In newspapers all across Missouri, a six month advertisement placed by the firm of Russell, Majors and Waddell read, “Wanted: Young, Skinny, Wiry Fellows Not Over 18. Must Be Expert Pony Riders Willing to Ride Great Distances.”
Dozens of young eager riders applied for the positions offered for the new enterprise known as The Pony Express. Since 1855, Russell, Majors and Waddell had worked successfully with the government, obtaining contracts to provide transportation of goods and supplies to the posts west of the Missouri River. As the largest freighting company in western Missouri, and a near monopoly on the western freighting business, the firm boldly took on a new venture: express mail delivery. The short-lived horseback mail service, which began on April 3, 1860, while a huge business failure, has sustained in history as an Old West romantic triumph.
Throughout the month of June, events are planned across America in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Pony Express. Included in the celebration, was a reenactment ride from Ovid to Julesburg on June 19, where the shortest link of the historic trail crossed the northeastern corner of our state.
Pony Express monument at Julesburg
The route chosen for the Pony Express by and large followed the Oregon Trail west from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento, Calif. Russell, Majors and Waddell gambled with an innovative approach to overland mail service, using their Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express Company as leverage, which held the monopoly on the central route of overland mail. In this way, they were able to use the existing stage stops along the trail, and build the various facilities needed, including bunkhouses, stables, corrals and blacksmith shops. With several employees such as wagon masters, bull whackers, muleskinners, herders and freight handlers, already in place, including the infamous Jack Slade at Julesburg, the final element was the riders.
Ready to ride in relay fashion on that historic day in 1861 were nearly 80 strong riders among the 150 Pony Express stations, with nearly 500 California mustangs and Kentucky-bred horses also on the ready. These young “wiry fellows” earned $50 a month, plus lodging. Beginning with a hopeful weekly mail service between St. Joseph and Sacramento, the one-way route of 1,838 miles averaged 10 days with relay stations every 45 to 50 miles for the riders. The fastest recorded time was seven days, when a special relay was set to deliver copies of President Lincoln’s inaugural address. Throughout the 18-month existence of the Pony Express, there are many stories of heroic rides, dangerous encounters with hostile Indians and a few legends.
Pony Express rendition by William Henry Jackson. Photos courtesy of Denver Public Library, Western History Collection.
An obvious legend in both Colorado and Pony Express history is that of Jack Slade, who as manager of the Julesburg station is famous for killing Jules Beni and carrying his ears as watch fobs. There is also the claim, debatable by some, of a young Buffalo Bill Cody riding for the Pony Express. Yet there are the accounts of many other riders, some who rode and lived in Colorado.
Samuel Jobe gained the nickname of “Red Devil” after a harrowing ride into an Indian battle. Traveling his assigned Express route from Julesburg, north through Nebraska, passing Chimney Rock and Scott’s Bluff en route to Horseshoe Station in eastern Wyoming, the young rider met encountered an Indian battle among local Cheyenne and Sioux warriors. Somehow Jobe secured a Sioux Indian war bonnet, which he later gave to his friend, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, for exhibit in his Wild West Show.
Just a few weeks after the national celebration of the first Pony Express Run to Sacramento in late April 1861, a severe blizzard hit northeastern Colorado. Perhaps the precursor to the motto, “the mail must go through,” “Mochila Joe” Paxton, a station rider at Julesburg, took off for his relay ride in the face of blizzard conditions, eventually making his way north to Nine Mile station in the Lodge Pole valley of the Nebraska panhandle.
Upon his arrival, Paxton learned that his incoming mail rider, W.S. Tough, was two days overdue with his mail. Continuing on, Paxton looked for Tough the 30 miles to Midway station, where the agent there reported he had left that station two days ago. Paxton now retraced his trip back toward Julesburg in the cold driving wind of the storm. He had gone just a few miles when he noticed an Indian brave in a protected shelf just off the trail. As Paxton cautiously approached, he saw the brave was moving a lifeless body onto a pole litter. It was Tough, barely alive, as the two men worked together to get him to the station. Amazingly, with this deed done, Paxton retrieved the mailbag and went on his way. As for W.S. Tough, he had a long recovery, yet having suffered severe frostbite; he lost the use of his legs and never rode again.
One of the most famous riders was James Moore, who broke the 10-day average mail run by two days and did it himself without a relay rider. What’s more, it involved the Julesburg station. Moore was one of the first riders personally hired by owner Alexander Majors in St. Joseph. On June 8, 1860, Moore was at the Midway station (Nebraska area) so named for its proximity between the reference points of the Missouri River and Denver, when the westbound rider arrived with important government dispatches to California. Moore took the run and the dispatches, riding the 140 miles west to Julesburg, his base division. As he arrived, he met the eastbound rider, who had important documents from California to Washington. By this time, Moore had been in the saddle nearly two days. However, the relay rider who would have picked up the relay and started eastward, had been killed the previous day. With “the mail must go through” attitude, Moore again mounted a pony, and headed east with the important dispatches. Despite the lack of food or sleep, Moore made the round trip of 280 miles to St. Joseph, in 14.5 hours, an average speed of 18 miles an hour. Another record was his westbound run from St. Joseph to Sacramento in eight days and nine hours.
For more information on the historic Pony Express 150th anniversary events, visit julesburg.com, or pxmonument.org.
