The Saga of the Pony Express - Tapa dura

"Wanted--Young skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. . . . Orphans preferred."

Threatened by civil war and Indian uprisings, the government in the mid-1800s 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 riders would carry the U.S. mail across 2,000 miles of inhospitable wilderness in 10 days. Complete with dozens of illustrations, several maps, and appendixes of riders and relay stations--including stations the reader can still see today--The Saga of the Pony Express proves there's a reason some legends endure.