1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,160 Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. It's Chuck here, and I'm about to get 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: on my pony and deliver the mail because it's July. 3 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: Don't you mean eighteen? No? I mean because that's when 4 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: this select episode was belched out by Josh and Chuck. 5 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 1: It's called How the Pony Express Work. Yeah, welcome to 6 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:40,160 Speaker 1: stuff you should know, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey, 7 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:45,159 Speaker 1: you welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, There's Charles 8 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: w Chuck Bryant. There's a cherry over there, and we're 9 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: bringing you all the news fast as lightning in this 10 00:00:55,640 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: episode on Pony Express. Hey, you resurrected that don't be 11 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: Dumb Josh for a moment. Then you're also staining on 12 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: your head in your chair. This is like the end 13 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: of Primal fear Man. That Don't be Dumb Josh never 14 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: went away. There's nothing but that Don't be Dumb. Who 15 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: I hope I didn't ruin that for anybody just now. 16 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: I probably did, But come on, it was the eighties. Yeah. 17 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: There was a bit of a discussion about on the 18 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,200 Speaker 1: movie Crush facebook page about me spoiling things that are 19 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: old movies like Jaws, like the Shark Dies, like a 20 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: bunch of people came to my defense. They're like, you know, 21 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,960 Speaker 1: there's a limit on spoilers, like if you're talking about 22 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:43,680 Speaker 1: a ten year old an older movie, like, come on, 23 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 1: who who was it that chose Jaws? Was it Roman? Roman, Mars? 24 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: He's got great taste. Man. I watched that movie twice 25 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 1: in the last two weeks. The first time it was 26 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: on mute and I was still like engrossed by it. 27 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: And then I recently watched it from like start to 28 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: finish um for the first time in well over a decade, 29 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: and I was like, oh my god, it is basically perfect. Yea, 30 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: everything about it. It's just enjoyable. It's beautifully shot, The 31 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: characters are great. It's just wonderful. Here's the swimming with 32 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: bow legged women. Oh yeah, man, he's he's quite a character. 33 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: Is so good in that movie and drive us Man, Yeah, 34 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:29,239 Speaker 1: all of them. It's just so great. Yeah, even Roy Scheider. Yeah, 35 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: my favorite moment in that whole movie. I think, well, gosh, 36 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:36,080 Speaker 1: there's so many, but don't spoil it when that real moment, 37 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: like Spielberg peppers in these moments, it just makes it 38 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: such a richer film, Like when he's sitting there with 39 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: his kid. Before dry Fus comes over for dinner that night, 40 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: he just has that moment with his son. We're ask 41 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 1: him for a kiss and it's just leaven In. Just 42 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: little tidbits like that make the movie so much more rich. Yeah, 43 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: I love it. That's our Spielberg. I have a question 44 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,959 Speaker 1: for you. Has there ever have been more attention paid 45 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: to a utter failure of a business that was only 46 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: open for about nineteen months than the Pony Express? Think 47 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: trying to think it's really remarkable. Yeah, it's like the 48 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: new Coke of mail service. Because when you said this topic, 49 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: I was like, oh, hot, diggity dog, this is gonna 50 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: be great and it's an interesting story. But it's like, wow, 51 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: the Pony Express was a big fat failure. Yeah, really, 52 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: this is so. One of the articles we're working from 53 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: is called the Pony Express colon Riders of Destiny in parentheses. 54 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: Couldn't resist that, um Er Corbet Christopher Corbett um. And 55 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: he basically makes the case that the most interesting thing 56 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: about the Pony expresses the fact that we remember it 57 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: at all. Yeah, that that's real, the real story behind it, 58 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: because it was a big stinking failure business wise, it 59 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: was as success as an actual mail service, but as 60 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: a business it was terrible. The timing was terrible, The 61 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: whole structure of it was just a bad idea. It 62 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: was just dumb. But it was as far as the 63 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 1: service goes, if you're looking at the very definition of 64 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:16,720 Speaker 1: the word service, it was invaluable for a lot of people. Yeah. 65 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: So just to set the table real quick if you 66 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 1: don't know what we're talking about, the Pony Express was 67 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: a delivery a mail delivery system. Uh. When the the 68 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: Transcontinental well, I guess pre Transcontinental Telegram when it only 69 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:37,760 Speaker 1: went how far east did that go at the time? St? 70 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: Joe Missouri? Okay. St. Joe Missouri, and then it went 71 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: west as far as Sacramento, Sacramento. And the idea was 72 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: to join those two lines so you would have a 73 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: true transcontinental telegram telegraph service. But before that happened, there 74 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: were three entrepreneurs who said, we can close this gap 75 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 1: because it takes weeks or months to get mail from 76 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 1: east to west these days, and we can do that. 77 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: We want to be able to do that in like 78 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: a week to ten days. Yeah, which was enormously ambitious 79 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: because if you sent mail overland right from you know, 80 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: between Missouri and California. You maybe twenty five days was 81 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:22,719 Speaker 1: a good thing to expect for the mail to get there. Right, 82 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: it's Missouri, that's one way, okay, if you wanted to 83 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: send it by ship, months a couple of months before 84 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,160 Speaker 1: the person ever got the mail, because you gotta dig 85 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: a river for Missouri to Sacramento. You gotta flood it, 86 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 1: and then you gotta run the ship down that channel, 87 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: and then when you get to the other side, you 88 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:45,159 Speaker 1: have to drain it and fill it back in start 89 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: over the next time. It was a terrible idea. This 90 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 1: is back when America was full of just complete idiots. 