Orphans Preferred

"In every corner of this world they boast of men so bold.

From Captain Blood and Mister Mud to England’s kings of old.

Why, every place I’ve ever been, they think their man’s the best.

But listen while I introduce a bold man from the West.

A thunderbolt bust and then a big cloud of dust

And out rides Cody of the Pony Express.

Totin’ the mail beside him, he knows the trail to guide him,

Cody of the Pony Express."

-Cody of the Pony Express written by Bob Nolan and sung by Riders in the Sky

The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861. It became the west's most direct means of east-west communication before the telegraph and was vital for tying California closely with the Union just before the American Civil War. During its 18 months of operation, it reduced the time for messages to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to about ten days.

There is a famous recruitment advertisement for riders that reportedly read, "Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred."

Missouri OC belongs to [link]