The Pony Express

History 1 Minute

The first Pony Express ride began in St. Joseph, MO on April 3, 1860 and ended in Sacramento, CA, on April 14, 1860. 

“…citizens paraded the streets with bands of music, fireworks were set off….the best feeling was manifested by everybody.”
– New York times, April 14, 1860 on the success of the first Pony Express delivery.


With only two months to make the Pony Express a reality, the team of William H. Russell, Alexander Majors and William B. Waddell had their hands full in January 1860. Over 100 stations, 400-500 horses and enough riders were needed – at an estimated cost of $70,000.

But on April 3, 1860, the first official delivery began at the eastern terminus of the Pony Express in St. Joseph, Missouri. Amid great fanfare and with many dignitaries present, a mail pouch containing 49 letters, five telegrams and miscellaneous papers was handed to a rider. At 7:15 p.m., a cannon was fired and the rider bolted off to a waiting ferry boat.

The Pony Express was set up to provide a fresh horse every 10-15 miles and a fresh rider every 75-100 miles. 75 horses were needed total to make a one-way trip. Average speed was 10 miles per hour.

On April 9 at 6:45 p.m., the first rider from the east reached Salt Lake City, Utah. Then, on April 12, the mail pouch reached Carson City, Nevada at 2:30 p.m.

The riders raced over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, through Placerville, California and on to Sacramento. Around midnight on April 14, 1860, the first mail pouch was delivered via the Pony Express to San Francisco.

Despite the success and approval of the public, the Pony Express was by no means a trouble-free operation after the first delivery. Costs and difficulties of maintaining the extensive network of stations, people and horses were numerous. Yet the Pony Express, with the exception of delays caused by the Pyramid Lake War, stayed in operation until the telegraph’s arrival in 1861.

SOURCE: NPS.GOV

Unknown's avatar

Published by pat frederick

Published

109 thoughts on “The Pony Express”

  1. Morning All! about 40* out there this morning and hubby says rain is gonna continue thru the weekend! sigh.
    we left early yesterday to visit the phone store because our bill umped $30 a month and we wanted to figure out why.
    walmart was interesting–those spanish speaking people were not there, the blue hairs were not there but there were still annoying people–it’s still walmart after all.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Morning, Pat! Dang, that’s a big jump!!! Finally some clear skies this morning, albeit cold @ 32, but the rain will return….next week – supposedly the mid-to-high 70’s. Yeah, we’ll see! No Wheezer this morning yet.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Morning Filly!
        the kid was really helpful. there was a message on the bill that it would be increasing $15 a month–but his was double that with no reason why. he got it removed and fixed.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Just The News: “The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) on Wednesday announced it had arrested over 40 people it believed were tied to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

    The Texas DPS said the arrests were the culmination of a joint year-long investigation with the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), and other state and local partners.

    The arrests were made on Tuesday, after an FBI office in San Antonio received intelligence regarding a possible gathering of suspected gang members in Hays County.

    “Early Tuesday morning, the Hays Co. Sheriff’s Office and DPS, working with the FBI, ICE, Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement Removal Operations, established sufficient cause to obtain a search warrant for a residence in Hays Co., which was executed by DPS’ Special Response Team,” the department said. “As a result of this operation, more than 40 individuals, including minors, were taken into custody at or near the residence, and narcotics were seized.” 

    The case is still under investigation, and no official charges have been announced so far. But DPS said state and federal prosecutors will evaluate potential charges based on evidence acquired in the operation.

    The arrests come after the Trump administration deported illegal migrants who it believed were members of the Tren de Aragua gang. President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport the migrants.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. good!
      but i read an article this morning how food in texas (schools and other places are going to halal meals!!! they are caving to pressure–their reasoning? other people don’t know and it’s food they’ll eat anyway so why not PLACATE mooseslimes!!
      and halal is cruelty to animals–not sure why peta is not getting involved. the slaughtered animals cannot be sedated before their throats are slit and they are left hanging upside down to drain the blood out of them. disgusting sobs!!!

      https://rairfoundation.com/halal-mandates-sharia-deception-how-texas-is-funding/

      Liked by 1 person

        1. i didn’t see that in the article.
          fta
          In the context of food, halal is not just a benign preference like vegetarian or gluten-free. It is an explicitly religious practice, involving:

          The slaughter of animals while facing Mecca,
          A required Islamic prayer: “Bismillah Allahu Akbar” (In the name of Allah, Allah is the greatest),
          A method of cutting the throat, windpipe, and esophagus,
          No stunning allowed, as pain mitigation is forbidden under Islamic law.