91 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:53,359 Speaker 1: But nowadays we know what we're doing. We've got the 92 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: Internet and Twitter and all that stuff. Right, So there 93 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: was this idea where if you were in California, which 94 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: by this time was a state, and the reason California 95 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 1: was a state before so much of the other parts 96 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:07,120 Speaker 1: of the country is because of the gold Brush of 97 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: eighteen forty nine brought a lot of people out west 98 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: and they started to build and and create these cities, 99 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: and California as a state. So you had Americans living 100 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:22,279 Speaker 1: in a state that was geographically isolated from the rest 101 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: of the country. So they wanted news. They wanted newspapers, 102 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: they wanted news of America back east. They wanted all 103 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 1: this stuff. And again the telegraph lines weren't connected, so 104 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: they set up this mail service to run in between 105 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,679 Speaker 1: them fastest lightning and fastest lightning was about ten days, 106 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: like you said, and the whole route from Saint Joseph, 107 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:48,360 Speaker 1: Missouri to Sacramento took them about eighteen hundred miles, which 108 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: is a really long way. But the way that they 109 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,279 Speaker 1: did it, chuck in just ten days was through a 110 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: stroke of genius. Is that where I come in. I 111 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,480 Speaker 1: just set you up. Yeah, they had about They don't 112 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 1: have great records, and we'll get into that, but as 113 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: far as we can tell, and there's a boy, there's 114 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,239 Speaker 1: a lot of misinformation out there from over the years 115 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 1: and not legend and lore and tall tales, but they 116 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: had about eighty horseback riders, young wiry young men who 117 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:18,120 Speaker 1: they compared to like a modern day jockey. These were 118 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: little guys, and by all accounts they could haul butt 119 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: on horses. Though. Uh, they had about eighty of these dudes, 120 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 1: and they had about four or five horses and several 121 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: dozen what they called way stations or these stations in 122 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: between where you would ride, ride, ride, ride, ride to 123 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: a station either switch riders or switch horses or both 124 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 1: and get you know, get a fresh horse, or if 125 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: you were worn out, you would hand the mail off 126 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 1: and we'll get to how that worked as well. And 127 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: then they would go. And it was just a point 128 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: to point thing where you would just move this mail 129 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: as fast as you could ride a horse basically yep. 130 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: And so the horses would last for ten to fifteen miles, 131 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 1: depending on how rough the terrain was, and tween way stations, 132 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: and then at the waist the next way station, the 133 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: rider would jump from one horse to another horse with 134 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 1: this mail bag called the Mochila, which you could hold 135 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: about twenty pounds of mail, and would ride on to 136 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: the next way station and switch horses again. And so 137 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: the horses would go ten to fifteen miles and the 138 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 1: riders would go about seventy five miles from what I've seen. Yeah, 139 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: And this whole operation was from a business called the 140 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 1: Central Overland, California and Pike's Peak Express Company that was 141 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: run by three gentlemen, Russell's Majors and Waddell, William, Hepburn 142 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:40,320 Speaker 1: Russell Alexander Majors and William Bradford Waddell, who had already 143 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: been in the freight hauling business for military outposts, which 144 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: you would think would be a great money making venture. 145 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 1: But apparently when they started the Pony Express, all accounts 146 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:55,160 Speaker 1: say that their business probably wasn't doing very well when 147 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: they even started, right, So they said, well, let's see 148 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: what is a money pit we can sink our meaning 149 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,959 Speaker 1: money into what makes no sense financially. They said, oh, 150 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 1: the Pony Express. Yeah, because you said, I mean, there's 151 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: a lot of reasons why it failed, which we'll get to, 152 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 1: but you said that they held up to twenty pounds 153 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 1: of mail in these uh these saddle bags. Again, by 154 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: all accounts, they rarely had that much mail. Sometimes they 155 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: would have eight or ten letters, and that's just not 156 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: you know, if you're in the shipping business, you're not 157 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: maximizing your load. No, I did some a little bit 158 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:33,200 Speaker 1: of math. Wasn't hard, but I'm still proud of it. Okay. Um, 159 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:37,280 Speaker 1: So they charged five dollars per half Graham, Yeah, at first, 160 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: and so the Mochila could hold twenty pounds. So twenty 161 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,679 Speaker 1: pounds times thirty two is sixty or times five dollars 162 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:50,000 Speaker 1: to six hundred forty dollars and in today's money, that's 163 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,480 Speaker 1: about sixteen thousand, six hundred forty bucks. It's not bad, 164 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:58,120 Speaker 1: it's not too bad. Um. But apparently it was way 165 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: more to maintain this line then than that. And like 166 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 1: you said, plenty of these things only had a couple 167 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: of dozen letters in them at any given time, and 168 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:10,960 Speaker 1: the people who would use the pony Express would write 169 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,440 Speaker 1: these letters on tissue paper to cut down on costs 170 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:17,439 Speaker 1: because you know, they charged by the half Graham. Yeah, 171 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:23,000 Speaker 1: and it was generally not just regular American people like uh, 172 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: apparently it was mostly like government and military, and you know, 173 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: you couldn't just generally people couldn't afford to send a 174 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:35,840 Speaker 1: letter by pony express, right, right, So newspapers would send 175 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:40,520 Speaker 1: cables to other newspapers. Um or yeah, like you said, government, 176 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:45,160 Speaker 1: although the government never officially granted a contract to the 177 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:49,199 Speaker 1: Central Overland. Um, they would use them, but there was 178 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,120 Speaker 1: no official contract. And it's I get the impression that 179 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: had they ever landed a government contract, they might have 180 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: they might have actually made money, although I don't think 181 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: it would ultimately kept them from their their fate. But um, 182 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: they they the fact that they didn't have a wide 183 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: customer base, they didn't have a government contract, and then 184 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: this was just such an expensive venture and they couldn't 185 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:13,880 Speaker 1: possibly make their money back from it. It was I 186 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:15,719 Speaker 1: don't know if we've gotten the point across yet or not. 187 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,880 Speaker 1: This is a terrible business venture. Yeah. And what made 188 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:22,280 Speaker 1: matters worse? I mean, they were likely doomed. Uh, maybe 189 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: we should hold off the final nail in the coff 190 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:28,200 Speaker 1: until later, even though it's pretty obvious if you're paying attention. 