Gary Lancaster is an expert on the original express mail — Pony Express. Between April 3, 1860, and Nov. 21, 1861, the storied riders braved punishing weather and hostile Indians to deliver letters and packages cross-county in what then was record time: eight to 10 days. Lancaster is captain of the Colorado rerun contingent riding the 34-mile Colorado leg of the Pony Express Re-Ride.— Claire Martin, The Denver Post
Q: Eight to 10 days. That was fast when a stagecoach or a boat took a month to get from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento.
A: Yes. Ten days, or 232 hours. The record time was seven days and 17 hours, delivering Lincoln’s inaugural address to California. At the time, California was thinking about leaving the Union, but when they ran the Pony Express through with Lincoln’s address, California then stayed.
Q: The text message of its time.
A: Yeah!
Q: How much did it cost to send something by Pony Express?
A: As I recall, it was $10 an ounce, or $5 for a letter that was 1 ounce or less.
Q: How far is the re-created Pony Express route from the original route?
A: Most of the riding we do is along county roads. The original trail, for the most part, is on private land. In Nevada and California, there are places where they ride the original trail.
Q: In the past, the Colorado leg seems to be ridden mostly at night. What’s that like?
A: Well, the night rides are pretty darn interesting. My thoughts turn to the original riders. You wonder about the horses misstepping in holes, or getting caught in storms. A couple of years ago, it had been raining for three days, so it was muddy and slippery and really dark. I had the mail, and I was heading toward Chapel, Neb., on a kind of dark horse. I swear I could not see the outline of the horse. It was pitch black out.
Q: Do the horses today go as far as the Pony Express horses went?
A: No. That would be really difficult for a horse today. The Pony Express horses went 15 miles or more at a lope — galloping. Today, we ride 1 to 3 miles at a lope, and after that, the horse starts to tire. But you read about the original 22 riders, and there were some tremendous rides made by those young people.
Q: For example?
A: Probably the best story is about a fellow named Pony Bob Haslam. He rode the Nevada leg. His normal run was from Friday’s station, near Lake Tahoe, to Buckland’s station. His ride east started as normal, but when he got to the Buckland station, the news of Pauite Indian raids had spread there, and his replacement rider refused to take the mail. So Pony Bob — either seriously taking his oath or looking for a $50 bonus — continued to Sand Springs, and then Cold Springs before he stopped at Smith Station. He rode 190 miles. Then the westbound mail arrived. So after a few hours of sleep, he was off again. He got to Cold Springs and found the station burned, horses missing, and the keeper murdered. So he rode on, finally back to Friday’s station. His record was 380 miles in 36 hours.
Q: I bet he sat on a pillow for a few days after that.
A: He probably did!
