THE DANIELSVILLE MONITOR, DANIELSVILLE, GEORGIA.
was boat service between Sacramento
and San Francisco. Salt Lake was the
only city between the Sierras and the
Missouri.
American Urge for Speed.
The Pony Express route was 1.9G0
miles. The first express out of St.
Joseph made the trip in ten days.
Later the time was reduced to an av
erage of nine days. The news of Fort
Sumter was carried In eight duys and
14 hours. Buchanan’s last message
was rushed across in seven days and
19 hours. Lincoln’s inaugural address
placed the record at seven duys and
17 hours.
The riders were young, light and
picked men of character under solemn
pledge of good behavior. Each carried
revolver and bowie knife. The letters
were on tissue paper, the two mail
pouches never weighed over 20 pounds,
and the postage was $5 a letter in ad
vance. The riders were paid about
$125 a month. The liorsos were usual
ly half-breed California mustangs,
many of them unbroken.
The Pony Express riders rode 650,-
000 miles and lost one mail. The serv
ice terminated with the completion of
the transcontinental telegraph line Oc
tober 24, 1861.
The Pony Express lasted eighteen
months, took in $500,000 and paid out
$700,000. What is more, it was never
expected to pay. What, then, was Its
why and wherefore? There is no room
here to explain in detail.
One factor, of course, was the well
known American urge for speed. The
discovery of gold in 1848 peopled Cali
fornia almost over night. By 1860
there were two great bodies of Ameri
cans separated by 2,000 miles. Most of
the mall went by way of Panama,
twenty-two days from New York to
Sau Francisco. A railroad was "the
hunger, the prayer, the hope” of every
settler west of the Missouri. •
Breaking Trail for Rail.
The prewar struggle between the
North and South was the big factor.
The South, being the stronger in con
gress, pigeon-holed In 1855 a bill for a
government subsidized Pony Express
over the “Central route” —St. Joseph,
Fort Kearney, Fort Laramie, South
Pass, Salt Lake City and Sacramento.
In ISSS congress let a mall contract by
stage over the "Southern Route”—Fort
Smith, El Paso, Tucson —2,760 miles
on a 25-day schedule. Northerners,
with an eye to the coming transcon
tinental railroad, countered by estab
lishing the Pony Express to demon
strate that the “Central Route” was
open the year round. Then came the
Civil war, with the North In control of
congress. The mall service was trans
ferred to the “Central Route.” Then
came the railroad.
So the why and wherefore of the
Pony Express of IS6O-61 was largely to
break the trail over the “Central
Route” for the railroad of IS7O.
IDEAL Tl-STO
6-RQOMBUNGALOW
More Room in This Home Than
First Glance Would Indicate.
PORCH IS STRiKiNG FEATURE
Convenient Arrangement of the Rooms
,'s Result of Much Thought and
Careful Planning—Splendid
Chance for Decorator.
By WILLIAM A. RADFORD
Mr. William A. Radford will answer
questions and give advice FREE OF
COST on all subjects pertaining to the
subject of building, for the readers of this
paper. On account of his wide experience
as Editor, Author and Manufacturer, he
is, without doubt, the highest authority
on all these subjects. Address all inquiries
to William A. Radford, No. 1827 Prairie
avenue, Chicago, 111., and only inclose
two-cent stamp for reply.
Can you imagine anything more
comfortable than this long, roomy
porch, extending across the entire
front of the bungalow? Screened in
in summer, and perhaps glazed in for
the winter, it adds appreciably to the
general impression of comfort and
well-being one seems instinctively to
associate with this house.
There is a reception hall opening off
the porch, with leads toward the back
into a rear hall, cut off by a doorway.
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Front Porch
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First Floor Plan.
rl Cedßh. I p toßu t,
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Second Floor Plan.
and enabling the decorative aspect of
the staircase to be made the most of.
Two doors open off at either side.
Suppose we enter the living room
lirst. This room is large and well
proportioned, and, what is more, the
fireplace adds a finish which has many
i • "Abilities for the housewife with a
c-itical taste in Interior decoration.
There is light on three sides n
a remarkably placed room ‘in V*
there is only one entrance an ■ ?
through the reception hall Thu hat
off the rest of the house entirely ,?
advent of cauliflower or cabbage *
onions as part of the evening di °
need have no penetrating power on h
living room. lQe
Crossing the reception hall again
are in the dining room, with a fi
buffet built under the short bay win
dows. This has not the effect of cm
ting off any necessary light; observ*
that there are three windows that <dvl
light from the front. The kitchen i!
immediately off the dining room and
though small, is compactly arranged
with a commodious pantry which also
has space for the refrigerator and n er
mits the latter to be iced from the
outside through the icing door.
Upstairs we have three bedrooms, a
bathroom and an alcove off one of the
side bedrooms which could have more
windows added to it and be turned
Into a sleeping porch. Observe, also
that the balcony could be likewise
treated; in fact the balcony and the
alcove could be thrown together and
made into a large outdoor bedroom.
There are four clothes closets on this
floor, ample for all requirements
when you consider that the one on the
lower floor, off the rear hall, would
care for all the table and bed linen.
A word about the siding used on this
house is apropos. If you observe
closely you will find tha. the siding
is shingle siding, and artistically han
dled to give a very pleasing effect.
You are perhaps aware that shingles
may be obtained already stained di
rect from, the mills; and for those who
like the white Colonial effect there are
shingles obtainaDle in white. These
shingles are laid in two thicknesses.
Usually there are cheaper-grade,
knotty shingles used for the under
iayer and fine, straight-grained, shin
gles used for the outer layer.
outer layer of shingles drops down, at
the butt end, a trifle below the inner
layer, thus creating a drip which car
ries off the water naturally, I; d
keeps the house snug and dry. A '>•
riation of the siding treatment would
be to have the porch siding of shin
gles eliminated and stucco substitute 1.
This would be a matter of the individ
ual owner’s taste.
In the case of a recessed porch lit ®
this the housewife gains if she sees
to it that her window draperies a
all white, or nearly so—thus gett u£
the benefit of the most light, wh e
being noted for Its llght-reflectiug
qualities. The porch celling nu
also be painted white. Instead of ’ •
ing varnished in the natural color cf
the wood. This makes a great diff' •'
ence In the lighting of the living
dining rooms.
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