The enemy gone, it was a desolate scene that greeted the emigrant leader. Many of his best men were dead, most of his cattle gone, and scarcely enough horses left for half his wagons. But he was indeed fortunate, since none of the women and children had been killed or taken captive. In spite of such odds as these the Great West grew and settlements multiplied. This was due to the courage and indomitable will of these first comers, who in spite of almost insurmountable difficulties did not lose heart or ambition. THE PONY EXPRESS Two thousand miles of waste land lay between the western frontier and California and the long wagon trains sent out by the various companies did very well for carrying freight. But as the settlements grew in number there came a demand for a speedier method of communication by which letters and money might be sent to the Pacific Coast and other points. The long journey of the slowly moving wagons did not interfere very much in matters of freight, but the settlers soon realized that business arrangements and papers needed better and quicker means of transportation. [Illustration: INDIANS LYING IN WAIT FOR THE “PONY EXPRESS”] The great freight transporters, therefore, conceived the idea of a scheme for carrying letters at a much faster rate to San Francisco by means of a single horseman riding a pony at full speed. Their idea was that a man should mount a swift pony, capable of great endurance, and ride straight out into the open desert, where, at the end of fifteen miles, there would be a station with several men in it, who would have ready another fresh pony. This horseman was to slow up at this shanty, jump to the ground with his bag of letters, immediately jump on the fresh pony and ride fast and furiously for another fifteen miles to the next similar station. It happened that some of these stations were in towns and settlements, but more often they were on the bleak prairies or in the hills of the Rocky Mountains. This pony express followed the same trail as that used by the wagon trains, but since the wagon train stations were usually forty-five miles apart of course many more stations had to be built. A man who rode one of these divisions rode fifteen miles on one pony, fifteen miles on the second, and fifteen miles on the third. Then he began his return trip of forty-five miles. Sometimes it would be easy riding over open country, then again it might be up rocky gulches or through forests difficult to traverse. Men of the hardest sort of physique and endurance were required, and the ponies had to be sure-footed and swift. The wages paid for this work were liberal, so the companies owning the route were able to procure the best men on the frontier. [Illustration]