When it comes to being on the alert and ready at any moment to do the job, it’s hard to beat the Pony Express.
This famous mail service between Missouri and California depended on constant movement and readiness. Relay stations were established along the 1,900-mile route every 10 to 25 miles. A rider, who was required to be under 18 years old and preferred to be an orphan, would shout aloud as he approached a station, giving the station master very short notice that he needed to be outside waiting with a fresh mount. Even when a rider came to the station where he was to spend the night, another rider was already mounted and waiting, ready to grab the first rider’s bundle of packages and continue the trip.
Here's the oath that each Pony Express Rider had to swear:
"I, ......, do hereby swear, before the Great and Living God, that during my engagement, and while I am an employee of Russell, Majors, and Waddell, I will, under no circumstances, use profane language, that I will drink no intoxicating liquors, that I will not quarrel or fight with any other employee of the firm, and that in every respect I will conduct myself honestly, be faithful to my duties, and so direct all my acts as to win the confidence of my employers, so help me God."
The completion of the transcontinental telegraph system rendered the Pony Express obsolete after just eighteen months. But this unique and historic service provides us with an intriguing example of what it means to be ever watchful as God's servants.
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