ut two bundles of letters carefully stowed away in
a pair of saddle-bags.

The letters were not like our ordinary letters, for the paper used
was the thinnest and lightest possible. Hundreds of the letters
weighed only a few pounds. It was very important that there should
be no great weight, for if the horses were heavily loaded, they
could not make the required time. Only those whose business was
of great importance could afford to send letters by this express,
for the charge was five dollars upon each letter.

In spite of the high charge the pony express is said never to have
been profitable, for the expenses were very heavy. It was discontinued
in 1860, as by that time a telegraph line had been constructed
across the continent.

HOW CLIMATE AND PHYSICAL FEATURES INFLUENCED THE SETTLEMENT OF THE
WEST

The story of the exploration and settlement of the Pacific coast,
and of the great region lying between the Pacific slope and the
Mississippi Valley, offers a most interesting opportunity to study
the control which physical features of the earth exert upon the
trend of men's activities. The position of the mountains, the courses
of the rivers, and the character of the sea-coast have all helped
to shape the history of the West. The presence of gold in the rocks
of the Sierra Nevada mountains was the chief incentive which led
to the breaking down of the barriers placed by Nature between the
Pacific and the Mississippi basin.

When an unknown land is accessible by water, the shore line offers
the easiest means for the first explorations and settlements. So
it came about that nearly all the eastern coast of North America
was known before men ventured far into the interior. Then the large
rivers, like the St. Lawrence, the Hudson, and the Mississippi,
seemed to offer inviting routes into the recesses of the continent,
but exploration through the pathless woods and rough mountains
was slow.

It was soon discovered that the Hudson was a short river and did
not lead across the continent as was at first hoped. Because of the
absence of other large rivers upon that portion of the coast which
the English occupied, their settlements did not spread westward as
rapidly as they otherwise would have done. The country was covered
with dense forests, and savage Indians disputed the right to occupy
it. In time, however, passes were found leading over the Appalachian
Mountains to the Ohio River and through the Mohawk Valley t