Pony Express Rides Again

Steve Fast
Steve Fast
36571
 

The first rider leaving Old Sacramento on 7 June, bugling as he sets off.

Every year the National Pony Express Association reenacts the transcontinental delivery of mail on horseback in ten days. This year they left Sacramento on 7 June and will arrive in St. Joseph, Mo., on 17 June. Modern-day riders are carrying 1,100 letters by horse in a locked mochila over 1,966 miles. The riders wear the old-time uniform of red shirt, blue jeans, brown vest, brown hat, and boots. A few even carry the traditional bugle used to announce their arrival at a station, but they don’t carry an 1851 Colt Navy revolver on their belt. They trot into historic Pony Express stations and change horses and riders just like 160 years ago.

The mail is currently in central Wyoming. Since they carry a GPS transponder, you can follow their progress here. They post updates and photos on their Facebook page. I’m planning to watch them arrive at Hollenberg Station, Kans., on Friday evening the 16th.

I stumbled across this re-ride, as they call it, recently when I was reading up on the history on the Pony Express; so I haven’t seen it before. But I’m looking forward to experiencing this bit of Americana. Check out their schedule – they might be coming to a place near you.

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  1. Mad Gerald Coolidge
    Mad Gerald
    @Jose
    1:21 PM EDT ⋅ Jun 13, 2023

    https://www.cowboyway.com/What/Mochila.htm

    Many aspects of the 1800s American West have been romanticized and incorrectly perpetuated, including stories about the Pony Express. Take, for example, that famous newspaper advertisement for Pony Express riders that goes like this:

    “Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows, not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages $25 a week.”

    The problem is, many (if not most historians) searching through newspapers of the time say they have never found an ad with that wording. While there were ads for Pony Express riders, none of them had that famous (and somewhat dramatic) wording.

    Still, it makes for a fun myth (and it was a very dangerous job, even if the actual ads were worded differently).

    Well, that’s disappointing.  I had one of these posters as a teenager.  But still, it was an exciting part of history, and I appreciate that it is commemorated.

    • #1
  2. Steve Fast Member
    Steve Fast
    @SteveFast
    Post author
    3:10 PM EDT ⋅ Jun 13, 2023

    Mad Gerald (View Comment):

    https://www.cowboyway.com/What/Mochila.htm

    Many aspects of the 1800s American West have been romanticized and incorrectly perpetuated, including stories about the Pony Express. Take, for example, that famous newspaper advertisement for Pony Express riders that goes like this:

    “Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows, not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages $25 a week.”

    The problem is, many (if not most historians) searching through newspapers of the time say they have never found an ad with that wording. While there were ads for Pony Express riders, none of them had that famous (and somewhat dramatic) wording.

    Still, it makes for a fun myth (and it was a very dangerous job, even if the actual ads were worded differently).

    Well, that’s disappointing. I had one of these posters as a teenager. But still, it was an exciting part of history, and I appreciate that it is commemorated.

    While the poster or ad is likely a later imagination, it does fairly accurately represent what the Pony Express was looking for in its riders.

    • #2
  3. MoFarmer Coolidge
    MoFarmer
    @mofarmer
    7:22 PM EDT ⋅ Jun 13, 2023

    I believe that “traditional bugle” was traditionally called a “post horn”.

    • #3
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