=Kansas Settlers Desire Railroads.= The agitation for railroads in this part of the country began even before the organization of the Kansas Territory. The settlers knew the difficulty of building up the State without the aid of the railway. They had crept across the prairies in their canvas-covered wagons, or had toiled up the shallow, sluggish waterways, and they foresaw that they would be unable to market their crops or their stock because of the lack of adequate means of transportation. Their great desire for railroads is made evident by the large number of railway charters granted to different companies by the Territorial Legislatures. On account of the immense cost of railroad construction, however, work was slow to begin. =Early Stage Lines.= While the West was waiting for its railroads a number of stage routes for carrying mail and passengers were established. The first one was over the Santa Fe Trail. Stages made the trip from Kansas City to Santa Fe in about fifteen days. For many years stage lines were operated between the different towns of the Territory. Later, lines were established to Denver, to Salt Lake, and even to San Francisco. [Illustration: STAGE COACH.] =The Pony Express, 1859-’61.= The trip to San Francisco, a distance of about 2000 miles, occupied nearly a month, and the people of California were very anxious that a quicker way of getting their mails be devised. To meet this demand the Pony Express was established in 1859. The line extended from St. Joseph to San Francisco, a long, lonely way across plains and deserts and over mountains, sometimes in a straight line but often winding through dark cañons or along the edge of mountain precipices. The Pony Express required one hundred and ninety stations, nearly five hundred horses, and eighty riders. The stations averaged about ten miles apart. The horses were selected for their speed and endurance, and the distance from one station to another was covered in the shortest possible time. At each station a fresh horse was waiting, and the only delay was in changing the mail pouch from one horse to another. The pouch contained only letters, and they were written on the thinnest of paper to avoid surplus weight. Five dollars was charged for the carrying of each letter. The first trip was made in ten days, the shortest one in seven days and seventeen hours. Many stories of adventure are related of the two years in which the Pony Express was in operation. In 1861 a telegraph line was constructed across the continent, which made it possible to flash news from ocean to ocean in a few seconds, and the Pony Express went out of existence.