August 25, 2016 Chimney Rock-- near Bayard, Nebraska

      Thursday August 25, 2016      We started the day driving to "Chimney Rock, (picture)  we saw the rock miles before we were near there. Chimney Rock was visible to the wagon trains for days  before  before they arrived at it. Chimney Rock
was the most noted landmark along the Oregon Trail. With a 120 foot spire and standing 325 feet from tip to base., it was unlike anything the pioneers had ever seen. I am sure they grew impatient wondering how much further it was to reach the rock, when they could see it for days. Some of the pioneers scratched their names and the date on the rock, for their families to read if they came through there.
     We also traveled to "Scotts Bluff " today, it is another very tall Bluff that was seen by the pioneers for days before they reached it. Between 1841 and 1861, more than 250,000 men, women and children passed within sight of these bluffs in the massive trek West.  ( Picture) Along the North Platte River in western Nebraska., Scotts Bluff stood out on the landscape 800 feet.  Gradually the immense sandstone and siltstone formation is disappearing, wind and water, the forces that built the peaks, are dismantling the rock grain by grain. The Bluff now measures 500 feet, the pioneers didn't spend much time enjoying the rock and the shade it provided. Wary of being caught on the road when winter arrived, they moved on, grateful at least that one -third of the trail was behind them.
       The Pony Express has fascinated Americans since its first riders hit leather in April 1860, heading west from St. Joseph, Missouri, and east from San Francisco, California. This plan for mail service lasted only 19 months, but it created an immediate sensation and won a permanent place in the history of the American West. The bold founders and the riders of the pony  express helped spread important news and bind a nation that was being torn apart by the Civil War. The emigrants who moved West in the mid-1800's anxiously awaited mail from home. But mail took months to arrive, and by then the news was old. Three business men established home stations every 75 to 100 miles (to house riders between runs) and smaller relay stations every 10 to 15 miles (to provide riders with fresh horses). The names of some of the pony stations- Kearney, Chimney Rock, Scotts Bluff, Fort Laramie, Fort Bridger - were already famous in western history. The operation expanded from 86 stations to 147 stations by mid-1861.  Newspaper ads were full of ads for riders for the pony Express. Hires ranged from teenagers to about age 40. Weight restrictions  were strict. Riders had to weigh less than 120 pounds and carry 20 pounds of equipment.
        Some riders took an oath to not get drunk, gamble, not to treat animals cruelly, and not to do anything else that is incompatible with the conduct of a gentleman. The company employed between 80 and 100 riders and several hundred station workers. Riders earned wages plus room and board. Horses were selected for swiftness and endurance. The company bought 400 to 500 horses, many thoroughbreds for eastern runs and California mustangs for western stretches. Horses averaged 10 miles per hour, at times galloping at up to 25 miles per hour. During his route of 75 to 100 miles, a rider changed horses eight to ten times. Mail traveled in four locked leather boxes sewn onto the corners of a leather nap sack that fit over the saddle. The design allowed for fast removal and placement on a fresh horse. The exchange of horses and mail was more casual than legend has it. Riders often stopped to eat or drink. and stretch his legs .

       The pony express charged $5 per half oz. for mail, (about $85 in todays money)  later reducing the fee to $1.00  At first the pony ran once a week in each direction starting in July 1860  it ran a second weekly trip, delivering mail in 10 days or fewer between St  Joseph and San Francisco. The pony express ceased operations with the completion of the transcontinental telegraph on Oct, 26, 1861. The pony made its last run on Nov, 20, 1861. It completed some 300 runs each way over

600, 000 miles and carried more than 33, 000 pieces of mail.