rful
enterprise, nobly assisted by the faithful station-keepers, travelled
six hundred and fifty thousand miles, contending against the most
desperate odds that a lonely wilderness and savage nature could offer,
with the loss of only a single mail. And that mail happened to be of
relatively small importance. Only one rider was ever killed outright
while on duty. A few were mortally wounded, and occasionally their
horses were disabled. Yet with the one exception, they stuck grimly to
the saddle or trudged manfully ahead without a horse until the next
station was reached. With these men, keeping the schedule came to be a
sort of religion, a performance that must be accomplished--even though
it forced them to play a desperate game the stakes of which were life
and death. Many station men and numbers of riders while off duty were
murdered by Indians. They were martyrs to the cause of patriotism and a
newer and better civilization. Yet they were hirelings, working for good
wages and performing their duties in a simple, matter-of-fact way. Their
heroism was never a self-conscious trait.

The riders were young men, seldom exceeding one hundred and twenty-five
pounds in weight. Youthfulness, nerve, a wide experience on the frontier
and general adaptability were the chief requisites for the Pony Express
business. Some of the greatest frontiersmen of the latter 'sixties and
the 'seventies were trained in this service, either as pony riders or
station men. The latter had even a more dangerous task, since in their
isolated shacks they were often completely at the mercy of Indians.

That only one rider was ever taken by the savages was due to the fact
that the pony men rode magnificent horses which invariably outclassed
the Indian ponies in speed and endurance. The lone man captured while on
duty was completely surrounded by a large number of savages on the
Platte River in Nebraska. He was shot dead and though his body was not
found for several days, his pony, bridled and saddled, escaped safely
with the mail which was duly forwarded to its destination. That far more
riders were killed or injured while off duty than when in the saddle was
due solely to the wise precaution of the Company in selecting such
high-grade riding stock. And it took the best of horseflesh to make the
schedule.

The riders dressed as they saw fit. The average costume consisted of a
buckskin shirt, ordinary trousers tucked into high leather boots, and a
slo