          The animal dies a slow, agonizing death, bleeding out while hung upside down—a ritual designed for submission, not compassion.

          This is not just religious—it is ideological. It is a ritual declaration that Allah is greater than any other god, and that all food must be subjected to Islamic control.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Oh, I don’t know anything about this Halal business – it’s just how it’s done in our neck of the woods with hogs and cattle.

            Liked by 1 person

              1. I believe it’s a similar process within Judaism as well – no stunning, just a sharp knife cutting their throat, then draining the blood.

                Like

  8. Just The News: “White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday confirmed Elon Musk will leave his position as a “special government employee” next month as planned, after he completes his work with the Department of Government Efficiency. 

    Recent news reports have tried to indicate that Musk’s departure was unexpected, but the White House has long stated that his role was temporary, hence his status as a special employee. Special employees can only work for the government for 130 days in a one-year period. This means Musk will need to leave federal service by May 30.

    Leavitt was responding to a report from Politico on Wednesday that claimed President Donald Trump has told his staff and the Cabinet that Musk was preparing to leave in the coming weeks, which she claimed was a non-story.

    “This ‘scoop’ is garbage,” Leavitt posted to X. “Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.” 

    Musk is currently helping the Trump administration drastically restructure the federal government, and cut down on wasteful spending. Musk previously said that he expects his work will be completed on time.

    “Politico has become a tabloid paper that would rather run fake news for clicks than real reporting,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields told Fox News. “This is exactly why President Trump and DOGE have terminated millions of dollars in wasteful, government contracts to so-called news organizations that have diminished their credibility with the American people.” 

    The criticism also comes during a period of heightened tensions between the current administration and the press. The White House recently pulled the Associated Press’ credentials to the Oval Office, Air Force One and other key areas. But they still have access to the White House grounds and press room.”

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Just The News: “Officials have identified the fourth soldier as 28-year-old Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins of Battle Creek, Michigan.”

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I had to bring that one over about the nuts especially – I knew you would love it when I first saw it yesterday! LOL

        Liked by 1 person

  12. Just The News: “The Dallas Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) team on Wednesday announced it had arrested a Texas man for making threats against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

    The arrest comes days after Noem warned Americans against threatening law enforcement officers, stating that anyone who does would be found and prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law.”

    The Dallas HSI team identified the man as Robert King, a U.S. citizen, who was arrested in McKinney, Texas. “King’s alarming social media posts included intentions to ‘open fire’ if agents are seen in his neighborhood,” the office said.

    Some of the social media posts claimed that ICE agents were not “real cops” and have “no real authority,” according to Fox News. It is not clear what the threats to Noem entailed. “Like Secretary Noem said: If you threaten or attempt to harm a law enforcement officer we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. Promises made, promises kept,” a Department of Homeland Security official told the outlet.

    The arrest comes the day after 40 people with alleged ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were arrested in Texas.”

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Daily Caller News Foundation

    “Christine Grady, a top bioethicist at the National Institutes of Health and the wife of former top NIH official Anthony Fauci, was among the health bureaucrats who received a layoff notice on Tuesday, according to news reports.

    Grady was given the boot as part of the post-pandemic restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to the New York Times and STAT News. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his top aides have said the layoffs are aimed at consolidating administrative functions and overhauling a failed status quo in Americans’ health.

    Some NIH leaders were given the option of transferring to one of the field offices of the Indian Health Service in Alaska, Montana, Minnesota, and other locations far removed from Washington, DC. But it’s not clear whether Grady was among the officials given the option of taking up a remote post hundreds of miles from the couple’s tony Beltway neighborhood. The couple had a net worth of $11.5 million by the time of Fauci’s 2022 retirement, according to federal disclosures, a $7.6 million jump from before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Open The Books.

    Even an NIH official who described Grady as well respected acknowledged that her marriage to Fauci impacted the ability of the institutes to tackle ethical questions that risked reflecting poorly on the former White House medical advisor.

    An NIH official speaking on the condition of anonymity told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Grady was “a good person with a major conflict of interest.”