191 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:30,440 Speaker 1: But one thing that heard him along the way for 192 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:38,680 Speaker 1: sure was the Pyramid Lake War, Yeah, or the Pie Pieutwar. Yeah. 193 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: I even looked it up. That's what Emma Saying says. 194 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:44,680 Speaker 1: It was. Uh, that was in Nevada and Utah mainly, 195 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 1: and that was a war that took a great toll 196 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:50,440 Speaker 1: on especially these way stations. Uh. And if you are 197 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 1: a way station, dude, you've fared much worse than Pony 198 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: Express writers as far as activity and attack from Native 199 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:02,000 Speaker 1: Americans because you were sitting duck basically in a station 200 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:04,520 Speaker 1: that that seems to be no more than just like 201 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:07,240 Speaker 1: four walls and a dirt floor and maybe a horse 202 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: corral and a thing to put water in, yeah, on 203 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,679 Speaker 1: the open prairie. Yeah, you're sitting out there. Yeah. And 204 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:17,679 Speaker 1: during the Pyramid Lake War, hostilities between the Piute and 205 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:21,520 Speaker 1: Shoshonees who had banded together with the Pyramid Lake tribe, 206 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:27,200 Speaker 1: those Um, those three groups rose up together against UM, 207 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: these settlers that you're, the Euro American settlers who have 208 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: been UM coming out there and just basically encroaching on 209 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:37,360 Speaker 1: their land. The thing that the straw that broke the 210 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:41,640 Speaker 1: camel's back was UM. A pair of Um brothers, Euro 211 00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 1: American brothers kidnapped a couple of Piute I think twelve 212 00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:49,960 Speaker 1: year old girls and raped them and kept them hidden 213 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 1: at one of these little towns, these little frontier towns, 214 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: and the Piute Indians got wind of this and went 215 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:01,440 Speaker 1: and found them killed. Bole of the people burned the 216 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:04,960 Speaker 1: town down and then started going from like towntown or 217 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:07,559 Speaker 1: um town to town, but also a way station to 218 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:12,319 Speaker 1: way station, just like UM, massacring people there, burning down 219 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:17,239 Speaker 1: way stations, just basically like torching all these places, right Um. 220 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:20,720 Speaker 1: And at first, the the cavalry was called in and 221 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:26,079 Speaker 1: grossly underestimated what the Paiu and Shoshone and Pyramid Um 222 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:30,880 Speaker 1: group was capable of uh, and just got got whooped basically, 223 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 1: and then the they further reinforcements that got called in. 224 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,400 Speaker 1: We're basically able to bring it to a standoff. But this, 225 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:43,640 Speaker 1: this whole thing just raised tensions from simmering below, you know, 226 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:46,320 Speaker 1: the surface, to out and out right what you would 227 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 1: call a war between these tribes and the Americans who 228 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 1: were pressing into their land. So from that moment on, 229 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 1: it got way more difficult and scarier to be a 230 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: Pony Express rider. And as per Pony Express history, this 231 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: happened like ten weeks after the first rider disembarked. Yeah, 232 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 1: so they I mean not only did it cost them, 233 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 1: uh men, but it costs them about seventy five grand, 234 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: and this is an eighteen sixty it's like to something 235 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 1: million today. Yeah, I mean that was a huge loss. 236 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: So they started they ramped up their operation to try 237 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:24,160 Speaker 1: and make up for that, and all of a sudden 238 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 1: they were delivering twice a week instead of once a week. Uh. 239 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:30,600 Speaker 1: And they eventually tried to lower their prices too, but 240 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:33,280 Speaker 1: it just none of it worked, and financially it was 241 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 1: a mess. Uh. Like I said earlier, they didn't really 242 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:38,600 Speaker 1: keep a lot of records. They either didn't keep them, 243 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: or they may have destroyed them. That's what I think, 244 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 1: to avoid creditors, because these guys were not the greatest 245 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:46,280 Speaker 1: well I don't know if they weren't the greatest businessmen, 246 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:49,320 Speaker 1: but they surely didn't farewell in this case. Well one 247 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: of them was supposedly an outright calm man Russell. Oh yeah, 248 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 1: yeah he was. He was supposedly he was the spokesperson 249 00:14:57,680 --> 00:14:59,880 Speaker 1: for this this business venture, and he was good at that, 250 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 1: but he was not, um, not a great stand up 251 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:06,560 Speaker 1: guy as far as business is concerned. So the image 252 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: that you get in your head of Pony Express or 253 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:12,600 Speaker 1: these guys riding full bore on these horses being chased 254 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 1: by Native Americans and desperados, and uh, apparently all the 255 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 1: you know, many of the books over the years, even 256 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: ones that sound U super official a lot of times 257 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 1: were just made up stories. Uh when and we'll talk 258 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:31,280 Speaker 1: a little bit about who finally got in touch with 259 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,520 Speaker 1: a lot of these riders. But apparently when they were 260 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:39,000 Speaker 1: um officially on record, they didn't talk a lot about 261 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,920 Speaker 1: fighting the Native Americans or anyone. They talked about the weather, 262 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: stinking about being ripped off and not being paid. Uh, 263 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 1: sort of like normal business complaints. And it wasn't like 264 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 1: the thing that you see at the Wells Fargo Bank, 265 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,040 Speaker 1: like yeah, we rode horses fast, but it kind of sucked, right. 266 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 1: But the thing is is like this, this was a 267 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:07,280 Speaker 1: a legend in its own time, is how I've seen it. Put. Um, well, 268 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: we'll talk about that after a break. How about that. 269 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: Let's do it, okay. Um so Chuck, we said that, 270 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 1: like the Pony Express was a legend, and sometimes that's 271 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:48,000 Speaker 1: absolutely true. Like there was again in part of William 272 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:54,360 Speaker 1: Russell's superior spokesperson ship. I think is a word. Um 273 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:58,880 Speaker 1: they like newspapers wrote about it in Sacramento they called it, 274 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:02,760 Speaker 1: there are friend the pony Um. I think they were 275 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,000 Speaker 1: referring to drugs. I think they were talking about the 276 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:09,199 Speaker 1: Pony Express. But um, like people love the Pony Express. 