Riding Into the West With the Pony Express

Pony Express route diorama at the Pony Express National Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri (photo by Sheila Scarborough)

What was in skinny little Johnny Fry’s head as he mounted his horse Sylph and prepared to bolt out of the stable doors as the first westbound rider for the new Pony Express?

(We know he was skinny because riders weren’t hired unless they were 120 lbs or less.)

Sure, he had a dramatic inaugural ride out of St. Joseph, Missouri that April day in 1860 – mail packets secure in the special lightweight leather 4-pocket mochila bag designed to be quickly slung from one horse to another all the way to Sacramento, California – but geographic reality meant that Fry quickly had to come to a more stately speed and then a complete stop to ride the ferry across the Missouri River to Kansas.

First westward Pony Express ride; Johnny Fry prepares to go at the Pony Express National Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri (photo by Sheila Scarborough)

What did he think about in those few minutes on the ferry, between the cheering crowds at his send-off and the many miles of hard riding ahead? This was Johnny Fry’s moment of glory; in a couple of years he would join the Union army and die at the hands of Quantrill’s Raiders.

Mr. Fry didn’t have much time to contemplate his place in history; as soon as the ferry hit the riverbank on what is now Elwood, Kansas, it was onward to a two-minute horse swap at a bare-bones relay station in Troy (where legend has it that he was handed a cake-like treat by local girls, later called a donut) then more hard riding to Kennekuk, the first “home station” that was set up for riders to change out and rest every 75 to 100 miles or so along the Express route.

In the mochila that day were reportedly “….five telegrams, 49 letters, and newspapers printed on lightweight paper ‘as airy and thin as gold leaf.'” (via the Pony Express National Historic Trail .)

California’s Gold Rush and population growth cried out for better communications systems across the vast center of the U.S. to the west, but what is surprising about the legendary Pony Express is that the “FedEx of its day” didn’t last very long:  April 1860 to November 1861. The transcontinental telegraph was not nearly as romantic and soul-stirring, but it put the Express out of business (in fact it went bankrupt.)

Today’s Pony Express National Museum in St. Joseph is housed in the original Pony Express horse stables, which were saved in the 1950’s from neglect and collapse.

Pony Express mochila to carry mail and papers, at the Pony Express National Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri (photo by Sheila Scarborough)

There are exhibits about how the stables were run, the Express company founders, pioneer artifacts, a mockup of a relay station, a rubbings table, plus plenty of interactive stations for kids to learn about Morse code, mochilas, and even the original well that serviced the stables (you can look down into the bottom and see the water rise and fall with the nearby Missouri River.)

Stories are tucked into corners of the display cases: the US astronaut who carried a letter into space that was written by his Express rider great-grandfather, the rider who lived to be 105 and at 81, rode a horse from New York to San Francisco, and the special oath that all riders had to take that promised they would never use profane language (unenforceable, that one!)

I enjoyed walking down the 60-foot diorama of the entire route, looking at all of the tiny, isolated places and people that supported relay stations and home stations during all weather conditions. “The Pony” was only suspended once, during a Paiute Indian uprising in Nevada.

If you visit St. Joseph, the only real hotel option downtown is the Holiday Inn Riverfront, which is a nice place but the term “riverfront” is a bit optimistic thanks to pedestrian-unfriendly fencing and a big highway. You’ll need to head a few miles north to the large park area (with trails) that is really ON the Missouri River.

I passed on the hotel’s restaurant for dinner – menu sides were “Loaded Mashed Potatoes, Smashed Sweet Potatoes, Skin-on Mashed Potatoes, Baked or French Fries” – and went in search of actual vegetables. Yelp (one of the indispensable travel apps on my phone ) pointed me to the terrific Bad Art Bistro just a few blocks away.

As advertised, I was surrounded by ghastly velvet paintings and was served delicious seasonal food plus some fine cocktails, one of which I used to raise a toast to Johnny Fry, who made history in the American West.

Also in St. Joseph: the excellent Albrecht-Kemper art museum , and breakfast, lunch or just coffee downtown at the Cafe Pony Espresso .

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