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The Pony Express

驛馬快信

Long ago, there were no telephones or radios. There were no televisions or computers. There were no airplanes or cars. It was hard to get news all the way to California.

很久以前沒有電話和收音機(jī)，更沒有電視機(jī)和電腦。當(dāng)時(shí)的人們也沒有飛機(jī)或者汽車。加利福尼亞想得到外界的信息很困難。

People who lived in California needed a quick way to get mail and news from the East. People wanted news about their friends and families. They also wanted to know what was happening in other places in the country.

住在加利福尼亞的人們需要一種方法，一種能夠快速收到郵件和美國東部信息的方法。人們想得到朋友和家人的信息，也想知道美國其他各地發(fā)生的事件。

Three people started a company called the Pony Express. The Pony Express carried mail and news throughout the West. On April 3, 1860, one Pony Express rider rode west from St. Joseph, Missouri. St. Joseph was the last stop for trains coming from the East. On the same day, another rider rode east from Sacramento, California. Both young men carried four bags of mail. The Pony Express was much faster than the stagecoach. A stagecoach took one month to deliver mail. A Pony Express rider could do it in ten days.

當(dāng)時(shí)有三個(gè)人組建了一個(gè)名叫“驛馬快信”的公司，負(fù)責(zé)在美國西部運(yùn)送郵件和新聞。1860年4月3日，驛馬快信公司的一個(gè)騎士從密蘇里州的圣約瑟向西駛?cè)?。圣約瑟是從美國東部駛來的火車的最后一站。同一天，另一個(gè)騎士從加利福尼亞的薩克拉曼向東急速駛來。兩個(gè)年輕人各自攜帶四袋信件。驛馬快信要比當(dāng)時(shí)的公共馬車快多了。公共馬車送信歷時(shí)一月之久，而驛馬快信則能在十日之內(nèi)送到。

The Pony Express hired young men. They were often younger than 18 years old. They were skinny, too. No rider could weigh more than 120 pounds. That helped their ponies run longer and faster.

驛馬快信公司雇傭的都是年輕人，他們通常都在18歲以下，且身材極瘦。所有的騎士均不得超過120英磅。這樣有助于他們的馬匹跑得距離更長，時(shí)速更快。

The Pony Express ponies were mustangs. These were small, wild horses. The horses were less than five feet tall. They galloped almost twelve miles an hour. The horses were smart. They learned their routes fast.

驛馬快公司的馬匹都是體形小的野馬，它們身高不過五英尺，奔跑時(shí)時(shí)速可達(dá)12英里。這些馬很聰明，它們很快就能識(shí)途。

Besides riders, other people helped run the Pony Express. Some people worked at stations. One of their jobs was to take care of the company's horses. Riders picked up fresh horses when they stopped at stations.

除了騎士，經(jīng)營驛馬快信公司還需要其他的人手。一些人在驛站工作。他們的工作之一就是照料公司的馬匹，以便騎士們趕到驛站時(shí)有精力充沛的馬匹可騎。

The riders and the people who worked at the stations faced many dangers. One was the weather. Snowstorms slowed riders crossing the high mountains. Sandstorms slowed riders crossing the long, dry deserts. Wild animals like wolves were another danger. The riders also had to protect themselves from bandits. Bandits tried to steal horses. They also took whatever money the riders were carrying.

騎士和驛站工作人員都面臨許多危險(xiǎn)，惡劣天氣就是其中之一。暴風(fēng)雪會(huì)減慢騎士越過高山的速度。沙塵暴也會(huì)減慢騎士們穿越漫長干旱的沙漠的速度。狼等野生動(dòng)物也是一大危險(xiǎn)。此外，騎士們還得保護(hù)自己以防強(qiáng)盜的襲擊。強(qiáng)盜們不僅企圖偷馬，還會(huì)搶劫騎士們身上的錢財(cái)。

Still, there were young men willing to ride for the Pony Express. Together, they covered 2,000 miles of land. A rider would leave one station and gallop to another. At his first stop, he slipped the mail cover off the saddle. He threw it on the saddle of a new horse. Then he was off again. This took about two minutes. Each rider rode 60 to 80 miles. He stopped every 15 to 25 miles to get a fresh horse. At the end of his trip, a fresh rider on a fresh horse took his place. The first rider stayed at his last station until it was time for his next job.

盡管如此，仍然有年輕男士愿意在驛馬快信公司當(dāng)差。他們的足跡遍布2000英里的土地。騎士離開一個(gè)驛站快馬飛奔駛向下一個(gè)。在第一站時(shí)，他會(huì)把把郵袋從馬鞍上卸下，繼而把它扔到一匹新馬的馬鞍上繼續(xù)前行，中間的停頓僅有兩分鐘。每個(gè)騎士要騎60英里到80英里不等。每15到20英里會(huì)在驛站上做短暫地停留以換取新馬。當(dāng)一個(gè)騎士旅程結(jié)束后，會(huì)有一個(gè)新的騎士和一匹新的馬來接替他。第一個(gè)騎手則在他最終到達(dá)的驛站上等待下一次出征。

The Pony Express was successful. It delivered the mail faster than stagecoaches. But it only lasted about one and one-half years. It stopped running when telegraph wires reached California. By October 1861, the Pony Express closed its doors. Its riders and horses were no longer needed.

驛馬快信當(dāng)時(shí)很成功。它送信的速度比公共馬車快。然而它只維持了大約一年到一年半的光景。當(dāng)電報(bào)線在加利福尼亞設(shè)立后，驛馬快信就停止了營運(yùn)。1861年10月，驛馬快信公司徹底停業(yè)。至此，騎士和馬匹就再也不需要了。