inhabited by savages, and subjected, in the winter, to furious storms and heavy falls of snow. When the Pony Express was projected little was known of the geography or topography of the country west of the Missouri river. Salt Lake Valley had been settled for about ten years, but the colony was believed to be a wild and foolish experiment. The Mormons had rebelled against the authority of the government, and President Buchanan had sent General Albert Sidney Johnston's army there to quiet them. Later, in 1858, "Pike's Peak" had begun to excite the nation with reports of gold discoveries, and "Washoe" had drawn from California her prospectors and miners. Kansas and Nebraska, the youngest States of the Union, were in their swaddling clothes, and it was doubtful if there was "Godfrey's cordial" enough in the political pharmacy to rear them as States; many believing they must revert back to the condition of territories and be supported by the general government. St. Joseph, Mo., and Leavenworth, Kan., were the outposts of civilization, and visitors from the older States expected to shoot buffalo from the hotel windows when they came, and got laughed at for verdancy. The western railroad terminus was St. Joseph-the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad being considered a doubtful venture. The Missouri river was ploughed by boats carrying passengers and freights. Council Bluffs was the "head of navigation," because there were few settlements above to be supplied. Business life was active along the river, the towns on its banks being the "outfitting" points for the regions beyond. At Kansas City, at Leavenworth, at Atchison, at Weston, at St. Joseph, at Council Bluffs, thriving cities grew up from the fitting out of thousands of freight wagons, which hauled, by oxen, the goods and supplies for the remote settlements in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. Council Bluffs was the outfitting point of the Mormons, who, every year, started their trains of proselytes and goods from there to "Zion." In those days the Mormons were poor and could not afford oxen even to draw their wagons. The writer of this has seen many trains hauled by men, women, boys, and girls. This mode was tedious, but cheap and effective, and the three or four months' trip of toil and hardship gave a more beautiful appearance to "Zion " when the footsore

and weary saints emerged from Emigrant Cañon and looked down upon the fertile valley below, with the city of Salt Lake, almost hid by trees, the Jordan and the Lake in sight. Many of the emigrants died on the road, and a good many stagedrivers thinned their ranks by marrying the girls-" off-wheelers," "near leaders," etc., as they called them-out of the "teams" of the hand-cart trains. There were no railroads and few settlements west of the Missouri river, and the country was comparatively unknown. In 1857 and 1858, the road to Salt Lake was enlivened by the ox-trains of Russell, Majors & Waddell, who had the contract from the Government to supply Johnston's army in Utah. Before this-in 1849 and 1850there had been a large emigration to California; but all were intent upon their destination, establishing no settlements on the way. The mail was carried in a primitive way, on an occasional and long-schedule time. It may safely be said that the Pony Express began the first work of settlement, fixing the permanency of localities.

The "Pike Peak " gold excitement began in 1858, and there were so many people going, and no public transportation occommodations, that John S. Jones (a government freighter), and Wm. H. Russell (of Russell, Majors & Waddell), established a stage and Express line between Leavenworth and Denver in the spring of 1859. It was run with indifferent success during the summer, and failed to make the money predicted for the enterprise. In the winter, Russell brought the resources of his firm to the rescue of the failing concern, changed the route from the "Smoky Hill" (now practically used by the Kansas Pacific Railroad), to the "Platte" route, and the fertile brains of Wm. H. Russell and B. F. Ficklin conceived the idea of a Pony Express, to be run under the patronage of the Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Companythe name now assumed for the company succeeding Jones & Russell. To bring about success for the Pony they negotiated for and bought the Halliday mail line (alluded to in our history of Wells, Fargo & Company). Ficklin went to Salt Lake to arrange matters with Chorpening, from Salt Lake west, and W. W. Finney went by sea from New York to San Francisco, to make necessary arrangements on the Pacific coast end. Dur

ing the winter of 1859-60 stations were established at convenient distances, and the ponies distributed along the route, which was, briefly stated, due west from St. Joseph to Fort Kearney; up the Platte to Julesburg, where it crossed; thence by Fort Laramie and Fort Bridger to Salt Lake City, via Camp Floyd, Ruby Valley, the Humboldt, Carson City, Placerville,, and Folsom to Sacramento, and to San Francisco by boat.

The intention of the Pony Express was to carry letters only, and not more than twelve or fifteen pounds of these. It was decided that the safest and easiest mode of carrying the mail was to make four pockets-one in each corner-of the mochilla (pronounced macheer), a covering made of heavy leather, for the saddles, and used generally by the expert Mexican and Spanish riders. The mochilla was transferred from pony to pony, and went through from St. Joseph to San Francisco, the pockets containing the mail being locked, and opened only at military posts en route, and at Salt Lake City.

It must be remembered that there was no telegraph west of St. Joseph, and the arrangements for a concert of action had to be personally made, by slow stages, over a wild and uninhabited stretch of country, two thousand miles across. Finally, after months of winter work-establishing stations, placing riders and ponies-it was announced that the Pony would start from each end (St. Joseph, Mo., and San Francisco, Cal.), the same day and hour, April 3d, 1860, 4 p. m. It was a gala day in San Francisco. Arrangements had been made by Russell with the railroads between New York and St. Jo., and a fast. train was run, carrying the letters, which were to arrive at and leave St. Joseph promptly at 4 o'clock, on the 3d of April.. The Hannibal and St. Jo. Railroad ran a special engine, with the messenger, and the ferryboat was held in readiness for a specially fast crossing of the Missouri river. The starting of the first pony was from the office of the United States Express Company, and St. Jo. never had such an enthusiastic and excited crowd of cheering friends. Henry Kip, then, as now, general superintendent of the United States Express Company, came from Buffalo to be present. Mr. Russell placed the mo chillas upon the saddle, people plucked hairs from the pony's