277 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:11,959 Speaker 1: It was It was just hugely innovative and the idea 278 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:14,360 Speaker 1: that like these guys were out there riding as fast 279 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:18,560 Speaker 1: as they can for scores of miles with bandits on 280 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:21,600 Speaker 1: their tails, just to bring us the mail. People fell 281 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,840 Speaker 1: in love with this thing, even though at the end 282 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 1: of the day the thing lasted like eighteen months. Like 283 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: the Pony Express, it was huge legend that we think of. 284 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:36,000 Speaker 1: It was an eighteen month business venture that ultimately failed, right, 285 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 1: but it was a legend um. And one of the 286 00:17:39,119 --> 00:17:41,600 Speaker 1: reasons that was a legend is because there there were 287 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:45,480 Speaker 1: a um, I mean, there were real deal exploits going 288 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:47,880 Speaker 1: on on the trail. There were some writers who were 289 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: just amazing, Like one guy was called, um, what was 290 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 1: pony Bob's last name? Has them? Right, pony Bob has them. 291 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,080 Speaker 1: He was one of the writers for the Pony to 292 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:03,720 Speaker 1: Express who ironically wasn't as legendary as he should have 293 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:06,159 Speaker 1: been because he was the actual real deal, but he 294 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:08,439 Speaker 1: ended up being forgotten because they get the impression he 295 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:10,760 Speaker 1: wasn't much of a self promoter. Yeah, he made a 296 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 1: legendary documented journey of three hundred and eighty miles without relief. 297 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:20,600 Speaker 1: At one point where he basically road to road and 298 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 1: road and road went to his station to switch riders, 299 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:26,399 Speaker 1: and the guy there was like, well, I'm not going, 300 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:30,440 Speaker 1: Like there's there's indians out there trying to kill me. 301 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 1: And so he was like, all right, I'm gonna keep going. 302 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:36,320 Speaker 1: And he kept going and delivered the mail and eventually 303 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:38,080 Speaker 1: made his way back and and it ended up being 304 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 1: a three eighty mile round trip. And he's, like I said, 305 00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:44,640 Speaker 1: there's not a lot of great documentation. But even though 306 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:48,159 Speaker 1: he's been lost to history, he was very well documented 307 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 1: as an expert writer. Yeah, he definitely was. Um, there 308 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 1: was another one called Billy Fisher who had a pretty 309 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 1: interesting claim to fame. He was out riding on the 310 00:18:58,119 --> 00:19:01,760 Speaker 1: trail and um, it was during a snowstorm. So this 311 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,160 Speaker 1: is another thing too. You said that the riders complained 312 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:08,400 Speaker 1: about things like the terrible weather, like they were carrying 313 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:18,919 Speaker 1: mail from um, let's see Missouri to Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, California. 314 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,920 Speaker 1: Weather especially say like in January, you're gonna run into 315 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,800 Speaker 1: some terrible snowstorms, right, And Billy Fisher found himself in 316 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:31,040 Speaker 1: one of these snowstorms and he first he just dismounted. 317 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:32,800 Speaker 1: He's like, I just gotta go over here and go 318 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 1: to sleep for a little while in a blizzard. And um, 319 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,480 Speaker 1: he started to fall asleep and he woke up to 320 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: something licking his face and it was a jack rabbit 321 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 1: who had basically licked his face till he woke up. 322 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,919 Speaker 1: I didn't know they licked. I think this may have 323 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:52,840 Speaker 1: been as his spirit animal actually uh, and the rabbit 324 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:55,639 Speaker 1: like startled Billy Fisher, and Billy Fisher startled the rabbit 325 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,119 Speaker 1: and the rabbit ran off, But it woke Billy Fisher up, 326 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,000 Speaker 1: and he said, if that rabbit had licked my face 327 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:01,919 Speaker 1: and woke me up, I never would have woken up. 328 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:03,639 Speaker 1: I would have just frozen to death out there in 329 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:06,680 Speaker 1: this blizzard. But he was woken up enough and realized 330 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:08,560 Speaker 1: the gravity of the situation enough they got back on 331 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,880 Speaker 1: his horse and kept rioting to safety. Sounds like legend, yeah, 332 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 1: And to to top it off, his great great grandson 333 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,119 Speaker 1: is William Fisher, who was one of the U S 334 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:22,360 Speaker 1: astronauts who flew the Space Shuttle. So legend, and these 335 00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:26,000 Speaker 1: stories are like going around and like being circulated in 336 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:30,240 Speaker 1: newspapers and among people while the pony expresses going on, Yeah, 337 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 1: I mean there were some very bad, uh not exploit 338 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: of sensationalist books written over the years. And then there 339 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: was also a couple of real legitimate dudes, Captain Sir 340 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:48,960 Speaker 1: Richard Burton, the famous British explorer, and one Samuel Clemens 341 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,880 Speaker 1: year old future Mark Twain. They both individually, um kind 342 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:57,600 Speaker 1: of spent some time out there documenting the Pony Express, 343 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:00,880 Speaker 1: and it seems like Burton didn't have a good time 344 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,040 Speaker 1: out there. He didn't like the West. He did. He 345 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: always complained about the flies and the fleas and just 346 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: the filth and just the people. He just was not 347 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:12,120 Speaker 1: a fan. But he still gave a fairly accurate account 348 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 1: of like the day to day of a Pony Express 349 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 1: writer Clemens, Mr. The Future Mark Twain seemed to have 350 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:22,160 Speaker 1: a good time. And you know, in his true fashion, 351 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: wrote some of the uh some really flower flowery eyewitness 352 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: testimony about seeing these horsemen coming across the tundra and 353 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:36,760 Speaker 1: the planes. It's pretty cool. You're gonna read that? No, well, 354 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,480 Speaker 1: everybody go read that. It's in um Roughing It, which 355 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:43,640 Speaker 1: is his book about traveling the US, and he surfs 356 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 1: in it. Did you know that? I didn't. He goes 357 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:49,240 Speaker 1: to Hawaii and tries surfing when they used to surfing, 358 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:53,720 Speaker 1: like ten ft long wooden boards. Head clean off. Go 359 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,440 Speaker 1: go read that quote in your in your best hell 360 00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 1: hole brook impression. Really good way to do it. I'm 361 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:05,919 Speaker 1: more a Val Kilmer Mark Twain guy, that's right. I 362 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:11,040 Speaker 1: forgot he did that. Everyone did Chuck man Um. So 363 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 1: you had Mark Twain and Captain Sir Richard Burton providing 364 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: like contemporary accounts. But that's like, that is virtually it, right, 365 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,920 Speaker 1: there were again this is a failed business venture. Let's 366 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:25,480 Speaker 1: go ahead and tell him what happened? Why it was 367 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 1: failed business venture? Chuck? Why why ultimately died? Well, they 368 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: finally hooked up the two, they finally closed that gap 369 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:36,920 Speaker 1: on the telegraph. They're like, well, we can go coast 370 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:41,280 Speaker 1: to coast now, so you're you're sort of immediately literally 371 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: immediately out of business. Yeah, the first two days later 372 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,840 Speaker 1: they closed. The first rider headed out on April third, 373 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:52,600 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty and it was October twenty six of eighteen 374 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 1: sixty one where the last one headed out from St. Joe's. 375 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:58,919 Speaker 1: And some people will say, well, it didn't actually stop 376 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:02,080 Speaker 1: in October. It was actually in November because those Mochilas 377 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:06,520 Speaker 1: didn't end up into in Sacramento until November. That's fine, whatever. 