{"id":10097,"date":"2019-05-09T17:29:43","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T22:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pnts.org\/new\/?p=10097"},"modified":"2019-05-17T20:32:21","modified_gmt":"2019-05-18T01:32:21","slug":"pony-express-was-more-than-just-a-romantic-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pnts.org\/new\/pony-express-was-more-than-just-a-romantic-adventure\/","title":{"rendered":"Pony Express was more than just a romantic adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Jim DeFelice, Author,\u00a0\u201cWest Like Lightning: The Brief, Legendary Ride of the Pony Express\u201d (2018,\u00a0William Morrow\/HarperCollins Publishers)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The words \u201cPony Express\u201d conjure romantic images of adventure and adrenaline-fueled action across the immense, varied terrain of the Old West. Wiry young men lean against the necks of their valiant steeds, racing against time and nature in a quest to deliver information.<\/span><\/p>\n

But besides the romance and nostalgia, the words imply failure as well. While the Pony riders had an impeccable record\u2014all of the service\u2019s mail, even a bag apparently \u201ccaptured\u201d during an Indian War, was delivered\u2014they were doomed from the start by the inevitable march of progress. The service\u2019s creators were wild-eyed visionaries years behind the times, and poor businessmen to boot.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I try to show in my book, \u201cWest Like Lightning,\u201d a lot of that image is wrong. Not the romance, or the adventure, or the race against time. That\u2019s all spot on. Yes, there are exaggerated legends associated with the Pony, but no more than any other important venture in our country\u2019s history. Those legends deserve to be enjoyed and even celebrated; they tell us as much about ourselves today as about the past.<\/span><\/p>\n

The image that\u2019s wrong has to do with the founders, Alexander Majors, William Waddell, and most especially William Russell. Close examination reveals that while they may have been visionaries\u2014Russell especially\u2014they were not necessarily bad businessmen. They may have reached a bit too far, but that\u2019s hardly uncommon in American history.<\/span><\/p>\n

To really understand the Pony Express, you have to step back and look at the enterprise it was part of, which included everything from banks to long-haul freight lines. The trio were attempting to establish an empire that could deliver everything from information to physical goods from ocean to ocean. Not only were they aware of the technologies that supposedly doomed the Pony Express\u2014the telegraph and railroads specifically\u2014but they incorporated them in their plan, and in the Pony service itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, there\u2019s a lot more to the story\u2014a book\u2019s worth, at least\u2014but their idea wasn\u2019t necessarily doomed from the start. The Pony itself was designed as a short-term loss leader and public relations effort; it succeeded on both counts. But politics, the coming war, bad luck, and, yes, critical overreaching doomed the parent enterprise.<\/span><\/p>\n

An idea ahead of its time? Maybe. But an even older and very similar enterprise remains with us today\u2014American Express. Then there\u2019s Wells Fargo, a competitor with a slightly different business plan, deeper pockets, and better political connections.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who knows? Had Russell et al succeeded, it\u2019d be the Pony Express we wouldn\u2019t leave home without.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately for us, we still have the legends and romance to fall back on. The colorful characters\u2014Wild Bill, Jack Slade, Buffalo Bill Cody, and a host of others\u2014ride again in the stories of the Pony. It\u2019s surprising how many figures of the Old West and American history crossed paths with the service. Even Mark Twain. Alongside those figures are other men, and a few women, who though their names may not conjure visions, formed the solid backbone of the service and ultimately the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

I try to celebrate them all in \u201cWest Like Lightning.\u201d Because the Pony Express riders did win their race against time, after all\u2014we\u2019re still telling their stories today, and celebrating their values of grit and determination, speed and endurance, as our own.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jim DeFelice is the New York Times best-selling author of \u201cWest Like Lightning,\u201d \u201cAmerican Sniper,\u201d and \u201cEvery Man a Hero,\u201d among other books. \u201cWest Like Lightning\u201d was a Western Writers of America Spur Award finalist in the Best Western Historical Nonfiction category. His narrative history of the Pony Express was published in 2018, the 50th Anniversary of the National Trails System Act and 40th anniversary of the incorporation of the National Pony Express Association. DeFelice was invited to speak at the kickoff celebration of the annual re-ride in Old Sacramento, CA on June 20, 2018. This year\u2019s westbound re-ride will be held June 10-20, 2019 starting in St. Joseph, MO.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

www.jimdefelice.com<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Unless otherwise indicated, all material in Pathways Across America is public domain. All views expressed herein are perspectives of individuals working on behalf of the National Trails System and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of the Federal agencies.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Jim DeFelice, Author,\u00a0\u201cWest Like Lightning: The Brief, Legendary Ride of the Pony Express\u201d (2018,\u00a0William Morrow\/HarperCollins Publishers) The words \u201cPony Express\u201d conjure romantic images of adventure and adrenaline-fueled action across the immense, varied terrain of the Old West. Wiry young men lean against the necks… <\/p>\n

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