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 Longest and Fastest . . Posted by:  Volcanoguy
N 39° 23.505 W 117° 51.084
11S E 426683 N 4360596
History sign along Hwy. 50 about Pony Bob.
Waymark Code: WMVG47
Location: Nevada, United States
Date Posted: 04/14/2017
Views: 6
History sign at trailhead kiosk about Pony Bob’s long ride. There are additional signs at this location.
Marker Title (required): Longest and Fastest . .
Marker Text (required):
Robert Haslam, known as “Pony Bob,” was the best known Pony Express rider in Nevada. Cold Springs Station played a major role in one of Pony Bob’s most exciting adventures — a 380 mile roundtrip ride in 36 hours — billed as one of the longest and fastest runs in the Pony Express history.
It happened in May 1860 when Bob was only 19 years old and western Nevada was in the middle of the Pyramid Lake Indian War.
Pony Bob’s regular run was from Friday’s Station in the Sierras to Buckland’s Station near present-day Lahontan Reservoir. He first ran into trouble at Reed’s Change Station. The citizens’ militia had confiscated all animals for the war and Bob was forced to ride into Buckland’s on a nearly-exhausted horse.
At Buckland’s he was to have been relieved by a rider named Johnson Richardson but, because of the Indian trouble, Richardson refused to ride. The stationmaster, W.C. Marley, promised Bob a $50 bonus if he’d ride to the next station. So Bob went through three more relief stations to Smith Creek Station a distance of 190 miles.
After a short sleep, Bob turned around and retraced his route. His first stop was Cold Springs.
“When I arrived at Cold Springs, to my horror, I found the station had been attacked by Indians, the keeper killed, and all the horses taken away. I decided in a moment what course to pursue — I would go on.” At the next station, he told the stationmaster of the danger and advised him to go on to the next station. Bob says, “He took my advice and so probably saved his life, for the following morning Smith Creek was attacked.”
The rest of the trip was tiring for Pony Bob, but reasonably uneventful. He had traveled 380 miles within a few hours of scheduled time, and was surrounded by perils on every hand.
County (required): Churchill
Marker Type (required): Other (describe below)
Other Marker Type (optional): Fiberglass sign
Is Marker Damaged? (required): No
Other Damage Type (optional): NA
Marker Number (If official State Marker from NV SHPO website above, otherwise leave blank): Not Listed
URL - Website (optional): Not listed
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