The Western United States Part 15

THE PONY EXPRESS

Although it is only a little more than fifty years since the discovery of gold was made and the rapid settlement of the West began, what a change has come over this great region! It was at first supposed to be impossible to connect the growing settlements upon the Pacific with the East by anything more than a wagon road, and those who advocated the building of a railroad were ridiculed. Now the journey across the continent is made upon smooth steel tracks in comfortable coaches, for the skill of the engineer has overcome the difficulties of the desert, the mountain wall, and the canon.

The pioneers who pushed westward from the Mississippi River with their slow ox-teams took all summer to reach the fertile valleys of California and Oregon, and considered themselves fortunate if they arrived at their destination before the coming of the winter storms.

The first overland stage line was established by way of New Mexico and Arizona, terminating at Los Angeles. Twenty-two days were required for this part of the tiresome and dangerous trip. The route was longer and more desert-like than that farther north across Nevada, but the winter storms were avoided.

The stage-coach proved too slow for the needs of the growing settlements upon the Pacific slope. A telegraph line was planned, but it could not be completed for some time, and even then it was probable that the Indians would destroy the poles and wires.

Then came the idea of a relay of fast messengers upon horseback, and the pony express was organized. It is difficult to believe that by this means the journey of two thousand miles between St.

Joseph, a point upon the Missouri a little above Kansas City, and Sacramento, California, was once made in about eight days. This is only a little more than twice the time required by the fast trains at present.

For two years the trip was regularly made in about nine days, averaging two hundred and twenty miles a day. It can be readily understood that this wonderful feat required many relays of men and horses scattered along the route. The express rider had no well-graded roads to follow, but only the rough trail of the emigrants. This led across broad deserts and over rugged mountains, and throughout most of the journey exposed the rider to the attacks of Indians.

Let us take a map and trace the route of the express. It followed closely the main overland trail which the gold-seekers had opened.

Now towns and cities are scattered along the old trail, and the railroad crosses and recrosses it. But let us try to picture the country as it appeared in its wild state.

Mountains, valleys and plains made up the landscape. Vast herds of buffalo darkened the Great Plains east of the Rocky Mountains, while farther west were numerous bands of antelope. The streams were filled with beaver and other fur-bearing animals. Here and there along the rivers were Indian villages with their curiously shaped tepees. Even the deserts of Nevada were not uninhabited, for the Indians lived there also, gathered in little family groups about the desolate springs.

When we speak of the overland trail we do not mean a narrow path for animals, but the wagon road, rude though it was, which the early emigrants had made. They were determined to cross the continent, no matter what the difficulties and dangers. Wagons could be drawn by the oxen over the plains and deserts with little difficulty, although there were some dangerous rivers to be crossed. Mountains and canons offered the most serious obstructions. In many places the wagons had to be let down over precipices with ropes, or be taken apart and carried piece by piece around the obstructions.

It was not the mountains alone which made the trip "across the plains" one long to be remembered. It was often difficult to obtain water and fodder for the animals, and at many points savage Indians, bent upon plunder, were in hiding, waiting for a chance to stampede the cattle or kill the emigrants. The way was marked by abandoned wagons, household goods, bones of cattle, and the graves of human beings.

The trail led from the Missouri across the state of Kansas to the Platte River, then followed this long stream to its head at South Pa.s.s on the continental divide. From the South Pa.s.s the trail led southwest past Fort Bridger, in southwestern Wyoming, through Echo Canon and over Emigrant pa.s.s of the Wasatch Range down to Salt Lake City, which had been founded but a short time before the discovery of gold. West of Salt Lake City the trail skirted the northern sh.o.r.e of the Great Salt Lake, and after pa.s.sing a low mountain divide in what is now northwestern Utah, reached the head waters of the Humboldt River. Thence the path ran along by this river down to the place where it disappeared in a vast sandy desert known as the sink of the Carson. The Carson River, after the dreary desert was pa.s.sed, led the emigrants still westward toward a wall of mighty mountains known as the Sierra Nevada. Here Nature seemed to have done her utmost to shut off California, with its fertile valleys and rich gold-fields, from the longing eyes of the emigrants. There are, however, several low places in the range, and through one of these openings, at the head of the Carson River, the travellers gained the western slope of the mountains. Then in good time they reached the mining town of Placerville, and at length Sacramento, the capital of California.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 91.--CHIMNEY ROCK

