.9
ESTABLISHED IN 1866.
t: m
The Only Exclusive
: : v ,
'' i
THE SCRANTON TRIBUNE- FRIDAY MORNING, DECEMBER' 18, 1896.
; ;; -M-
A!
CLOAK HOUSE
: 1 'tmpmrnxt
isHrc,.v:i" -v vv-'r vr.v-v.v.-Kjast
Copyright, 189. by Mitchell ft MlUer.
THE END OF THE LEAP YEAR SEASON.-Llfe.
GOOD STORIES OF
THE PONY EXPRESS
Ttrcimt Jomcy Acrtu the Desert Ii
tke Sixties.
FIRST SYSTEM OF RELAY RIDERS
Uowtko Famous LiM of Metieaferi
Wm Established How it Paved
. ' the War for Railroad aad .Tele
grapk"Eiperiencct of Riders.
rrom the Chicago Record.
'Th tint rvsular method of trans
porting merchandise across the plains
was by ox-teams, when detachments
of United States troops were in
In the New Mexico country to hold the
border line avainst the encroachments
of Mexicans about the time or me Jue
lean war. . Then the frontier posts were
along the Missouri river. When Gen
eral Albert Sidney Johnson was or
dered to move against the lighting mor
mons In Utah taritory the question of
the transportation of supplies for the
soldiers became most serious, 'mere
lives In this city a gentleman, now 82
vtara of ikv. who undertook that prou
lem. and It was done to the approval
both of the war department and the
command operating so far from a base
of suovlies.
Alexander Majors passed his eventful
life entirely upon the plains. He
learned to drive an ox team soon after
he learned to walk and early In life he
was engaged In the business of freight
ing upon the famous Hants re trail
He prospered In the business and when
the demand came for a great caravan
to transport the supplies for the army
operating against the mormoms Ma
jors, with his years of experience, was
ready to undertake the gigantic task
of conveying the supplies more than
1,000 miles from the Missouri river to
the army. He secured the co-operation
of two men with no end of energy and
, courage, and the firm of Kussell, Ma
Jors ft Waddell soon became famous
all over the country. Possessing ut
limited credit, the firm bought teams
and wagons on time and in two years
they had. made over 12,000,000 profit in
their business. This great freighting
nrm was not then satisfied. They
wanted to show their great prowess in
yet another manner.
ESTABLISHING THE PONY EX
PRESS. The discovery of gold in the Rocky
mountains, near Denver, was the op
portunity which Rusxel sought to
prove his wonderful executive ability.
He conceived the Idea of establishing
,. a. daily stage line from the Missouri
river to Denver and against the opin
ions of his. Junior partners who thought
the -plan too dangerous an experiment,
the stage line was established. About
this time Senator Qwln, of California,
was seeking Influence and aid to se
cure the opening; of a stage transporta
tion route across the plains somewhere
. along the 40th parallel of latitude. At
that time the only overland means of
, transportation, other than of emi
grant trains, was by the Red River
. route, operated by. the Butterfleld
Stage company. That route across the
Pan-Handle of Texas, through Ari
aona deserts to Los Angeles and thence
to San Franclso, was much too long
and the Californlans were seeking to
find a shorter route. The chief opposi
tion to the central route was that It
would be Impracticable In winter, ow
ing to the extreme cold weather and
the heavy snows of the Sierra Nevada
range.. , . .
One of his visits to Washington to
look after his busines of freighting
. army supplies to Utah posts Russell
met Senator Qwln and was taken with
the daring Idea of a direot route to the
Pacific that he Immediately declared
that the scheme was entirely feasible
and that his firm could and would un
' dertake It. They already had a stage
route In operation to Salt Lake City
and the remaining distance could be
coverede In good time, he was certain.
' The fact that the stage line was losing
money rapidly did not seem to worry
Russell at all. He felt assured that
in time the country would settle up
' and that the traffic would result In
great profit to the stage line owners;
then there was the hope of a heavy
subsidy from the government for the
mall service, which the stage route
( , would afford If It proved practicable.
FOUR ' HUNDRED MUSTANGS IN
RELAYS.
In order to prove the practicability
' ' of the route Senator Qwln proposed the
establishment first of a pony express,
that by means of fast horses and relays
, at suitable distances dispatches and
Important business mall could be car
rled from the Missouri river to San
." Francisco In ten days. If this venture
was a success the establishment of a
- stage line must eventually follow and
... with It the change of the mall route
from the Butterfleld line to that oper
; a ted by Russell, Majors ft Waddell.
