Saddles and Spurs: The Pony Express Saga

by Raymond W. Settle, Mary Lund Settle

The story of the Pony Express, which carried transcontinental mail from April 3, 1860 to October 24, 1861, is one of the most invigorating and satisfying episodes in American history. Saddles and The Pony Express Saga brings together a storehouse of information about this brilliant operation. Projected against an account of the historical background—the great overland mail issue, the freighting and the stagecoach business, the development of the telegraph and the Pacific railroad—is the narrative of the Pony Express's organization and the laying out of its route; biographical sketches of the founders, company personnel, and riders; and a list and description of the stations. While undertaking their exhaustive research, the authors collected some three hundred photographs, of which more than fifty of the best appear in this volume.

217 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1972

Reviews

[Vic · Rating 3 out of 5]

History book with much detail. Along with plain facts there are many interesting revelations.
Covers a small period in our western expansion saga with many recognizable characters.
Gives a feel for the Americam wild west.

[Rene Blansette · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting but, in my opinion, not very well written. There were four chapters, describing some of the riders and the stations along the route, which easily could have been left out.

[J Chad · Rating 1 out of 5]

An unrelenting morass of details barely related to the subject buries the fascinating history of the Pony Express