On the old overland trail near the Platte River, western Nebraska]

In order that the pony express might make the time required over the two thousand miles, five hundred horses and several hundred men were needed. The stations were placed about ten miles apart and were strongly built so that they might withstand the attacks of the Indians. These stations, nearly two hundred in number, all had to be supplied by means of freight teams, which often hauled hay, grain, and food for the messengers for hundreds of miles.

The horses selected for the messengers to ride were the small, sure-footed ponies called mustangs. Through a stretch of ten miles the pony was pushed to its utmost speed, then it was carefully groomed, fed, and rested until the time came to make the return trip.

In selecting the riders three things were of great importance: they must be light in weight, must be possessed of great powers of endurance, and also must be brave and resolute. At each station, as the time approached for the express to arrive, the relay horse was saddled and in waiting. As the rider dashed in he jumped from his horse, and with but a moment's rest, threw the saddle-bags containing the letters upon the fresh horse and was off again, riding like the wind. Upon smooth stretches the horses often made twenty miles an hour, but it was quite impossible to maintain this speed over the rocky and rugged portions of the route. Storms and Indian ambuscades often delayed the riders. Sometimes the messenger kept up a running fight with the Indians for miles.

The riders were frequently killed, but the mail-bags were rarely lost. If a rider did not come in on time, it was known that something serious had happened, and search was immediately made. The riders were not allowed to stop for any purpose whatsoever; neither storms of the greatest severity nor even the presence of hostile Indians near the trail kept them from their duty. One of the few riders who are still living says that he was never afraid except on dark, cloudy nights. At such times he made no attempt to guide his horse, but trusting to the intelligence of the well-trained animal, gave it rein, and at the same time spurred it to its utmost speed. Think of riding at such speed into the dark night, not knowing what is ahead of you! The rider's only safety lay in the carefulness and sagacity of the horse. Such a ride called for more courage than did a conflict with Indians!

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 92.--PALISADES OF THE HUMBOLDT RIVER, NEVADA

Near the overland trail]

The pony express carried no pa.s.sengers. It carried no freight, not even the usual express package. The messenger was intrusted with nothing but two bundles of letters carefully stowed away in a pair of saddle-bags.

The letters were not like our ordinary letters, for the paper used was the thinnest and lightest possible. Hundreds of the letters weighed only a few pounds. It was very important that there should be no great weight, for if the horses were heavily loaded, they could not make the required time. Only those whose business was of great importance could afford to send letters by this express, for the charge was five dollars upon each letter.

In spite of the high charge the pony express is said never to have been profitable, for the expenses were very heavy. It was discontinued in 1860, as by that time a telegraph line had been constructed across the continent.

HOW CLIMATE AND PHYSICAL FEATURES INFLUENCED THE SETTLEMENT OF THE WEST

The story of the exploration and settlement of the Pacific coast, and of the great region lying between the Pacific slope and the Mississippi Valley, offers a most interesting opportunity to study the control which physical features of the earth exert upon the trend of men's activities. The position of the mountains, the courses of the rivers, and the character of the sea-coast have all helped to shape the history of the West. The presence of gold in the rocks of the Sierra Nevada mountains was the chief incentive which led to the breaking down of the barriers placed by Nature between the Pacific and the Mississippi basin.

