nto, and he urged upon Mr. Russell the desirability of operating
a pony express line along the same route. There was already a line known
as the "Butterfield Route," but this was circuitous; the fastest time
ever made on it was twenty-one days.

Mr. Russell laid the matter before his partners. They were opposed
to it, as they were sure it would be a losing venture; but the senior
member urged the matter so strongly that they consented to try it, for
the good of the country, with no expectation of profit. They utilized
the stagecoach stations already established, and only about two months
were required to put the Pony Express line in running order.

Riders received from a hundred and twenty to a hundred and twenty-five
dollars a month, but they earned it. In order to stand the life great
physical strength and endurance were necessary; in addition, riders must
be cool, brave, and resourceful. Their lives were in constant peril,
and they were obliged to do double duty in case the comrade that was to
relieve them had been disabled by outlaws or Indians.

Two hundred and fifty miles was the daily distance that must be made;
this constituted an average of a little over ten miles an hour. In the
exceedingly rough country this average could not be kept up; to balance
it, there were a few places in the route where the rider was expected to
cover twenty-five miles an hour.

In making such a run, it is hardly necessary to say that no extra weight
was carried. Letters were written on the finest tissue paper; the charge
was at the rate of five dollars for half an ounce. A hundred of
these letters would make a bulk not much larger than an ordinary
writing-tablet.

The mail-pouches were never to carry more than twenty pounds. They
were leather bags, impervious to moisture; the letters, as a further
protection, were wrapped in oiled silk. The pouches were locked, sealed,
and strapped to the rider's side. They were not unlocked during the
journey from St. Joseph to Sacramento.

The first trip was made in ten days; this was a saving of eleven days
over the best time ever made by the "Butterfield Route." Sometimes the
time was shortened to eight days; but an average trip was made in nine.
The distance covered in this time was nineteen hundred and sixty-six
miles.

President Buchanan's last presidential message was carried in December,
1860, in a few hours over eight days. President Lincoln's inaugural, the
following March, was t