    “One of the problems when the coverup was going on of the Wuhan lab leak, that whole fiasco, was that they were not listening to anyone giving ethics advice,” the official said. “If they had had someone at the table with knowledge of this, they would have said: ‘Hey do you want to play it this way, or be more transparent?’ Someone could have raised the question.”

    “That’s something Christine Grady could have, or should have, done,” the official continued. “She wasn’t able to do it because she was Fauci’s wife.” “Maybe they had discussions in private about what was going on,” the official said. “She was placed in a conflicted role because of that.”

    Other NIH officials in Fauci’s inner circle were also let go. Clifford Lane, who had worked at Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1991 — most recently as deputy director of clinical research and special projects — was also let go, according to the New York Times.

    NIAID Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Director Emily Erbelding has also been let go, according to Government Executive. Erbelding was involved in communications with Fauci and with EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak about the connection between the NIAID and high-risk virology in Wuhan, China, in 2020 according to emails obtained by U.S. Right to Know through the Freedom of Information Act and a congressional investigation.

    Emailed requests for comment to Grady, Lane and Erbelding received no immediate response. A phone call to the NIH Department of Ethics was answered but abruptly ended when the receptionist learned this reporter was calling.”

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Liked by 1 person

  16. “Courtship between alligators begins in early April. Yes, love is in the air right now, and you might spot alligators on the move in their search for a mate. Alligators are highly aggressive during this time. The courtship process begins with the male alligator letting out a low bellowing sound to both attract females and warn other males to stay away, according to Alligator Alley Farm. Once the gator finds its mate, the pair will begin rubbing their snouts together or against each other’s backs, the company adds.

    The gators will also push each other underwater as part of an hours-long courtship process before officially mating. After mating season ends, the female alligators build a mound with soil, vegetation and debris to lay around 32 to 46 eggs in a nest between late June and early July. 

    The eggs’ incubation takes 63-68 days, and hatching happens around mid-August through early September.”

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Mike Benz

    @MikeBenzCyber

    Chief Justice John Roberts spent a week living at Norm Eisen’s 150-room palace in the Czech Republic where they “worked on American and European Rule of Law issues together.” Eisen was Ambassador 2011-2014. Roberts became Chief Justice in 2005. This was while Roberts ran SCOTUS.

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Liked by 1 person

  29. Sam Morgan
    @CrunchAlias
    One of these people is the man, who destroyed Stephanie Turner’s fencing career, just so he could cheat against women. The problem is: it’s impossible to tell which one, because there’s literally no difference or physical advantage.

    Liked by 1 person

  30. “Measles Propaganda: Corruption at the highest levels”

    Robert W Malone MD, MS, Apr 03, 2025

    EXCERPT: “In the currently ongoing outbreak, there have been about 572 measles cases in Ontario, Canada. This is a significantly larger outbreak than the currently hyped one in Texas, which has about 422 cases. The mainstream media has almost completely ignored the Ontario outbreak – their reporting has only focused on the Texas outbreak.

    Ontario’s top public health official Dr. Kieran Moore does not recommend mandatory vaccination and says the standard public health measures to limit the spread are working. This is a very reasonable response, yet when Sec. Kennedy says something similar; he is viciously attacked.

    It is evident by the mainstream media response to the Ontario outbreak versus the Texas outbreak – that this is yet another example of the liberal media/pharma machine harassing Sec. Kennedy and Pres. Trump.

    However this reporting has an even more sinister aspect – as the media appears to have taken their lede from the World Health Organization.

    The World Health Organization has launched a travel advisory for the United States. See the screenshots below (the first screenshot is from an AI summarizer at BRAVE and the second one is from the WHO website):

    But what about Canada’s outbreak? Why isn’t Canada mentioned in the travel advisory? Was it an oversight? Did the WHO release a travel advisory just for Canada?

    The answer is that the WHO HAS NOT PUT OUT A TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR CANADA or ONTARIO, CANADA.

    In fact, the AI summarizer at BRAVE is clear that the WHO doesn’t put out travel advisories for individual countries, like Canada… The new normal is that the WHO puts out special advisories only for the United States <insert sarcasm>

    And in fact, a search on the WHO website yields not a single mention of the measles outbreak in Canada.

    In fact, the WHO places the 422 measles cases in the United States on par with the earthquake in Myanmar, which may have killed up to 10,000 people all told. But somehow the 522 cases of measles in Canada don’t deserve a mention…..”

    https://www.malone.news/p/measles-propaganda

    Liked by 1 person

  31. Daily Caller News Foundation

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Two high-ranking senators unveiled a bipartisan bill Thursday morning to restrict President Donald Trump’s ability to unilaterally impose tariffs without Congress’s approval.

    Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democratic Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell’s Trade Review Act of 2025 would require congressional approval of Trump’s tariffs by subjecting them to a simple majority vote within 60 days of the duties being levied. The two senators’ efforts to rein in Trump’s tariff authority came shortly after the president declared a national emergency Wednesday afternoon to impose a baseline tariff of 10% on most foreign imports and larger reciprocal tariffs on nations allegedly imposing higher duties on U.S. imports.

    Grassley and Cantwell’s bill would allow Congress to terminate Trump’s tariffs at any point by passing a resolution of disapproval. The resolution would also need to pass the House in order to land on the president’s desk.

    The Iowa senator is chairman of the influential Senate Judiciary Committee and third in line for the presidency. His decision to co-lead a bill with a prominent Senate Democrat could signal that Congress has some reservations about the president’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.

    “For too long, Congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch,” Grassley also wrote in a statement Thursday morning. Grassley said Thursday that Congress needs to reassert its constitutional powers over trade policy during a call with reporters.

    “Trade wars can be devastating, which is why the Founding Fathers gave Congress the clear Constitutional authority over war and trade,” Cantwell wrote in a statement Thursday. “This bill reasserts Congress’s role over trade policy to ensure rules-based trade policies are transparent, consistent, and benefit the American public.”

    Trump has vigorously defended the baseline and reciprocal tariffs, alleging the U.S.’ free trade commitments hollowed out the middle class and sent manufacturing jobs overseas. His administration is arguing that imposing the tariffs will lead to job growth in the U.S. by effectively pressuring companies to invest in American workers to avoid the duties.

    “For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said during an address in the Rose Garden titled “Make America Wealthy Again” Wednesday.

    “We want to penalize people for shipping our jobs overseas,” Vice President JD Vance said on Fox News Thursday. “We want to reward hardworking Americans. It’s all part of the same policy.”

    Four Republican senators — Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska —joined with Senate Democrats to terminate Trump’s national emergency declaration underpinning his tariffs on Canada Wednesday evening. Speaker Mike Johnson has said the resolution is a nonstarter in the House and Trump has pledged to veto the resolution.”

    Liked by 1 person

  32. Daily Caller News Foundation

    EXCERPT: “Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman did not rule out a 2028 presidential run during a Wednesday podcast with political analyst Chuck Todd.

    A Washington Post analysis from January this year listed Fetterman as one of “12 Democrats who make the most sense for 2028,” citing his independence within the Democratic Party. When Todd pressed Fetterman on “The Chuck ToddCast” about whether he would run for the White House, the senator indicated he was unsure about whether he was paving the way for another independent-minded Democrat or considering his own bid.

    WATCH: (Video)

    “I know we’re wrapping up, so I’m going to make you answer the ’28 question,” Todd said. “What would it take to get you to run for president?”

    “I am focusing right now on just the burgeoning kinds of chaos and trying to find a balance and find a way forward,” Fetterman replied. “And, you know, doing things that I know that will anger parts of my base. I hope that there is room in my party for someone who wants that kind of truth.”

    Todd pressed further, asking if Fetterman was attempting to “plow a path forward for somebody like that” or if he wanted to “take the path” himself. “I don’t know,” Fetterman responded before Todd cut him off, noting the senator was “not saying no” to a potential run.

    “I’m not afraid of being honest. And now if there is going to be blowback or I’m punished, I get that. But for me, I think it’s more important to be honest and to describe the danger of where we possibly are at,” Fetterman responded. “And we have to stop and think before we make another significant mistake that’s even more and more difficult to come back from.”

    Todd told the senator he would mark Fetterman “as not a no for ’28.”

    “What I’m saying is that there will be a 2028,” the senator responded…..”

    https://thedailybs.com/2025/04/03/there-will-be-a-2028-john-fetterman-leaves-door-open-for-potential-presidential-run/

    Liked by 1 person

  33. Daily Caller News Foundation

    EXCERPT: “Federal law enforcement agents arrested another high-ranking MS-13 member, marking the Trump administration’s latest blow to the international criminal syndicate’s stateside operations.