"When Russell came back - from
' Washington in the winter of 1859," said
Majors recently, speaking of the days
oi lae famous pony express, ne low us
of the proposed scheme and wanted Us
' , to go In with him to try the plan. Both
Waddell and I opposed it as being en
tlrely too expensive and uncertain, but
Russell Insisted and was so enthusl-
- astlc that we finally consented and our
firm prepared to open the route.
"Within two months we had secured
. between 400 and WO wiry Mexican mus
tangs, had established relay stations
from Salt Lake City to Sacramento,
with a force of men at each station
as keepers, riders and assistants and
had furnished all the necessary equlp
' ment for the work. Each tony was to
average thirty-five, miles a day; three
ponies making a relay Jn the best possi
ble time. The messrieS to be carried
were written or prinAd on tissue paper
and the charge wm 5 a half ounce.
-." "The first start j made from Sac
ramento, th end of the telegraph line,
. on April I, I860. It was a great day In
the history of that city. There were
. public, addresses, a parade and a ban-
' quet. The city was decorated with flags
Y and 'the express was started with all
, the glory possible.
; . . CUTTING DOWN THE TIME.'
"Our relay riders made over 100 miles
before ha.-dlng over the dispatches to
the. next r y rider. Often they rode
' farther and o several occasions a rider
' wae known to go 300 miles before he
" wae relieved. From the day the first
!" dispatch bag was started there was not
.- a single trip made In less than the
scheduled time of ten days between the
Mlsaburl river and Ban Francisco. The
time by the Butterfleld stage route
was (twenty-one days, so we demon
' strattd a tlme-savinx of eleven days.
Of course the earnings of the pony ex-
press did not pay a tenth part of the
cost of the service, not to mention in
terest or profit on the investment, but
we never expected that it would. We
i.. ini n oatntillah a through
were uu i j ii - -
stage route and a freighting business
to the coast along me cenirui
thereby make enormous profits we ten
sure of earning. Although the time
was limited to ten days, on two occa
sions a special effort was made to cut
down the Hme, President Buchan
an's message to congress in December.
1860, was carried from St. Joseph. Mo.,
to Sacramento In eight days and a few
hours; the Inaugural address of Presi
dent Lincoln In March, 1881, was 4llH
patched In seven days and seventeen
'"JliXf'. ........ v.,raua was maintained
xhv iiumj -
at a heavy cost. Indians raided the
stations ana miiea me
were shot while on the road; horses
were continually dying from exhaus
tion and many teams were employed
In freighting suoplles to the distant
posts and In keenlns the road open
across the mountains In . the winter
time so that the puny riders would not
be delayed.
TELEGRAPH LINE IS ESTAB
LISHED. "The success of the pony express in
shortening the distance between the
.... ir. un,i f'nlifiiriilM encouraged tlx
Western Union Telegraph company to
extend Its line across me piains.
ward Crelshton, of Omaha, who had
built a number of lines in the west for
the telegraph company, had Ions
nursed this plan und In the winter of
I860 he rode to Halt Lake City on one of
our stages, where he Interested Brig
ham Young In the enterprise, then
pushing on horsebuck tiver the Nevada
desert and the Sierra Nevada moun
tains in the winter time he secured the
co-operatiun of the California Statu
Telegraph company. Returning to
Omaha In 1861 the work of building tha
line across the plains was undertaken.
The stage stations of our company and
the relay stations of the pony express
made It comparatively easy for the con
struction parties to operate and in
October of that year the pony express
gave way to the telegraph company.
During the summer of 1S61 a Btuse.
route was established from Salt Lake
City to Sacramento and In time the
mails were routed that way instead of
by the Buttertield Hue.
- "The pony express and Its daring rid
ers hastened the opening of the over
land route and I have no doubt that
had It not been for our firm the tele
graph, stage and even railroad lines
across the plains must have been re
tarded for years."
One of the riders of the pony express
lives In this city and he delights to tallt
of his exouriences during that exciting
year. The llfebf Juy G. Kelley, a well
known mining engineer, is full of in
teresting inucldents. As a mere lad
he ran away from his home In Boston
and went to California on a clipper
around Cape Horn. From thai time
until rheumatism compelled him to
settle down to a quieter existence his
life was full of adventure.
KELLEY AS AN EXPRESS RIDER.