When an unknown land is accessible by water, the sh.o.r.e line offers the easiest means for the first explorations and settlements. So it came about that nearly all the eastern coast of North America was known before men ventured far into the interior. Then the large rivers, like the St. Lawrence, the Hudson, and the Mississippi, seemed to offer inviting routes into the recesses of the continent, but exploration through the pathless woods and rough mountains was slow.

It was soon discovered that the Hudson was a short river and did not lead across the continent as was at first hoped. Because of the absence of other large rivers upon that portion of the coast which the English occupied, their settlements did not spread westward as rapidly as they otherwise would have done. The country was covered with dense forests, and savage Indians disputed the right to occupy it. In time, however, pa.s.ses were found leading over the Appalachian Mountains to the Ohio River and through the Mohawk Valley to the region of the Great Lakes.

The advantages for travel offered by the St. Lawrence River and the chain of lakes above it were utilized at an early day. The route of the French missionary explorers and fur traders was from Montreal up the Ottawa River, then by a short portage and a series of small lakes to Lake Huron. From this point the most remote sh.o.r.es of Lakes Superior and Michigan could be easily reached. By the aid of several small bodies of water west of Lake Superior, Lake Winnipeg and Great Slave Lake were finally discovered; but from this point the waterways into the West were small and could be followed no farther, so that it was a long time before the Rocky Mountains were crossed.

By floating down the Illinois River the French arrived at the Mississippi, explored much of its course, and took possession of the country in advance of the English. This fact was directly due to the difficulties which the English explorers experienced in forcing their way over the Appalachian highlands.

The Spanish explored the southern sh.o.r.es of the continent, and crossing the Isthmus, were the first to behold the Pacific. The fact that the Pacific coast of North America was so easily reached at this point gave the Spanish a great advantage, and explains why they gained such a hold upon the lands bordering that ocean. It was a comparatively simple matter for them to fit out ships, and sailing north and south, to take possession wherever they desired.

However, when they had gone as far as California, their progress was for a long time almost completely blocked by storms and head winds, for the prevailing direction of the wind is down the coast.

The Spanish finally reached Vancouver Island, but never succeeded in making settlements north of San Francisco. Even the interior of California was little known to them, for the mountains and deserts discouraged their progress in that direction.

From an examination of a map we might suppose that the Colorado River would offer as good a means for penetrating the continent as did the Mississippi River, but as a matter of fact it is navigable for a comparatively short distance. The Spanish made one attempt to ascend this river, but finding themselves surrounded on every hand by a most desolate, barren country, they turned back before reaching the Grand Canon. In the eager search for gold the Spaniards pushed north from Mexico and planted settlements in Arizona and New Mexico, but upon the northwest their progress was stopped by canons and deserts.

Now we are prepared to understand why it was that the western portion of North America remained for so long a time a mysterious and unknown region. There were no waterways by which it could be explored, while snow-clad mountains and deserts made access to it doubly difficult.

By the beginning of the last century the Americans had overcome the natural obstacles in their westward progress, and their settlements reached as far into the wilderness as the Mississippi River. Hunters and traders were soon pushing far beyond, spreading over the Great Plains and up to the very base of the Rocky, or Stony Mountains, as they were then called. The Missouri River became the great highway into the Northwest, for the adventurers took advantage of the streams wherever possible. Many other rivers were discovered flowing from the western mountains, but with the exception of the Platte and Arkansas they were generally too shallow for navigation even with a light canoe.

Starting in the early spring from the mouth of the Missouri, the hardy trappers sailed and paddled up the river, taking several months to reach the head of navigation at the Great Falls. In the autumn, when the boats were loaded with furs, it was a comparatively easy matter to drop down the river with the current. It would have been almost impossible to transport the loads of goods on pack-horses across the thousand miles of prairie, where the traders would be subject to attack from hostile Indians.

Adventurous men pushed farther and farther west through the pa.s.ses in the mountains and began trapping upon the waters which flow into the Pacific. It had long been supposed that the Rocky Mountains formed a barrier beyond which our country could not be extended, and that the Pacific slope was made up of mountains and deserts not worth securing.

