"Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over 18.  Must be expert riders willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred." So read the newspaper advertisement for riders for the Pony Express.  Riders carried the mail from St. Joseph, Missouri, the western end of the railroad and telegraph, to Sacramento, California.  Riders, often teenagers, were expected to cover 75 miles a day and had to swear to forgo cursing, fighting and mistreating their horses. Buffalo Bill (William Frederick Cody [1846-1917]) was the most famous of the Pony Express riders, beginning his rides at age 14.

At its height of operation, the Pony Express had more than 100 stations, 80 riders and 400-500 horses. The express route was extremely hazardous, but only one mail delivery was ever lost. For all its fame, the Pony Express was actually a short-lived operation. It was in operation for less than two years; begun on April 3, 1860 and discontinued in October 1861 when the Pacific Telegraph Company completed its line to San Francisco.  The Pony Express was a financial failure, leading its founders to bankruptcy, but the drama surrounding the Pony Express made it a part of the legend of the American West.