Pony Express Riders Of The Wild West

"Examines the Pony Express, including the origins of the mail carrier service, the trails and stations, the Pony Express riders, amazing stories from the riders, and the legacy of the Pony Express"--Provided by publisher.

Today, many people take the delivery of mail for granted. However, in the Wild West, each time a man carried mail across vast deserts and mountains, he went on an adventure. Readers learn what it was like to be a mail carrier for the Pony Express during one of America's most expansive times, including challenges faced, battles won, and daily existence for those who dared travel that far.

Individual accounts of danger and excitement are retold in this fascinating book. The Pony Express was the brainstorm of William H. Russell and, although it only existed for eighteen months, the 10-day route was filled with such obstacles as blizzards and mountain ranges that it is still a legend today.

Today, many people take the delivery of mail for granted. However, in the Wild West, each time a man carried mail across vast deserts and mountains, he went on an adventure. Readers learn what it was like to be a mail carrier for the Pony Express during one of America's most expansive times, including challenges faced, battles won, and daily existence for those who dared travel that far.

Describes the history of the Pony Express and the daring riders who risked their lives to deliver the mail.

“WANTED. YOUNG, SKINNY, WIRY FELLOWS. NOT OVER 18. MUST BE EXPERT RIDERS. WILLING TO RISK DEATH DAILY. ORPHANS PREFERRED.” —California newspaper help-wanted ad, 1860 The Pony Express is one of the most celebrated and enduring chapters in the history of the United States, a story of the all-American traits of bravery, bravado, and entrepreneurial risk that are part of the very fabric of the Old West. No image of the American West in the mid-1800s is more familiar, more beloved, and more powerful than that of the lone rider galloping the mail across hostile Indian territory. No image is more revered. And none is less understood. Orphans Preferred is both a revisionist history of this magnificent and ill-fated adventure and an entertaining look at the often larger-than-life individuals who created and perpetuated the myth of “the Pony,” as it is known along the Pony Express trail that runs from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. The Pony Express is a story that exists in the annals of Americana where fact and fable collide, a story as heroic as the journey of Lewis and Clark, as complex and revealing as the legacy of Custer’s Last Stand, and as muddled and freighted with yarns as Paul Revere’s midnight ride. Orphans Preferred is a fresh and exuberant reexamination of this great American story.

The reader travels back through time to the days of the Old West to become a rider for the Pony Express, in a multiple-plot historical adventure.

"Examines the history of the Pony Express, including why it formed, the dangers riders faced, and why its legend lives on today"--