Finding Details
When did the Pony Express start?
April 3, 1860
What is the Pony Express?
a system of delivering mail on horses by riding across the country, carrying mail.
Why did the tight-fitting clothes help the riders go faster?
So their clothes wouldn't blow in the wind while they were on the horses.
How did mail travel before the Pony Express?
By stagecoach
What did the Pony Express riders wear?
Tight-fitting clothes
What is a stagecoach?
a large closed horse-drawn vehicle formerly used to carry passengers and often mail along a regular route between two places.
Why was the Pony Express able to take a more dangerous route through the mountains than the stagecoaches?
Because the stagecoaches can't cross snowy mountains safely
Stagecoach wheels might break
Mountains might be too steep for stagecoaches
Restate these events in sequence:
The telegraph was invented as a new way of sending messages
Pony Express was started to deliver mail on horseback
Mail traveled to California by stagecoach
1. Mail traveled to California by stagecoach
2. Pony Express was started to deliver mail on horseback
3. The telegraph was invented as a new way of sending messages
What ended the Pony Express?
a. robbers and bad weather
b. the invention of the telegraph
b. the invention of the telegraph
"With the telegraph, news could travel almost instantly across thousands of miles."
"By 1861, telegraph wires stretched across the American West."
Based on these clues, what does a telegraph seem most similar to today?a. laptop
b. telephone
c. mail service
b. telephone
According to the text, why do you think riders had to be strong and skilled to ride for the Pony Express?
They had to ride through snowy mountains and flooded rivers.
They had to ride through very hot days and dark nights.
They had to face wild animals and robbers.
Which of these events happened last?
a. Telegraph was invented
b. Pony Express began service
c. Pony Express riders faced many dangers
d. Most mail traveled by stagecoach
a. Telegraph was invented
Describe the route of the Pony Express.
From St. Joseph, MO (Missouri) to to Sacramento, CA (California)
Through Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California
Through snowy mountains and flooded rivers
Through bad weather
How did the telegraph affect the Pony Express?
When the telegraph was invented, the Pony Express ended because it was the faster to send messages using a telegraph.