A Pony Express Story

[DreamWeaver <nvrider@home.com>]

I felt so bad about poor Hector, I thought I'd make amends with something a 
bit more appealing:

One story tells how Pony Bob received the mochila with President Lincoln's 
address at Smith's Creek, Nev., and sped west, making the fastest run ever 
to Cold Springs, Nev., one of the major stops along the trail to Fort 
Churchill. He had seen no Indians along the way, and this seemed too good 
to be true. At Cold Springs, he asked for "Old Buck," not the fastest 
horse, but one noted for fighting against the Indians.
Mounted on Old Buck and on his way to Fort Churchill, Pony Bob found 
himself charging through a series of ambushes. Finally, Old Buck pointed 
his ears forward and snorted a warning as Haslam cocked his two guns and 
rode on. Indians came at him from all directions. Dropped flat on his 
horse, Bob raced on as Indians boiled out of the brush, firing bullets and 
arrows from every direction. Soon he was surrounded by mounted warriors, 
several on stolen Pony Express ponies. Old Buck could outrun the Indian 
ponies, but not the swift Pony Express ponies. Bob had no choice but to 
shoot the ponies as they approached him. One by one, Haslam got the Indian 
ponies, until there were only three left. As these dropped back, an arrow
struck Bob's left arm, hit the bone and remained there quivering. Haslam 
managed to get the arrow out, and rode on through a narrow ravine that 
forced the Indians following him to fall into single file. He was able to 
shoot down two more Indian ponies, but the third escaped. Tossing away one 
empty revolver, he took out the other one and turned to fire at the 
oncoming Indian. An arrow tore into his cheek, knocking out
five teeth and fracturing his jaw. He did not lose consciousness, but 
turned and emptied his gun at the remaining Indian. Old Buck carried him to 
Middle Gate Relay Station. There, Bob spent a few minutes caring for his 
wounds, but he insisted on finishing his run to Fort Churchill. In this 
remarkable episode, the famous Pony Express rider, badly wounded, had gone 
120 miles in eight hours and 10 minutes under circumstances that make 
today's Wild West stories seem tame. Pony Bob's epic ride was a part of the 
fastest trip made by the Pony Express. The mail was carried from St. 
Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento, Calif.,
in seven days and 17 hours.