378 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: It was like eighteen months, seventies something weeks of Operation 379 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,760 Speaker 1: um and people loved it at the time. But as 380 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:18,680 Speaker 1: with most things, once the new, better, greater thing came 381 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:22,520 Speaker 1: along the telegram, they forgot about it pretty quick and 382 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:26,560 Speaker 1: we really honestly would not have any recollection of the 383 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,000 Speaker 1: Pony Express. It would be a footnote to a footnote 384 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:34,280 Speaker 1: in history if it weren't for one guy named Buffalo 385 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:38,320 Speaker 1: Bill Cody, who actually is the reason why we all 386 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:40,800 Speaker 1: remember the Pony Express. He had a soft spot in 387 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:44,120 Speaker 1: his heart for um, not just the Pony Express itself, 388 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:47,560 Speaker 1: but one of um the founders. I think it was 389 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:52,360 Speaker 1: Alexander Major's right, Yeah, I think so who um gave 390 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:54,360 Speaker 1: a h he was a kid, gave him a job 391 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:56,920 Speaker 1: when he was a kid. And while Bill um would 392 00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:59,440 Speaker 1: go on or Buffalo Bill would go on to uh 393 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:01,880 Speaker 1: to say, a well, I was actually a Pony Express writer. 394 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:05,920 Speaker 1: All historical evidence suggests that that is not actually the case, 395 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 1: but um, he definitely did work for Alexander Majors, who 396 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:13,200 Speaker 1: was one of the owners of the Pony Express as 397 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:16,360 Speaker 1: a horseback messenger, just not a Pony Express writer, which 398 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:20,400 Speaker 1: if you're talking about Pony Express legend, that's a major distinction. Yeah. 399 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:23,040 Speaker 1: And Buffalo Bill would also go on to say, should 400 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:31,440 Speaker 1: a group brig front girl? Sorry? Is he called Buffalo Bill? Yeah? Okay, 401 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,280 Speaker 1: I always for some reason I thought it was a 402 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,560 Speaker 1: playoff of Buffalo Bill, like Buffalo Bob or something like that. 403 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:42,920 Speaker 1: It was Buffalo Bill because he skinned his victims. I remember, Uh, 404 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:45,959 Speaker 1: should we take a break? Geez, okay, sure, all right, 405 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:47,560 Speaker 1: let's take a break and we'll talk a little bit 406 00:24:47,560 --> 00:25:20,200 Speaker 1: more about Buffalo Bill right after this. Alright, So Buffalo 407 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,480 Speaker 1: Bill's Wild West, Uh, I want to always want to 408 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:27,280 Speaker 1: say Wild West Extravaganza. You can call it that, but 409 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 1: it was really Buffalo Bill's Wild West. That was a 410 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,560 Speaker 1: name of his big show that he took all over 411 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:35,680 Speaker 1: the country, delighting people with sharp shooting and horseback riding 412 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,879 Speaker 1: and all sorts of cool stuff, enchanting America with with 413 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:43,320 Speaker 1: the Old West, not just America, the world. Well, yeah, 414 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 1: and that's that's a solid point. I mean, he went 415 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,200 Speaker 1: all over Europe and that's why, and this article points 416 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,080 Speaker 1: out that's why to this day you can go to 417 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:55,120 Speaker 1: like a Pony Express themed club in Germany because back 418 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:57,679 Speaker 1: then he performed in front of Queen Victoria and Kaiser 419 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,520 Speaker 1: Billhelm and the and the Pope in Rome and basically 420 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:04,600 Speaker 1: kind of he always seemed to have at least one 421 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:11,320 Speaker 1: reported or purported Pony Express writer in the show. It 422 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:15,600 Speaker 1: was like one of the main um segments of his show. Yeah, 423 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,159 Speaker 1: so at one point he did have who was the 424 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:21,919 Speaker 1: uh Bronco Broncho Charlie Miller. No, no, no, well he 425 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,960 Speaker 1: had him. Oh, pony Bob has them. Yeah, Pony Bob 426 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:27,480 Speaker 1: worked for him for a little while and he is 427 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:31,960 Speaker 1: a definite legit writer. The other guy, what's his name, 428 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:35,640 Speaker 1: Broncho Billy Broncho, Charlie Miller. Oh no, that was Clint 429 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:39,439 Speaker 1: Eastwood Bronco Charlie Miller claimed to have been a Pony 430 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:42,120 Speaker 1: Express writer. A lot of men claim to have been 431 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:45,360 Speaker 1: over the years that were not. Uh, And they traced 432 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:48,399 Speaker 1: his his timeline back and he would have been ten 433 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:54,399 Speaker 1: or eleven, which is really stretching it, like it is possible. 434 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,719 Speaker 1: It's possible because they did go as low as like 435 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:02,280 Speaker 1: thirteen and fourteen. But uh, it was never super confirmed 436 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:04,879 Speaker 1: that this guy actually wrote for the Pony Express. But 437 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:08,840 Speaker 1: it kind of doesn't matter because apparently everyone loved him. Yeah, 438 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:11,480 Speaker 1: And and so the reason why it's stretching it but 439 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,760 Speaker 1: still in the realm of possibility is because so like 440 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:17,359 Speaker 1: when when William Russell would talk about the Pony Express 441 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:19,560 Speaker 1: and his company would say, like, these men have to 442 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,760 Speaker 1: take an oath not to drink or fight, which still, 443 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:26,000 Speaker 1: of course, yeah, we have like eighty eight people in 444 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:29,399 Speaker 1: the saddle and in reality, yeah, they were all drunk 445 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,959 Speaker 1: around like at all the way stations and on and 446 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:36,680 Speaker 1: on the trail. Um. And the impression is that you 447 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:39,560 Speaker 1: if you needed a rider and there was somebody who 448 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:42,040 Speaker 1: said i'll go, you, you were a Pony Express rider 449 00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: right then. So the idea that an eleven year old 450 00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 1: kids said i'll go and they said, all right, fine go, 451 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:52,200 Speaker 1: that could have possibly happened. So it's possible Bronco Charlie 452 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:54,480 Speaker 1: Miller did, right. But like you said, he was just 453 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:59,879 Speaker 1: such a great like old West archetype. They were like whatever, 454 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:04,560 Speaker 1: will believe anything you say. Yeah. So uh. Through the years, 455 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:06,720 Speaker 1: like we said, a lot of bad information, a lot 456 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:11,960 Speaker 1: of legend um everything from uh, from movies like N three, 457 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:15,359 Speaker 1: a paramount film called The Pony Express. Charlton Heston is 458 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:18,639 Speaker 1: Buffalo Bill. In the movie, Buffalo Bill teams up with 459 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:22,560 Speaker 1: wild Bill Hillock Hillcock to start the Pony Express. And 460 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:25,080 Speaker 1: as this author said, there is not a shard effect 461 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:27,360 Speaker 1: in the entire film. I don't know if he meant 462 00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:30,840 Speaker 1: shred s all right, he could have said ship though, 463 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:34,000 Speaker 1: And then this the um if you read this, it 464 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:36,879 Speaker 1: sounds super cool, like a notice in the St. Louis 465 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,800 Speaker 1: and San Francisco newspaper that said wanted young, skinny, wiry 466 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:44,160 Speaker 1: fellows not over eighteen, must be expert writers willing to 467 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,959 Speaker 1: risk death. Daily orphans preferred way just twenty five dollars 468 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,600 Speaker 1: per week. And that seems like, man, what a great 469 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 1: job listing for the Pony Express orphans That was written 470 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:59,280 Speaker 1: in the twentieth century by a journalist in the Sunset magazine. 