"I joined a company of California
volunteers In 1859," began Mr. Kelley,
"and under Colonel Jack Hayes, a Tex
as ranger, and Colonel Hungerford, a
Mexican war veteran, we proceeded In
to Nevada to exterminate the Plutes,
who were on the warpath. After a
decisive battle at Pyramid lake, we
thought the Indians would settle down
and behave themselves, so I left the
volunteers and settled In Carson City.
In the spring of I860 Bolivar Roberts
came to Carson City to engage riders
and station men for the pony express.
He wanted men of light weight who
could ride well and who knew how to
shoot. I suited him and was engaged
at a salary of $75 a month. We started
out with bull teams to establish sta
tions, our party mustering fifty men.
As soon as a station was located the
men would be dropped off to wait until
the pony express should appear. At
that time I was 22 years old, weighed
about 110 pounds and was as full of life
as a boy could possibly be. It was all
fun In those days and now I wonder
how I ever survived at all.
"When we got out on the desert east
of Carson we found that the pesky
Plutes were still on the warpath, so we
had to halt at the 'Sink,' or Carson lake,
and built a fort. There being neither
timber nor rock In .that vicinity we
had to go down to the edge of the sink
and mix the abode soil In order to make
sun-dried bricks. We tramped mud
with our bare feet for a week until the
strong alkali In the soil caused our
feet to swell and crack and our sulTer
Inge were most acute. In fact, my feet
never did regain their normal size af
terwards and ever since I have worn
shoes several sites larger than when I
started out from Carson City.
MUSIC FROM A MOUNTAIN.
"Our next station was at Sad Springs,
where good water could be obtained by
sinking wells into the sand and wall
ing the holes with lava bowlders found
In the sand. We constructed a fort 100
by 76 feet of these lava bowlders and
ponies were kept In these rooms with
the men to prevent their being shot or
carried off by the Indians. Just back
of that fort was a sand mountain and
when the wind blew the sand fairly
darkened the air. There was a curious
phenomenon - about that mountain
which I never solved. When the wind
was in a certain direction musical
sounds could be heard coming from the
mountain, rising and falling with the
wind and chancing tones like a great
organ. Often 1 lay at night on my
bunk and listened to those beautiful
tones thundering from that sand moun
tain, and It was a delightful change
from the monotony of our lives out on
the Nevada desert.
"To the next station, a distance of
thirty-seven miles, there was a stretch
of sandy country which In these days
passengers in Pullman cars find dis
agreeable to cross. There wus not a
nrop or water along the way, and In
the hat of summer or In the bitter i-ulil
days of winter that ride was awful.
But at that station, called Cold Springs,
a beautiful stream of water ran right
oy ine station from a timbered can
yon, and it seemed a paradise after
that ride over the thirty-seven miles
of trackless sand. In going from Cold
Springs to Sand Springs, on the day
that I carried the Buchanan message,
1 killed my pony when twelve miles out
from the latter place and had to trot
Into the station on foot, rarrvlnv tha
dispatch bas. When the men at. the
station saw me coming afoot over the
desert they thought 1 was the advance
of a party of Plutes and they rushed
out to riddle me. I held my hands up.
signifying a surrender, and then one
of the men, by the aid of spyglass, rec
ognised me. 1 was covered with al
kali dust and perspiration and - so
tanned that I did not wonder that they
failed to recognise me at first.
bast of Cold Springs was Smith
i
I MWk
s
?.V: W: '.v - ' 9feu
. V 'A ' V v. ..''';. ,", c fmlL
Creek and between these two stations
was a thicket of quaklngsap along Ed
ward's creek, several miles wide, where
the only trail wus a narrow, winding
path through the brush. This was a
fine place for the Indians to secrete
themselves and wait for the express
riders. One day a Mexican rider came
into Cold Springs station with a bul
let hole through his body. He told us
he had been shot in the quaklngsap
thicket, but he had held on and the
pony had brought him Into the station.
He died shortly afterward. A few
hours later the express from the west
came In and I hud to make the ride to
Hmith creek through that same thicket.
I tell you I did not lose any time In
making that ride. At the top of his
speed the pony rushed through that
winding trail where we could see only
a few feet ahead of us at any time.
The bridle reins lay on the horse s
neck nnd I held my Sharp's rifle at
lull cock ready for any emergency.
When I hod passed the place and had
stopped on rising ground to let the
pony breathe I saw. the brush moving
below. I tired several times Into the
thicket when all motion ceused. I al
ways believed an Indian was lurking
there, but I did not stop long to make
sure.
