Who Were the Unsung Heroes of the Pony Express?

The real heroes of the Pony Express were the California mustangs, the horses that carry their riders so fast that not even the fastest Indian pony could catch them.

Had it not been for these wonderful horses, the Pony Express could never have made a single trip through territory often controlled by hostile Indians. The people who read tales about the Pony Express may not think about the horses, but the riders and the station agents did.

They made sure that the horses had the best food and the cleanest “beds.” The most dangerous job in the Pony Express was the station agents’. He was alone almost 24 hours a day and was often surrounded by Indians. Many of these stations were burned, and the agents killed, particularly in Utah and Nevada.

You can see one of the original Pony Express stations in Hanover, Kansas. You can visit the site of the station in Fairbury, Nebraska, where the crack shot Wild Bill Hickock was the agent.