The
Pony Express Trail--a fading, rutted
1900-mile track that's slowly
disappearing into the shadows (and
annals) of American history. It
began in St. Joseph, Missouri, from
there to join and generally follow
the then-existing Oregon/California
Trail to Fort Bridger, Wyoming. From
Fort Bridger outpost it turned to
follow the Mormon Pioneer Trail (the
Hastings Cutoff) to Salt Lake City,
Utah. From the Mormon community in
Salt Lake City it continued across
that high plains desert
no-man's-land that stretches over
500 miles from Salt Lake City to
Carson City, Nevada. That trail
segment (and this year's odyssey for
Nimblewill and Bart) was
known as the
Central Overland Route.
From Carson City it crossed the
Sierra Nevada down and into
Sacramento, California.
This segmented trail was created
to facilitate the delivery of mail
to the burgeoning (and isolated) far
West. The remarkable relay-ride by
horseback took only 10 days,
unprecedented for the time! Relays
were divided into segments of 75 to
100 miles in length over which a
lone rider would race, changing
horses at established
stations every 15 miles or so. The
rider would then hand off the
mochila (a waterproof saddlebag
containing the mail) to the next
(fresh and rested) rider. He then
awaited the rider coming from the
other direction, to race that mail
pouch back to his home station, and
from there, to begin the process all
over again.
The "Pony" was designated a National
Historic Trail through the
National
Trails System Act of 2009 (amended),
and is administered by the Secretary
of Interior, the NPS, BLM, and is
now marked and maintained to
immortalize that incredible journey
daily undertaken and suffered by
dozens of brave, young (pony)
riders. And, although it was in
operation only 19 months (April 1860
to November 1861 -- the
transcontinental telegraph spelled
its demise) to this day does
the romance and folklore of it
remain a legendary chapter in
American history. |