471 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:03,400 Speaker 1: To that probably wasn't even true. No, no, that's so 472 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: like again there was. It was forgotten like I think 473 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:10,960 Speaker 1: Alexander Major's wrote his um memoirs. Remember he was one 474 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,440 Speaker 1: of the three guys who owned the Pony Express. He 475 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:18,000 Speaker 1: wrote his memoirs like thirty forty years after Um, the 476 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:22,520 Speaker 1: Pony Express his last ride. So and by this time 477 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:25,280 Speaker 1: most people had forgotten it. And again it was Buffalo 478 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,840 Speaker 1: Bill who came along, actually paid a visit to Alexander 479 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:31,280 Speaker 1: Majors and found him in a fairly sorry state. He 480 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:33,960 Speaker 1: was broke, he was in poor health, and said, you 481 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:36,320 Speaker 1: gave me my first job when I was eleven after 482 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,680 Speaker 1: my father died, and I want to repay you by 483 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:40,440 Speaker 1: taking care of you. So he put him in a show. 484 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,520 Speaker 1: He let him stay at his old Scouts Rest ranch 485 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:46,720 Speaker 1: in Nebraska, just basically took care of him. But he 486 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:50,080 Speaker 1: also was like, we've got to publish this book. So 487 00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:54,040 Speaker 1: he got Rand McNally to actually publish this book about 488 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:58,480 Speaker 1: his life as a freight old West freight legend guy, 489 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:02,800 Speaker 1: including the Pony ex Press, and that was some of 490 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:05,600 Speaker 1: the earliest documentation about it. But it also kicked off 491 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:10,200 Speaker 1: like this history of terrible documentation, of just surrounding the 492 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 1: whole thing with tall tales and embellishments, and it just 493 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:17,719 Speaker 1: very quickly became it's very tough to to root fact 494 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,800 Speaker 1: from fiction even today, even at some of these places 495 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:23,800 Speaker 1: that are like, this is actually what this museum is. 496 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:29,040 Speaker 1: A A Pony express Way station may not be the case. 497 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 1: They're not entirely certain what the trail was any longer. 498 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,479 Speaker 1: They think that there's some pristine segments that are aren't 499 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:39,200 Speaker 1: covered over by um tracks of some sort that they're 500 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:42,880 Speaker 1: actually like, this was the the course that the Pony 501 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:45,280 Speaker 1: Express took, but they're not a d percent sure. It 502 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:48,040 Speaker 1: just got lost the time. Yeah, I don't even think 503 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:51,880 Speaker 1: we mentioned that Buffalo bill Um. That job he got 504 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:55,160 Speaker 1: was was as a horseback delivery writer for the initial 505 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:58,160 Speaker 1: freight company. But he never wrote for the Pony Express. 506 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:01,160 Speaker 1: Though he did he right claim to or just kind 507 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:03,440 Speaker 1: of let people send that. No. In his in his 508 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:07,000 Speaker 1: in the notes for the Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, 509 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:09,160 Speaker 1: it talked about how he was and then it would 510 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:11,960 Speaker 1: say you should buy his autobiography it shows even more. 511 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:14,160 Speaker 1: And then they would talk in depth about how he 512 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:16,760 Speaker 1: rode for the Ponty. Was for sure, if you were 513 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:19,840 Speaker 1: from the Old West of this time, you were basically 514 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:23,480 Speaker 1: expected to just lie constantly about some of the things 515 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,560 Speaker 1: you've done. And same not just with Buffalo Bill. Wild 516 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,600 Speaker 1: Bill Hiccock said the same thing. He worked for the 517 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:32,400 Speaker 1: Pony Express too, and he did. But he was one 518 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:35,160 Speaker 1: of those guys who ran away station intended to the 519 00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:40,760 Speaker 1: horses lame well. He was bigger and older, so he 520 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:42,680 Speaker 1: couldn't write. You know, it wasn't his fault. He's a 521 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:46,360 Speaker 1: victim of circumstances. Yeah, there are also a bunch of uh. 522 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:49,920 Speaker 1: There was a series of last living Pony Express riders 523 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:55,240 Speaker 1: throughout the years. Um Various newspapers, even sometimes multiple times 524 00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:58,560 Speaker 1: in the same newspaper over the years, would print articles 525 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:03,240 Speaker 1: claiming that the lad Pony Express writer has just died. Um, 526 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:04,960 Speaker 1: so we don't know if you know, any of them 527 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:08,520 Speaker 1: were or not, or if they were the last or not. Uh. 528 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:12,240 Speaker 1: And it finally took a woman named a poet, apparently 529 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:15,560 Speaker 1: not a very good one, named Mabel Loving, who said, well, 530 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,880 Speaker 1: why don't you know was this someone actually write letters 531 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:21,000 Speaker 1: and get in touch with some of these people and 532 00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:24,600 Speaker 1: get the true dirt. And she did that. She apparently 533 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:28,600 Speaker 1: wrote letters and had some correspondents with the surviving Pony 534 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:32,560 Speaker 1: Express writers as an amateur poet and said this was 535 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:36,760 Speaker 1: right before World War One, And apparently that is some 536 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:39,440 Speaker 1: of the only like real documentation we have from some 537 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:42,600 Speaker 1: of the real writers that she eventually published in something 538 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:47,920 Speaker 1: called The Pony Express Rides on exclamation Point, which apparently 539 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:52,560 Speaker 1: can still buy if you have a lot of money. Uh. Yeah, 540 00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:54,800 Speaker 1: it's like a collectible, I'm sure, yeah, I think. And 541 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:59,320 Speaker 1: supposedly the printers lost a couple of the chapters, so 542 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:01,200 Speaker 1: like even if you buy a copy, it's not and 543 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:04,960 Speaker 1: it's intact form because nobody took that very seriously, I 544 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 1: think probably because of the exclamation point. It's never a 545 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:13,360 Speaker 1: good idea. No, Um, you got anything else? Well, I mean, 546 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:18,000 Speaker 1: I guess the PostScript is Uh, after this telegraph that, 547 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 1: like I said, two days after it was hooked up, 548 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:23,160 Speaker 1: they realized that they were done for because they were 549 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 1: already in bad financial straits. So watt l went home 550 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:30,720 Speaker 1: to Missouri. He was broke and in debt. He sold 551 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 1: us home to his son for a dollar and still 552 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:37,000 Speaker 1: lived there. Uh. And apparently he died in April of 553 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:40,360 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy two, never worked again. Um Russell, who was 554 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:43,640 Speaker 1: only forty eight, went to New York. Failed as a stockbroker. 