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Northern Overland Pony Express
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On 1 January 1867, the U.S. Postal Service opened bidding for an overland route for carrying the mail on Route #13611 from Fort Abercrombie near present day Fargo, North Dakota (on the Red River at the Minnesota/North Dakota border) across a thousand miles of northern plains to the gold camp at Helena in Montana Territory. The contract was for a three year period to begin service on 1 July 1867 with tri-weekly service and runs guaranteed to be completed within twelve days. Carlisle Doble and Charles A. Ruffee of Crow Wing, Minnesota submitted the lowest bid of $84,000 which was half of the next lowest bid and were awarded the contract on 11 April 1867.
General Alfred H. Terry and his command left their St. Paul, Minnesota headquarters on 8 June 1867 to establish military forts along the proposed mail route. Forts were established at Fort Ransom at Bears Den Hillock on the Cheyenne River, Fort Totten at Devil Lake, and Fort Stevenson on the Missouri River twenty miles below the old trading post at Fort Berthold. At Fort Stevenson, General Terry and his troops boarded the steamboat Ida Stockdale and went up river to Fort Union at the confluence of the Yellowstone River and the Missouri River. There were no white settlements for 450 miles on the Dakota plains which were inhabited by the Sioux only. Further up river in Montana there were more Sioux, Assiniboine and Gros Ventres. On 15 July 1867, C. A. Ruffee made arrangements with Captain Charles C. Huntley and Silas S. Huntley for the Huntley's to be responsible for the Montana portion of the Pony Express route. http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10832-Billings-Sightseeing-Examiner~y2009m10d28-Fort-Belknap http://www.old-picture.com/mathew-brady-studio/General-Alfred-Terry-USA-001.htm http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/terry.htm
The first route through Montana, 500 even more desolate miles, started at Fort Buford at the Montana/Dakota border and followed the Missouri River to Fort Peck and then up the Milk River with forts planned for every 40 or 50 miles of the mail route. West of the Bear Paw Mountains the route left the Milk River and headed towards Fort Benton on the Missouri River and from there the mail would continue by stagecoach to the gold camp of Helena. http://www.xphomestation.com/montana.html
The Pony Express riders had the privilege of having probably one of the most dangerous jobs in North America at that time. The Pony Express teams were 4 riders with six horses each. The riders and the stations were under constant harassment or attack from the Sioux who had warned the whites to not carry the mail through their country. Sometimes riders would arrive at a station that was under attack and they could not leave again for many days and the mail would pile up.
Another southern route was established that left Fort Peck and went up the Missouri River to Fort Hawley, crossed the river and then traveled towards Black Butte went around the Judith Mountains on the north and west sides and then traveled through the Judith Basin by way of the Judith Gap to Fort Howe, Diamond City and then on to Helena. This new route was thought to be safer and began to be used on 1 October 1867. http://www.forthowes.net/
On 26 October 1867, Fred Rutschmann and another rider left Fort Hawley with four sacks of mail bound for Helena. Near Black Butte they were overtaken and captured by Sioux who ripped the mail bags open, scattered the mail into the wind and took everything except the riders' clothes. Then the Sioux set the mail riders free with one gun, two horses but no food. The riders collected some of the scattered mail and continued on to Fort Howe. Rutschmann continued on alone to Helena and arrived on 2 November.
The winter of 1867-68 was very severe with blizzards and deep snow. Henry McDonald and William Bent answered the call for mail riders and on 16 February 1868 they left Fort Hawley leading a group of five riders with eight sacks of mail and arrived in Helena on March 1st. On 12 March 1868, Indian Agent Bradley, Harry McDonald, F. M. "Pomp" Dennis, Harvey Martin and a man called "Seven-Up" left Fort Hawley to go to Helena and on the way were attacked. The men fought off repeated volleys of arrows and bullets for several hours. After night fall the Sioux built two bonfires and the shadows of the Sioux warriors could been seen moving back and forth between the fires as they terrified the riders with yells and volleys through the night. The riders scattered with each man for himself and managed to reach Fort Benton 21 April all except "Pomp" Dennis who was never seen again. http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/bent.htm
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A decade would pass before the Northern Pacific Railroad would take over the mail delivery duties. An old and musty package of letters was found on the prairie near Fort Buford in the spring of 1868. The Helena post marks on the letters read 14 September 1867. The letters were blood stained and stuck together -- testament that the unknown Pony Express rider had died defending the mail.
One Pony Express rider who is known is Lalley Doney, born in Montreal, Canada in 1848. Doney came to Montana in the early 1880s from North Dakota after having ridden as a Pony Express rider. He settled at the mouth of Fourchette Creek in Phillips County Montana where he spent the remainder of his days in retirement. http://www.nps.gov/poex/historyculture/index.htm http://www.jstor.org/stable/4517095?cookieSet=1
Gregan Wortmann
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