THE LAST RIDE OF THE PONY EXPRESS

Genial exploration of the breakneck-ride world of the Wild West’s postal carriers.

“I got two questions for you. One, how crazy does a guy have to be to ride a horse from Missouri to California? And two, how sore is your ass right about now?” So asked a Nevada rancher of Grant, well into his 100-day, cross-country travels. The questions were apposite. Over the course of his entertaining narrative, the author has occasion to think about at least the first at some leisure. Whereas the original Pony Express, which ran for less than two years, took 10 days to make the distance from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, Grant increased the time tenfold. As Grant points out, the original riders didn’t have to face the dangers of “civilization and its infrastructure,” as represented by the mile-wide, multilane bridge over the Missouri River just outside St. Joseph and the mad traffic of places such as Salt Lake City. The author shows that sometimes, it does help to ask, for he had assumed that the good people of the city would be in church on Sunday morning, when he hoped to guide his two geldings, named Chicken Fry and Badger, out of town. Not a chance, said one friendly fellow: “We call that the Mormon 500…and there’s always traffic.” Aware of the vagaries of Sierra Nevada snowfall, too, the interlocutor tells Grant he’d best pick up the pace: “Might be time to find another gear, partner.” Amazingly, knowing little but with a wellspring of friendly intention and a lively curiosity about the places he saw and people he met, Grant survived it all. Call it a Travels With Charley with two beat-up but utterly dependable mounts instead of a poodle, and you’ve got an idea of what this good-natured narrative is all about. It will also appeal to fans of Rinker Buck.

Well and self-effacingly written and a pleasure for armchair travelers and Old West buffs.