A cannon (大炮) sounded as Jonny Fry took off on his horse through the streets of St. Joseph, Missouri. Crowds lined the streets, cheering and waving. Fry rode west for 90 miles at full speed. He then passed a leather bag full of letters to another rider. Eventually a chain of riders carried the letters across nearly 2,000 miles of wilderness, and the Pony Express was born.
Between California and the rest of the U.S. lay a vast wilderness. Mail service was slow and often delayed. As war among the states seemed likely, people wanted news more quickly.
In December 1859, William Russell, owner of a transport company, decided to meet that need. He and partners William Waddell and Alexander Majors worked constantly for months. They selected a route from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. Then they purchased 400 horses, hired workers and set up relay stations (驿站) every 10 to 15 miles. Riders would change horses at these stations, and every 90 to 120 miles a new rider would take over.
Shortly before Jonny Fry set out, another Pony Express rider set off from Sacramento for St. Joseph. These first deliveries reached their destinations in close to the 10 days Russell had promised.
But the route was far from safe. On April 18, 1860, a rider’s horse stumbled (绊倒) and fell on the rider, killing him. Riders faced rivers, mountains, extreme temperatures—and very unfriendly natives. In May 1860, tensions between the settlers and Native Americans turned into fighting. Native Americans attacked several Pony Express stations, forcing some of them to close temporarily.
Despite the risks, the Pony Express lost only one delivery during its one and a half years in operation. And when Abraham Lincoln was elected president, the Pony Express carried the news to California in only five days. It also spread news of the beginning of America’s Civil War.
The Pony Express service ended in October 1861 after a telegraph line across the U.S. was completed. Yet the riders’ courage and accomplishments still hold a place in legend(传奇).