The explorers showed that the Rocky Mountains were not continuous, but consisted of partly detached ranges, and that while their eastern fronts were indeed almost impa.s.sable for long distances, there were places so low that it was difficult to locate the exact spot where the waters parted to seek the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. In southwestern Wyoming the continental divide, known as the Great Divide mesa, though more than a mile above the sea, is but a continuation of the long, gentle slope of the Great Plains.

The Rocky Mountains decrease in height toward the south, near the line between New Mexico and Colorado. Here is situated Raton Pa.s.s, an ancient Indian highway from the valley of the Arkansas to the Rio Grande. In the early half of the last century this trail was much used by the caravans of traders and came to be known as the Santa Fe trail.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 93.--ON THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE IN SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING]

In the early days of the American occupation of California, the Santa Fe trail became an important route to the Pacific. From the Mexican town of Santa Fe it led down the valley of the Rio Grande, following the old road to Mexico, and then turned west across the broad plateau of the continental divide, not far from the present course of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Pa.s.sing Tucson, the road kept near the course of the Gila River to Fort Yuma, and then led over the Colorado Desert to Los Angeles. This path avoided all the high mountains, but much of it lay across deserts, where the heat and scarcity of water made it an impracticable route for the emigrants.

One not acquainted with the physical geography of the West might wonder why the gold-seekers on their way to California did not make use of the Missouri River, which, except for the Great Falls, was navigable for small boats to the very base of the Rocky Mountains.

A partial explanation is found in the report of the hardships endured by the Lewis and Clark exploring expedition, and later by the Astor party, which went out to found a fur trading post at the mouth of the Columbia. It had been supposed that after once crossing the continental divide it would be an easy matter to embark upon some stream and float down to the Pacific Ocean. The parties referred to became lost in the defiles of the mountains, and when they finally reached the Snake River it was only to find that rapids and waterfalls continually obstructed navigation. Although there was in most places plenty of water upon this northern route, yet the mountains were impa.s.sable for wagons.

Because of these conditions the emigrants started out boldly across the plains, following the general course of the Platte River, and crossing the Rocky Mountain divide at the South Pa.s.s in western Wyoming, a place famous in its day. At this point those who were going to Oregon turned northwestward to Fort Hall, a trading post of the Hudson Bay Company. From here they crossed southern Idaho, keeping near the course of the Snake River until they reached the point where it enters the grand canon; there they left the river, and climbing over the Blue Mountains, entered the fertile valleys about the present city of Walla Walla. From this place the emigrants followed the Columbia River to The Dalles, whence they proceeded either by boat or raft until Fort Vancouver and the mouth of the Willamette were finally gained. Wagons were taken through on this route, and it was not dangerous, although accidents sometimes happened at the Cascades, where locks were built at a later day.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 94.--THE OLD SANTA Fe TRAIL

Over this thousands of freight and emigrant wagons have pa.s.sed]

The emigrants for California, who were the most numerous, turned southwest at South Pa.s.s, and after crossing the Wasatch Range through Emigration Canon, came out upon the plain of Great Salt Lake. Then, traversing desert plains, they reached the Humboldt River, which they followed until it sank into the sands.

Several routes had been opened across the Sierra Nevada mountains into California, but those through the Carson and Donner pa.s.ses were most used. Several high ranges of mountains lay between the Willamette Valley of Oregon and the Great Valley of California, so that in the early days there was very little travel between these two territories. The overland trip required so long a time, and involved such dangers and hardships, that many preferred the water route, in spite of the fact that its ships were crowded, and the voyagers must cross the fever-infected Isthmus.

It is very interesting to note how widely different the rivers are upon the opposite sides of the Rocky Mountains. Those upon the east, with the exception of the Missouri at the Great Falls, are not marked by waterfalls after leaving the mountains. There are few canons of importance. The streams generally flow in channels only slightly sunken below the general level of the Great Plains.