555 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:46,840 Speaker 1: Apparently no one trusted him. He filed for bankruptcy in 556 00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:51,040 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty five. Uh and this was what just five 557 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:55,320 Speaker 1: years after it shut down, sold off his assets to 558 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,520 Speaker 1: pay his creditors, went back to Missouri finally because of 559 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:02,040 Speaker 1: poor health, and died in eighteen seventy two. And then 560 00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:06,000 Speaker 1: Majors lived the longest. Uh. And we know his story, 561 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:08,799 Speaker 1: Like you said, Buffalo Bill helped him publish his book. Right. 562 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:11,920 Speaker 1: And if there if Bronco Charlie Miller really was a 563 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:16,400 Speaker 1: pony Express rider, he definitely by far was the last 564 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:18,640 Speaker 1: one to die. He died at a hundred and five 565 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:23,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty five, and years before that at age 566 00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:26,840 Speaker 1: eighty two, he rode from New York to California on 567 00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:30,560 Speaker 1: horseback to bring attention back to the uh, the Pony 568 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:35,680 Speaker 1: Express and the glory of it. Wow Pony Express. So 569 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,200 Speaker 1: final facts, they ended up losing about two hundred grand 570 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:42,520 Speaker 1: in that day's money, which is millions of dollars now. 571 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:47,920 Speaker 1: The personal best delivery time, apparently was when they carried 572 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:52,000 Speaker 1: Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address. They got it to California in 573 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:56,840 Speaker 1: seven days, seventeen hours, and in the end they delivered 574 00:34:56,840 --> 00:34:59,360 Speaker 1: about thirty five thousand pieces of mail over that eighteen 575 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 1: or nineteen months. And I think, isn't it wasn't only 576 00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:06,400 Speaker 1: one mail shipment that didn't only one fail to make it? 577 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:09,160 Speaker 1: That's what I understand. Yeah, it's pretty good track record 578 00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:12,239 Speaker 1: for a failed business. It's not bad at all. They 579 00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:14,600 Speaker 1: all they wrote it combined half a million miles in 580 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:19,440 Speaker 1: that time. Pretty great. And again that's the Pony Express, 581 00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:23,439 Speaker 1: totally different than what you thought about, but also sort 582 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:25,160 Speaker 1: of the same. I just didn't know that it was 583 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:31,319 Speaker 1: such a flopt. You just bad timing, terrible timing. Man. Um. Well, 584 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:33,520 Speaker 1: if you wanted more about the Pony Express, we'll get 585 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:35,400 Speaker 1: on out there on the trail. You varm it and 586 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:38,520 Speaker 1: check it out yourself. Uh. And since I said farm 587 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:41,960 Speaker 1: and it's time for listener mail. Oh no, no, it's not. 588 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:58,000 Speaker 1: Oh boy, it's time for administrated all right. Okay, for 589 00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:02,400 Speaker 1: the uninitiated, this is where Josh and I and Jerry, 590 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:05,760 Speaker 1: by way of our voices, thank you for the nice 591 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:08,080 Speaker 1: things that you have sent us in the mail. Thank 592 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:13,839 Speaker 1: you gifts, tokens, crafts, books, postcards, letters. By the way, 593 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:17,560 Speaker 1: I didn't log all the postcards and letters. That can 594 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:19,880 Speaker 1: be tough. It can be tough. How about a blanket? 595 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,520 Speaker 1: Thank you to everyone who sent us postcards in line Ofsgreed. 596 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:26,880 Speaker 1: Thank you all right, Dan Kent, thank you big time 597 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:31,479 Speaker 1: for sending us Pliny the Elder beer and T shirts. Yes. 598 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:35,440 Speaker 1: Thanks to the Bar Fight Supply Company for all the 599 00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:40,120 Speaker 1: awesome leather goods, including the um the Mole skin holder, 600 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 1: which I use a lot. Yeah yeah, the business card 601 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:45,640 Speaker 1: holders all that jam. Thank you very much. Guys. Kelly 602 00:36:45,719 --> 00:36:50,200 Speaker 1: Sumski of Two Little Els, she sent us a or 603 00:36:50,239 --> 00:36:53,640 Speaker 1: sent me a painted rock in memory of the Wizard 604 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:56,680 Speaker 1: of my cat who passed. Sweet. It was very sweet 605 00:36:56,719 --> 00:36:59,759 Speaker 1: and very sad to get, but in a good way. 606 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:04,640 Speaker 1: Uh that bitter sweet. Chris Wallzac sent us beer from Hamburg, 607 00:37:04,719 --> 00:37:07,239 Speaker 1: New York, and I p A. Thank you, Chris um 608 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:10,200 Speaker 1: Andy Krueger, you sent me a Ween T shirt that 609 00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:13,960 Speaker 1: I wear all the time, including on stage in Atlanta. 610 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:18,680 Speaker 1: I saw it myself. Um. Anna Dyne coffee. Uh they 611 00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:23,319 Speaker 1: sent us some coffee from Milwaukee. Thanks Anna Dyne. Jeremiah 612 00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:27,880 Speaker 1: and Mason Brandrick, Oh I remember this. They sent us 613 00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,520 Speaker 1: the F five I p A, which is a beer 614 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:33,600 Speaker 1: I had when I spent some time in Tulsa. So 615 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:37,520 Speaker 1: it's I think a Tulsa beer and some beer in 616 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:45,160 Speaker 1: Bear in Stein Bear shirts soaked in cologne. It seemingly 617 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,920 Speaker 1: soaked in cologne. They they they're like, here, huh, you 618 00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:51,480 Speaker 1: look like you smell. We're gonna make you pretty. It 619 00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:57,160 Speaker 1: was interesting. Julie sent us handmade personalized Christmas ornaments, which 620 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:00,000 Speaker 1: it's been a while since we did this. Or um 621 00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:04,319 Speaker 1: for Jerry, you, me, Emily and the kids. Yeah, yeah, 622 00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:06,759 Speaker 1: very nice. Those are great. Actually yeah that was on 623 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:10,439 Speaker 1: my tree. Uh. Kaylee Hamar sent uh my dog Niko 624 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:16,279 Speaker 1: some pet treats. Nice pet treater, very nice. Lindsay Lundstrom 625 00:38:16,760 --> 00:38:20,120 Speaker 1: sent us some wonderful bottle key cap or bottle cap 626 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:23,680 Speaker 1: key chains. Yeah, there was s y s K one 627 00:38:23,719 --> 00:38:27,880 Speaker 1: and don't be dumb one Last Chance Garage Mama Jerry 628 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:32,719 Speaker 1: Red Dragon and she's out of Etsy and Facebook at 629 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:35,759 Speaker 1: Red Dragon Handcrafts. Check them out. You're gonna love him. Yeah, 630 00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:40,239 Speaker 1: it's good stuff. Becca sent Uh sent me a library 631 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:43,920 Speaker 1: copy of a book, my children's book that I was 632 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:46,720 Speaker 1: so fond of as a kid, The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper. 633 00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:49,800 Speaker 1: I'm really excited to read this with my daughter, Becca, 634 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:52,760 Speaker 1: So thank you so much for sending that. Kelly Butler 635 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:56,680 Speaker 1: Olson sent Murdered by Death a copy of Murder by Death, 636 00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,919 Speaker 1: arguably one of the greatest boof movies of all time. 637 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:02,000 Speaker 1: I'm one of my favorites, so thank you. Kelly K. 638 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:07,400 Speaker 1: B oh Taylor Stonehawker sent lovely Christmas card and handmade 639 00:39:07,400 --> 00:39:12,440 Speaker 1: caramels which were demons. And nick' Stiglick sent us some 640 00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:15,160 Speaker 1: stroop waffles, those amazing things that you put over your 641 00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:17,359 Speaker 1: coffee to heat up. Yeah, we've we've got more than 642 00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:21,040 Speaker 1: one stroop waffle, so if you also sent stroop waffles Mini, 643 00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:25,560 Speaker 1: thanks and just send him again. Nathan for lots. Uh. 644 00:39:25,719 --> 00:39:29,279 Speaker 1: He's actually Australian