"Several days afterward I found the
bodies of two soldiers stripped of every
thing in the shape of wearing Hpparel
in that thicket and we supposed they
nau ueen ammisned by the Indians. I
was never bothered by Indians during
my service as pony express rider, but
a number of the riders were killed by
mem.
"I left the outfitting expedition at
Cold Springs and assisted the station
keeper nnd his assistant In fitting' up
me pmce. we nau to drag down fin
wood from the mountains by hand and
it WU3 slow and fatiguing work. We
did not know just when the first rider
would come along nor from what di
rection. We kept a pony saddled and
bridled and were readv to make a
change in quick time. YVe knew when
a rider was near at hand, for our
watchword was 'Pony, ponv, pony.'
cried at the top of the voice. All
through the year this cry was sounded
by the riders when approaching sta
tions or passing emigrant trains along
the way. The first rider was the Mexi
can who afterward was shot from the
quaklngasp thicket. It was Just at
dusk when we heard the cry coming
up from below and we rushed to bring
the pony around. All the ponies were
of Mexican stock, wiry and but half
tamed. We always had to blindfold
them with a piece of leather until the
rider had mounted, and then when he
was ready he would cry 'up' and the
leather blind would be pushed up. As
soon as the broncho could see he would
begin to buck and sometimes he would
not settle down for miles. I never rode
a pony during that whole which did
not buck or jump stiff-legged. We
could stand the bucking all right, for
by shoving our big Mexican spur? into
the grans surcingle we could hold close
to the pony and were never thrown.
Hut when the pony undertook to Jump
up and come down stiff-legged there
was no escape from the awful Jar.
Such ponies never lived long.
"The lle was very hard but livelv
enough. When we reached a relief sta
tion, If there was no rider at hand, as
was occasionally the case, we had to
go right on until we could find another
rider, ready to take the dianatrhp.
Sometimes It would happen that all the
men at a station were off hunting for
their ponies that had been turned out
to graze, and we could not afford to
wait until they returned. One time I
rode 150 miles and started back over
the same route with only two hours'
rest. All we hud to eat was bacon and
pancakes, with Jack rabbits for extra
food. I grew so tired of rabbits that
trie very sight of them hanging In the
markets today gives me nausea.
"I had a narrow escape from death
one evening Bhortly after dark, when,
on rounding a turn in the trail, I saw
the light of a camp-tire ahead. I did
not know whether the party was com
posed of Indians or emigrants and I
had no time to Inquire. Dashing the
spurs Into the mustang and crying
'Pony. pony, pony!' as loud as I could
I rushed right through the party as
they clustered on either side of the
road. As I came nearer I saw the men
rushing around in evident fright. As I
rode through the party they saluted me
with firearms and bullets whistled
about me until I was out of range. - I
learned upon my return trip that this
party of emigrants had come on our
overland route from a side route end
had not become acquainted with the
pony-express yell, They thought it
was a party of Indians trying to stam
pede their stock. .They apologized and
explained the matter, until I had to
let the case pass, though I hud intend
ed to have It out with that crowd for
their stupidity. When the pony ex
press was abandoned I returned out
of the desert to Carson City and went
to mining for a short time, until there
came a call for volunteers to defend
the posts against the Indians while the
regulars went to war with the south
I was made captain of a company by
Governor Nye and beean. commander
of Fort Churchill, a post vMch I used
to ride .by when I was carrying dis-'
patches."
. rm . . . t"s5sv fiti
1LIM
Puts
Are at once a luxury and a
necessity. They afford the great
est degree of warmth and comfort
and are also the acme of style and
becomingness. If a fur garment
Is poorly made, or of inferior ma
terials, it fails of its purpose it
neither wears well nor looks well.
If properly made of high class fur,
it never fails to give full value in
both appearance and service for
every dollar of cost. We warrant
every garment shown in our store
to be the best that money can buy.
For
F. L. CRANE,
THE
Gas and Electric Fixtures,
The Welsbach Light
At Seduced Trices.
434 Lackawanna fvt.
JAMES MOIR,
THE MERCHANT TAILOR
flu Mov4 U His Nw Quarter.
402 Lackawanna Avenue.
Eatraae on aid next to Flrtt National
Bank. B boa now la a
11
OMnpriaiof orarythlng rq il.lte for flaa
Marehanl Tailoring. And the tame can
b akown to Advantage in his aplaa
- - dialj Uttad np rwm
A SPECIAL INVITATION
b Bzteadti to All Readers of Tha Trlb
a to Cadi a "OLD RELIABLE" la Mia
Maw stasia Hoaia
DELAWARE AND
HUDSON TIME
TABLE.
