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