Flags
were unfurled and floral decorations lined the streets. That night the
first rider for the East, Harry Roff, left the city on a white broncho.
He rode the first twenty miles in fifty-nine minutes, changing mounts
once. He next took a fresh horse at Folsom and pushed on fifty-five
miles farther to Placerville. Here he was relieved by "Boston," who
carried the mail to Friday Station, crossing the Sierras en route. Next
came Sam Hamilton who rode through Geneva, Carson City, Dayton, and
Reed's Station to Fort Churchill, seventy-five miles in all. This point,
one hundred and eighty-five miles out of Sacramento had been reached in
fifteen hours and twenty minutes, in spite of the Sierra Divide where
the snow drifts were thirty feet deep and where the Company had to keep
a drove of pack mules moving in order to keep the passageway clear. From
Fort Churchill into Ruby Valley went H. J. Faust; from Ruby Valley to
Shell Creek the courier was "Josh" Perkins; then came Jim Gentry who
carried the mail to Deep Creek, and he was followed by "Let" Huntington
who pushed on to Simpson's Springs. From Simpson's to Camp Floyd rode
John Fisher, and from the latter place Major Egan carried the mail into
Salt Lake City, arriving April 7, at 11:45 P. M.[5] The obstacles to
fast travel had been numerous because of snow in the mountains, and
stormy spring weather with its attendant discomfort and bad going. Yet
the schedule had been maintained, and the last seventy-five miles into
Salt Lake City had been ridden in five hours and fifteen minutes.

At that time Placerville and Carson City were the terminals of a local
telegraph line. News had been flashed back from Carson on April 4 that
the rider had passed that point safely. After that came an anxious wait
until April 12 when the arrival of the west-bound express announced that
all was well.

The first trip of the Pony Express westbound from St. Joseph to
Sacramento was made in nine days and twenty-three hours. East-bound, the
run was covered in eleven days and twelve hours. The average time of
these two performances was barely half that required by the Butterfield
stage over the Southern route. The pony had clipped ten full days from
the schedule of its predecessor, and shown that it could keep its
schedule--which was as follows:

From St. Joseph to Salt Lake City--124 hours.

From Salt Lake City to Carson City--218 hours, from starting point.

From Carson City to Sacramento--