On Monday, Nov. tS
trains will leave Scran
ton aa follows:
AJt.n m mm-mm i.m. b.du. iv.io. a. m
K W 12.00 noon: 1.21, 2.20, s.oi
Jftr r .2B. B.25. T.07, .10, 10.30,
f' - II. OO p. 111.
For Albany, Saratoga, Montreal, Boa
ton, New England potiita, etu.-fi.46 a. m.;
i.tb p. m.
Knr Honemlale-6.46, 8.65, 10.15 a. m.J 12.00
noon, 2.20, 5.23 p. m.
For Wllkes-Barre-.45. 7 . 8.45, 118,
to 45 a. m.: 12.05. 1.20. 2.28, 3.3J. 4.41. 6.0J.
7.5U, 0.30. 11.30 p. m.
For New I orn. rniinueipiiia, eic, via
Lehigh' Valley Rallroad-6.45. 7.45 a. m.;
12.05. 1.20. 3.33 (with Black Diamond Ex.
press), 11.30 V-
For Pennsylvania Railroad points . 41,
(. a. m.; 2.30, 4.41 p. m.
Far western uolnla. via Lehia-h Vallnv
Rallroad-7.45 a. m.; 12.06. 8.33 (with Black
Diamond bxpress) 9.50, 11.30 p. m.
Trains wll
arrive at Scranton as fol-
lows:
from CarbonHale and the narth lift
7.40. 8.40. (.34. 10.40 a. m X 12.00 noon: IK
2.24, 8.25, 4 37. 6.45. 7.45, 9.45 und 11.25 p. m.
From Ilkej-Itarre and the.south 6.40,
7.50, 8.50, 10.10, 11.55 a. m.; 1.1.. J. 14, 3.48,
5.22. 8.21. 7.53. D.OJ. t.45. 11.62 p. m. -J.
W. EURUK K, U, P. A., Albany. N. Y.
U. W. C'ro, D. P. A., Scranton. Pa.
Cloth
lifi CONNELL CO.,
1 1MB
ft
In Scranton.
the Holidays Be Sure to
Jackets and
Is complete and at greatly reduced prices, con
sidering the quality and style. Our aim is to give
the best goods for the money of any house in
Scranton.
We manufacture Furs here In our store, and
repair Furs of all kinds.
BEAVElt AND liOUCLE JACKETS, price $3.98,
worth $7.50.
FLUSH CAPES, braided and trimmed with
Thibet, price $3.98, worth $7.50.
RELIABLE FURRIER, 324
A. E. ROGERS'
Jewelry Store
113 UCKAWAIJU AJE1J1
'e have nearly completed our
Holiday Stock and are now prepared
to offer as fine an assortment of
JEAELRT, CLOCKS, WATCH IS,
CUT GLASS. ART P0TTR7,
BSic-i-sasc,
SILVER WAR!, LAfflPS, fLATEO WAR!,
as can be found anywhere.
Look at our $10.00Oold
Watches, warranted 15
years.
Beautiful Banquet Lamp and Large
Silk Shade, At $4.13
Rogers' Triple Platel Knives and
Forks arc fine, At $3.00
213 Lackawanna Avenue,
DU FONT'S
MUG, BLASTING ARD SP0RTW9
POWDER
nufaoturd M tha Wapwallopen Mill,
uuserns) eoumj, r... ana a Wil
mington, Delawar.
HENRY BELIN, Jr.
Oaoatml Agent (or tha Wyoming District
l WYOMIN4J AVENUE. ScrsatM, P
Third National Dank Building.
AGENCIES:
THOa. PORD. Plttaton, Pav
JOHN B. SMITH ft BON, Plymouth, Pa.
!. W. MULLIGAN. Wllkes-Wre, Pa
Agenta for tha Repauno CbaanlciU Coco
&" lliih Explosive.
Examine Our Immense Line of
Scranton
Gas
and Water Company
Hyde Park
Scranton
Electric Light and Heat
Company
Meadow Brook
W W. SCRANTON,
President.
G. B. HAND,
Secretary and Treasurer.
115 WYOMING AVENUE.
ft JatiDty
Flip Cap
Will change the appearance
of any girl. Why not try one on
and see? It will cost nothing, and
it puts you under no obligations
to buy. We want you to know
the magnificent stock we have of
serviceable and valuable goods.
If you don't care to buy, perhaps
you may tell your friends of us.
Capes
LAGKA. AVE.
Gas
Company
Water Company