In his Wild West show, Buffalo Bill romanticized the Pony Express, the horse-back delivered mail service that operated between April 1860 and October 1861. He also claimed to have been a rider for the Pony Express and that he completed the longest ride for the service.
But, Buffalo Bill Museum Curator Jeremy Johnston says whether he actually rode for the Pony Express is up for debate.
“We’re not 100 percent sure if Buffalo Bill actually rode for the Pony Express. People like Luther North, who was a colleague of Buffalo Bill, said that he was probably too young to ride for the famous Pony Express,” he said.
Johnston also points out that the records for the Pony Express are now gone, so we can’t go back and verify Buffalo Bill’s claims.
Johnston says while we may never know if Buffalo Bill rode for the mail service, the prominence Buffalo Bill gave the Pony Express in the Wild West show helped it become one of the most popular icons in the history of the American West.
“When Buffalo Bill created the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West he would include the Pony Express relay where riders would ride around the arena and demonstrate how the mailbags would be switched from the saddle to a saddle on a fresh mount,” he said.
A replica of the type of saddle used by riders and a photo of a poster depicting the Pony Express relay can be found in the gallery at the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody.
