The Pony Express was the brainchild of Russell, Majors and Waddell to carry mail from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California.  The Pony Express advertised that they would deliver the mail in 10 days or less.  The trip took 1,840 miles to Sacramento where the mail was loaded on a steamer to travel down the Sacramento River to San Francisco for a total of 1,966 miles.

            Ponder the following questions as You Do The Math.

            The Pony Express riders had to be expert riders, 18 years of age or less, and weigh less than 125 pounds.  There were 157 relay stations along the way and the riders stopped about every 15 miles to get a fresh horse.  Each rider rode approximately 75 miles per day.  Preferrably these men were orphans because of the dangerous trip.

           Compare and Contrast The Trip In 1860 & 2005

        Use your knowledge of the present time and these sites about the past to assist you:
         William Russell
         Stagecoaches & The Pony Express
             Pony Express Information
         Pony Express Poster
         Pony Express History
         On The Trail Of The Pony Express
         Museum of the City of San Francisco
 
 

        The Pony Express services began by charging $5.00 for mail weighing 1/2 ounce and later lowered their price to $1.00 per 1/2 ounce.

Compare and contrast our mail service with that of the Pony Express.

        Find the zip codes of St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California.  Click on Calculate Postage.  Find the length of time and cost to send a letter weighing 1/2 ounce from St. Joseph to Sacramento through Express Mail, Priority Mail and First Class Mail.  How does this compare to services offered by the Pony Express?
 

         The Pony Express lasted 18 months.  The telegraph system was invented and offered a faster way to send messages and the Pony Express was no longer needed.  Today we live in the age of communication.
         Imagine that you live in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1860 and need to get an urgent message to your cousin in Sacramento, California.  Now imagine that you need to send that same message in 2005.
As a conclusion exercise, write a paragraph explaining how technology has made the United States smaller although it has not decreased in size.