    Joel Vargas-Escobar was arrested Tuesday night in New York, according to an announcement from the Department of Justice (DOJ). A previously deported illegal migrant from El Salvador, Vargas-Escobar had been on the run from U.S. authorities for several years on numerous criminal charges, including a racketeering conspiracy involving 11 different murders.

    The major bust follows the administration’s March arrest of another MS-13 leader in northern Virginia, who prosecutors say was in charge of the gang’s East Coast operations.

    “The arrest of yet another violent and dangerous MS-13 leader is a major win for our FBI agents, law enforcement partners, and safer American streets,” FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday in a prepared statement. “Our agents and analysts are continuously coordinating across multiple field offices and investigating with our valued partners to keep this work going — and we will not stop until that work is done.”

    Vargas-Escobar was allegedly a leader of the “Parkview clique,” wielding significant control of the gang’s command structure out of California and Las Vegas, according to the DOJ…..”

    https://thedailybs.com/2025/04/03/trump-admin-yanks-another-top-ms-13-gangbanger-off-the-streets/

    Liked by 1 person

  34. Liked by 1 person

    1. I read this this morning and the statement made by the Dad of the killed teen was full of Grace instead of hate. he lamented that the perp’s parents might also lose a son ( if the death penalty is sought) and what a waste of 2 young lives that would be.

      Liked by 1 person

  36. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

    @RepMTG

    This is the calendar of when the House of Representatives is in session. The yellow days are when we are at work in Washington DC for our constituents representing the people that voted to send us here.

    We already don’t have enough days here at work for the American people to pass President Trump‘s agenda and put his executive orders into law and now Anna Paulina Luna has shut us down for the entire week because she doesn’t want to come to work in Washington if she has another baby and joined with the Democrats to get her way.

    So we won’t be voting on the SAVE Act which stops illegal aliens from voting in our elections.

    And we won’t be voting to pass a bill that reigns in federal judges that are stopping President Trump from deporting CARTEL MEMBERS and illegal aliens.

    This is all so ridiculous.

    As a mother myself, I know A LOT of incredibly hard working dedicated women who get THE JOB DONE and are GREAT mothers at the same time!!!

    Serving in Congress is a privilege and if you can’t serve due to important personal reasons, then step aside and let someone else serve who can and will work for the people!!

    I’m sick of wasting time and days NOT passing the mandate from the American people!!!

    ***And for everyone’s information, I have no control of this calendar.

    Like

  41. SHIT! the winds are so bad, they brought down a tree–right onto the woodshed roof–dented the crap out of it and it’s still laying there. we’re going to try to move it tomorrow with the tractor.

    Liked by 1 person

  42. “A Response to a Member of Congress: Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Democrat of California, accused me of serial sex offenses in a public hearing, then said my lack of response was “telling.” It’s listed below”

    Matt Taibbi, Apr 03, 2025

    “Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Democrat representing California’s 37th district in Los Angeles, began her opening remarks in a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing Tuesday with a comment directed to me. “To distract from the dumpster fire this administration is pursuing,” she said, the Republicans were “elevating a serial sexual harasser as their star witness.”

    Right after the hearing, she re-tweeted the comment on X and BlueSky, writing, “After this, Republicans gave Matt Taibbi time to defend himself. It’s telling that he didn’t.”

    There is not much a person like me can say to a member of Congress hiding behind the protections of the Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution. One can however respond to a member arrogant enough to repeat those claims on social media. I’ve now done so, in the form of a $10 million libel lawsuit filed today in a New Jersey federal court:

    Taibbivkamlagerdove, 1.26MB ∙ PDF file

    Download

    Rep. Kamlager-Dove, no woman has ever accused me of engaging in sexual harassment once, let alone serially. See you in court. Please do not evade service.”

    If you want to download the PDF: https://www.racket.news/p/a-response-to-a-member-of-congress

    Liked by 1 person

  43. “Up to 4 month’s worth of rain may fall in less than a week across part of the central United States, threatening major flooding and endangering lives and property…”

    Liked by 1 person

  49. Lamborghini Aventador

    “Detail from the Manishtushu Obelisk, a four-sided stele made of diorite. The obelisk was made by Manishtushu, son of Sargon the Great, of the Akkadian Empire, who ruled circa 2270-2255 BC.  As a spoil of war, the stele was taken to Susa by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nakhunte in the 12th century BC.”

    “Coats of paint with copper (hence red) to cut down on befouling from organisms”

    Liked by 1 person

  50. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

Comments are closed.