Over the saddle hung mail pouches that weighed about twenty pounds. This was really a very small part of the amount of mail to be sent, but the ponies could not carry a heavier load, so to increase the number of letters and lessen the weight, people later wrote on tissue paper. Paper money was carried because gold and silver were too heavy and bulky. One of the enterprising eastern newspapers printed a special edition of their news on tissue paper for transportation only on this famous pony express. It was an exciting time when the fast mail left St. Joseph, the starting place. At the moment of leaving a frontiersman came hurriedly out of the post-office, threw the mail bags over the saddle, leaped on the pony and started off at full speed, leaving a curious crowd to gaze wonderingly after his dusty trail. The average distance covered in a day by this queer express was two hundred miles, a speed of about eight miles an hour. It took great endurance for these men to be in the saddle for seventy or more miles a day. But, endurance was not the only quality the rider needed. Over the whole route there was constant danger of being held up, either by Indians or by outlaws, who were eager to get the money that was often carried. So the rider had to be a courageous and skilled frontiersman who had keen knowledge of Indian warfare. Often reports would come to the stations that Indians were in the vicinity. The express rider departing was advised to keep a sharp eye on the trail. Behind a pile of rocks a bright spot might show which, to the trained vision of the frontiersman, immediately meant possible danger. The little speck of color was perhaps the feather of an Indian’s head dress. There was no chance or time to turn, the rider kept on at his furious pace until he was within shot. A puff of smoke suddenly came from behind the rock and out would jump the Indian warriors. But quick as a bullet speeds the express rider would be quicker, and ducking behind his pony turned him instantly off the trail and thus avoided being shot then and there. Now, however, came a ride for life, for just ahead more Indians would appear and try to block the way. Luckily few of the Indians had guns in these days and the frontiersman, watching his chance, could usually kill one or two Indians before they succeeded in shooting their arrows. This would act as a sudden check to the red men, and fast and furious the express rider would spur his pony on toward the station and escape. Once in a great while, however, because of the many hostile Indians who laid in wait all along the trails to capture the riders, the pony express had to be stopped for a time. The next step in western travel was the famous overland stage which ran from St. Joseph to Sacramento, a distance of one thousand miles. This was a most difficult enterprise. For the stage carried at times large sums of money and was therefore frequently held up by highwaymen or Indians.