The rides were dangerous, but the pay was good – $25 a week, or the equivalent of over $5,800 in wages today. These were the Pony Express riders. The men, usually younger than 18 years old, were expected to cover 75 miles without rest, despite inclement weather and Native American attacks. Picking up a rested horse at each station, they rode non-stop, day and night, rain or shine.

Buffalo Bill Cody, who became famous for his Wild West Show, claimed he rode for the Pony Express when he was just 15 years old. His route was through Wyoming and he told of one time when he rode 322 miles round trip because his relief rider had been killed in a brawl.

Their route could be completed in eight days, which was 12 to 14 days faster than the Overland Mail. The fastest trip was seven days when riders delivered the news of Abraham Lincoln’s presidential election in November of that year. With extra riders and horses in place, the news traveled from Fort Kearny, Nebraska, where the eastern telegraph line ended, to the start of the western line at Fort Churchill, Nevada Territory. Newspapers in California were able to report Lincoln’s victory in an unprecedented eight days after the election.

Initially, it cost $5 to send a letter between San Francisco and St. Joseph, Missouri, but that charge was later reduced to $1. An estimated 35,000 letters were carried by the Pony Express.

This adventurous service came to an end just 18 months after that first ride. On October 24, 1861, the Western Union Telegraph Company completed the first transcontinental telegraph line in Salt Lake City. This accomplishment ushered in a new age of communications in the US It also marked the end of the Pony Express two days later, on October 26. In spite of its fame, the Pony Express was a financial failure.