The Saga of the Pony Express

America in the mid-1800s was a land of burgeoning cities, westward expansion, economic optimism, and political turmoil. Threatened by civil war and Indian uprisings, the government needed better communication with its far-flung citizens in the West. Three visionaries dreamt up a seemingly impossible solution: the Pony Express. An elite cadre of young riders would carry the U.S. mail across 2,000 miles of inhospitable wilderness in 10 days. For a brief yet crucial time, the system worked, unt…