Pioneer: 2010 Vol.57 No.2

April 9. The westbound delivery from St. Joseph arrived
at the western terminus in Sacramento, having taken a
total of 11 days.
On April 4, 1860, William “Sam” Hamilton was the
first eastbound rider on the Pony Express to have departed
from Sacramento and Placerville. He galloped off
into a rainstorm. After July 1, 1861, Placerville, first
called “Old Dry Diggins,” near the original gold discovery,
was the western terminus of the Pony Express. 17
In a driving rainstorm Howard Egan, himself the
oldest of the riders, carried the first eastbound mail of the
Pony Express from Rush Valley the 75 miles to Great Salt
Lake City. The trip took several days. Along the way, with
a cold north wind and sleet in his face, he passed through
Five Mile Pass into Camp Floyd and thence to the Great
Salt Lake Valley. Arriving in the Valley, the horse lost its
footing crossing a plank bridge over Mill Creek. Horse
and rider tumbled into the creek. They climbed out and
resumed delivery to the Salt Lake House Pony Express
Station, arriving about April 8, 1860. 18
Ras Egan’s assigned Pony Express run on his sorrel,
“Miss Lightning,” 19 was the 75 miles between Great Salt
Lake City and Rush Valley. Billy Fisher made his first
Pony Express ride taking the mail relay from a rider coming
from Egan’s Station to the west. Fisher’s assignment
was primarily between Ruby Valley and South Pass. On
April 13, 1860, the first eastbound Pony Express letters
arrived at St. Joseph. The mochila contained 69 letters.
In the spring of 1860, Indian depredations on the
Pony Express Stations intensified. In May they attacked
the Deep Creek Station, shot an attendant, and stole a
band of horses. Paiutes raided the Williams Station and
killed five men. The Pony Express attendants were chased
away from the Stations between Diamond Spring and
Carson Valley. During one of his runs, Ras Egan came
upon a stagecoach express that had been held up, the passengers
killed, and the horses stolen. An Indian chased
“PonyBob”Haslam, was one of the
most daring, resourceful, and best known riders
on the route. Born January, 1840, in London,
England, Haslam came to the U.S. as a teen and
was hired by Bolivar Roberts to help build the stations.
He was assigned the run from Friday’s
Station at the foot of Lake Tahoe to Buckland’s
Station near Fort Churchill. Perhaps his greatest
ride, 120 miles in 8 hours and 20 minutes while
wounded, was an important contribution to the
fastest trip ever made by the Pony Express. The
message carried Lincoln’s Inaugural Address.
See http://www.xphomestation.com/
rhaslam.html
Art by William Henry Jackson, courtesy
BYU Special Collections.
2010 ◆ Vol. 57, No.2 ◆ PIONEER 19