he's an artist and he sent us. Uh. 645 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:33,840 Speaker 1: These are great variety of bookmarks, magnets, coloring books all. Uh. 646 00:39:34,200 --> 00:39:39,040 Speaker 1: There are animals with their bodies made of flowers and plants. Yeah, 647 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:41,640 Speaker 1: it's amazing. It's really nice, so you you should check 648 00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:45,600 Speaker 1: this out. It's online at uh Marini for Lazzo dot 649 00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:49,080 Speaker 1: au m A r I n I f E r 650 00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:51,640 Speaker 1: l a z z o dot au and a portion 651 00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:55,319 Speaker 1: of these sales go to wildlife conservation. So gorgeous and 652 00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:59,200 Speaker 1: well funded. Speaking of gorgeous, Aidan Dale sent us metal 653 00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:02,920 Speaker 1: sculpture orchids and you can find them at aiden a 654 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:05,799 Speaker 1: I D E N day old d A l e 655 00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:09,480 Speaker 1: dot com. Thank you, Aiden. Just a few more here, 656 00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:14,720 Speaker 1: folks alias Pagurko sitting honey from their three colony a pry. 657 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:18,480 Speaker 1: That's pretty great. Thanks. That was awesome. Robin sent us 658 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:22,040 Speaker 1: beer and mead from Wisconsin and it was well appreciated 659 00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:24,719 Speaker 1: and didn't last very long. Robin, thank you. We did 660 00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:29,120 Speaker 1: not drink Wisconsin bly, Robbin. It was great. That's a 661 00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:33,759 Speaker 1: T shirt. I didn't make it up. Bonnie Bowden sent 662 00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:38,799 Speaker 1: us Mulda Ramas guitars, which I think it got from 663 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:43,840 Speaker 1: third Man Records in Nashville um. And I think she 664 00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:46,440 Speaker 1: also sent the Willis Tower one which I was like, 665 00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:48,840 Speaker 1: what the heck is the Willis Tower? And I was like, oh, 666 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:51,920 Speaker 1: that's the Sears Tower. Well, and we got actually more 667 00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:54,839 Speaker 1: than one person sent us molda ramas. Yeah, like Luke 668 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,839 Speaker 1: and David shirt Skull, father and son. This sent us 669 00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:01,400 Speaker 1: elephant molder ramas from war Chuck to leto Zoo fam, 670 00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:04,960 Speaker 1: which has probably the largest selection of mole rama's outside 671 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:07,000 Speaker 1: of the Chicago land area. It's right, and you grew 672 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:10,480 Speaker 1: up right there in the gorilla cage. It's right. Nathan 673 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:14,680 Speaker 1: sent us his band c d ep Missouri Loves Company 674 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:20,560 Speaker 1: or Missouri or Missouri Missouri Loves Company. Philip la Palm, 675 00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:26,880 Speaker 1: great name, sent Robert Shaw Jaws Christmas card to Chuck. 676 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:30,439 Speaker 1: That's right. And then finally, just a couple of weeks ago, 677 00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:33,880 Speaker 1: I got sent some guitar picks from Forever Pick. And 678 00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:37,759 Speaker 1: apparently these picks have like a better sustain and better performance. 679 00:41:38,239 --> 00:41:40,000 Speaker 1: And I have not yet plucked with him, but I 680 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:43,120 Speaker 1: can't wait to use my Forever picks. That is fantastic. 681 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:45,840 Speaker 1: You have some more, Yeah, We've got just a couple more, Chuck, 682 00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:48,879 Speaker 1: if you'll bear with me, take us home. Brother. Um 683 00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:53,200 Speaker 1: Josh Jones sent us catfish Head vodka. Oh yeah, thanks 684 00:41:53,200 --> 00:41:56,080 Speaker 1: a lot, Josh. Um Doug sent us an amazing poster 685 00:41:56,200 --> 00:42:00,880 Speaker 1: congratulating us for a thousand episodes, and old Off and 686 00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:03,920 Speaker 1: Millie the Shop Dogs sent us the amazing railroad spike 687 00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:08,760 Speaker 1: bottle openers. Remember those you can go to church mouseforge 688 00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:11,680 Speaker 1: dot com. And dude, I want to say Ian Newton, 689 00:42:11,719 --> 00:42:15,880 Speaker 1: who founded the Baltimore Whiskey Company. Ian has been sending 690 00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:18,560 Speaker 1: us stuff like the shot Tower Gin. It's kind of 691 00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:21,400 Speaker 1: like a multi gen that I love. Um sent that 692 00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:24,399 Speaker 1: bourbon that you love. Just has been sending us some 693 00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:27,239 Speaker 1: pretty great stuff. So first of all, Ian, thank you. 694 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:31,280 Speaker 1: Second of all, Ian, keep it coming. And third, everybody 695 00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:35,600 Speaker 1: else who's not Ian, go check out Baltimore Whiskey Company's stuff. 696 00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:39,880 Speaker 1: The Baltimore Spirits Company. Um, they have just amazing booze 697 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:43,480 Speaker 1: that's locally made in Baltimore and you can tell it's 698 00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:47,000 Speaker 1: like craft distilled stuff. You're gonna love it. So thank 699 00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:51,120 Speaker 1: you to everybody who sent us anything. Ever, and if 700 00:42:51,160 --> 00:42:55,040 Speaker 1: you send us something in between the last administrative details 701 00:42:55,040 --> 00:42:57,480 Speaker 1: in this one, and we didn't say your name first 702 00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:00,000 Speaker 1: of all, we apologize. Secondly, get in touch of the 703 00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:01,759 Speaker 1: and let us know because we do want to thank you, 704 00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:05,560 Speaker 1: and it's just an oversight. We're not actually mad at you, okay. 705 00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:09,360 Speaker 1: And and I have even more. I want to thank 706 00:43:09,719 --> 00:43:13,439 Speaker 1: Doug Sashery. I know how to pronounce the name now. 707 00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:15,239 Speaker 1: I don't know if you guys remember or not, but 708 00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:20,960 Speaker 1: I mispronounced Tony Cocherri's seasoning creole seasoning. Uh. It turns 709 00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:24,560 Speaker 1: out it's Tony Sassaris and Doug let me know by 710 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:28,960 Speaker 1: sending me tons of Tony Sasheries products and they're awesome, 711 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:31,920 Speaker 1: So thank you, Doug. I also want to thank another Doug, 712 00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:36,040 Speaker 1: Doug Dixon, the CEO of Joel Cola, who sent us 713 00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:39,120 Speaker 1: some Jolke Cola care packages. And then every once in 714 00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:41,800 Speaker 1: a while people bring us stuff to our live shows. 715 00:43:42,200 --> 00:43:45,760 Speaker 1: So thank you to Ron from Dundee, Michigan for giving 716 00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:50,880 Speaker 1: me the um complete DVD set of Thunder the Barbarian, 717 00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:52,920 Speaker 1: which I've never seen all the way through because of 718 00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:56,040 Speaker 1: swimming lessons. And a very nice person gave us gooey 719 00:43:56,120 --> 00:43:59,360 Speaker 1: cakes at the St. Louis show. Uh, our friend Dale 720 00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:02,400 Speaker 1: from Australa, you send us a care package of Australian 721 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:07,959 Speaker 1: candy to um acclimate us to Australian Candy for Australia Tour. 722 00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:11,360 Speaker 1: And then John from Capastrano Beach who sent us a 723 00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:15,120 Speaker 1: giant puzzle wheel that I've yet to begin to even 724 00:44:15,360 --> 00:44:19,080 Speaker 1: try to figure out. So thank you John for this madness. 725 00:44:19,719 --> 00:44:21,680 Speaker 1: If you want to get in touch with us, whether 726 00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:24,840 Speaker 1: to send us something or just to say hi, you 727 00:44:24,880 --> 00:44:28,360 Speaker 1: can go onto our website stuff Podcast at how stuff 728 00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:31,719 Speaker 1: works dot com, check out our t shirt store at 729 00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:35,880 Speaker 1: t Public t e public dot com, slash stuff you 730 00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:38,040 Speaker 1: Should Know, and you can just send us a good 731 00:44:38,080 --> 00:44:41,840 Speaker 1: old fashioned email to stuff Podcast at how stuff works 732 00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:46,840 Speaker 1: dot com. Stuff you Should Know is a production of 733 00:44:46,880 --> 00:44:50,200 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit 734 00:44:50,239 --> 00:44:53,040 Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 735 00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:54,400 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.