The Pony Express was a mail service operating from 1860 until 1861 that delivered messages, newspapers, mail, and small packages by horseback, keeping California in touch with the rest of the United States. Messages forwarded by Pony Express could cross the country in ten days. Its route from Sacramento, California, to St. Joseph, Missouri, had to cross the Sierra Nevada, the Rocky Mountains, and the Great Plains.Map: William Henry Jackson; restoration: Chris Woodrich