|
This article appeared in the Jan 27 1999 issue of
The Digby Courier
Riders Brought Big News
"Pony Express"
150th Anniversary
Before the telegraph reached Nova Scotia
and railroad tracks were laid across the province, there was news delivery by
pony express.
In reality it was a horse express - the name
"pony express" was borrowed from the Americans - and while it was a
short-lived venture, it stirred the imagination of Nova Scotians. The pony
express operated between Halifax and Digby Gut in 1849 for a period of about
nine months for the sole purpose of rushing European news to a group of
newspapers in New York.
I have Ivan Smith,Canning, to thank for
pointing out that Feb.21 is the anniversary date of the 1st running of this
little-known enterprise. "This occasion deserves some media
recognition" Mr. Smith said recently via e-mail.
Mr. Smith forwarded an article on the pony express
by John W. Regan, which ran in the Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical
Society in 1912. In a nutshell, the pony express was a relay service which
met mail Steamers from England and rushed dispatches to Digby Gut; from there
the dispatches were ferried to the St. John telegraph office and wired to New
York.
The pony express, in other words, was simply an
effort by the group of New York newspapers to be the first to print European
news in America.
As mentioned, the pony express had a short life
span. The telegraph lines were extended to Halifax in November, putting an
end to the courier service. However, from February to November, Nova Scotians
were treated to the dashing, often daily runs of the pony express. In his
Historical Society article, Regan said that at first there were "two
rival expresses" and the competition between them "passing through
a post-village caused as much excitement as a mail-steamer arriving in
Halifax."
According to Regan, the "relays of galloping
horses covered the 144 miles from Halifax to the Digby Gut in an average time
of eight hours or a mile in about 3.29 minutes." The fastest run may
have been seven hours and 15 minutes according to a letter published in the
Windsor Mail in 1879.
There is no doubt that these times were excellent
compared to other means of relaying news in Nova Scotia in that period. In
1830, for example, the top time for a passenger coach running from Halifax to
Annapolis was 18 hours excluding the overnight stop in Kentville. (Source
Woodworth's history of the Dominion Atlantic Railway)
In his article, Regan said the the journey from
Halifax to the ferry was "performed by two riders who changed at
Kentville and was divided into twelve stages with a fresh horse about every
twelve miles." Although it isn't made clear in the article, relay
stations may have been located in the Valley at Windsor, Kentville (and a
point halfway between these towns), Berwick, near Kingston. Another early
means of communication in Nova Scotia was mentioned recently by Leon Barron.
At one time there was a telegraph semaphore system linking Halifax with
Annapolis. Apparently the semaphore stations were placed in sight of each
other (obviously given the mean of communication) on hills along the old
Annapolis Road.
According to Smith, this system was in operation in
the late 1790's or early 1800's.
|
|
