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5 Culture Page WYOMING

The Pony Express NEBRASKA

NEVADA
UTAH
COLORADO MISSOURI
KANSAS
CALIFORNIA
CULTURE FOCUS
About 180 years ago, people
used to ride horses for
A What do you know about the American Far West? the Post of Serbia in order to
Do you know any stories from its history? deliver letters and messages
throughout the country. In later
years faster methods were used
instead, making long-distance
In the 1800s in the USA, many on 13 April. The trip took ten communication much easier.
people began moving from the days, making the Pony Express Do you often use the postal
© MM Publications
east coast to the western part the fastest message service in the services in Serbia?
of the country to find new land history of the West. B Listen, read, and choose
for farming and hunting. On a run, riders travelled around the best title for the text.
However, distances were huge 75-100 miles (112-160 km) each,
and communication between the changing horses every 10-15 miles Lif e in th e Americ an West
Life in the American West
Eastern and Midwestern states (16-24 km), before giving their 1
and the new Far West was very mail bag to the next rider. Nearly
T

dangerous Far
West
he
difficult. There were two ways two hundred stations were built 2 The dangerous Far West
people could send a message on the route for riders to stop at
– by horse carriage or by ship. and change horses. Some were T he f as test ride in th e West
The fastest ride in the West
However, messages took from bigger ‘home stations’, where a 3
three weeks (by land) to eight rider could give his bag to the next C Read again and write T for
weeks (by sea) to arrive. rider, stop his journey and find True, F for False or NM for
The Pony Express changed this. food and a place to sleep. Not Mentioned.
This mail service was based on Pony Express horses needed to 1. Sending a message to
two ideas: firstly, that one man be able to run fast, so the riders the Far West by ship could
on a horse could travel much had to be small and not weigh take up to eight weeks.
faster than a horse carriage and, a lot. They were usually young 2. A company with horse
secondly, that a series of different men, often teenagers – in fact, the carriages came up with
riders, who changed horses at youngest rider on record was only the idea for the Pony
regular points on the journey, eleven! Riding across the Far West Express.
could keep a message travelling was difficult and dangerous; it was
non-stop until it reached its a job for the adventurous, and 3. On the irst run, a rider
destination. riders were respected and well paid. carried the mail from
The first Pony Express rider left The Pony Express helped long- Missouri to California
in ten days.
Missouri on 3 April 1860 with distance communication, but it
a bag of mail for California. He didn’t last very long. Only eighteen 4. Riders could stop to eat
was the first of forty riders on months after it began, the first and sleep at any station
that 2,000-mile (3,219-kilometre) telegraph line to the West was ready. along their route.
journey. Each one carried the Telegrams were faster and cheaper 5. A lot of Pony Express
bag further west until the last to send, so the Pony Express closed riders died on the job.
rider arrived with it in California down within two days. 6. The Pony Express closed
down after only eighteen
months.

PROJECT
PROJECT

Write about a day in your life!
Imagine you are a rider working for the
Pony Express. Write about a day in your
Pony Express. Write about a day in your
life, describing what you do in your job.
life, describing what you do in your job.
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