Robert Haslam (Pony Express)

Robert "Pony Bob" Haslam (January 1840,

United States Marshall in Salt Lake City. In his final years he worked in the Hotel Congress in Chicago. He made a personal business card

with a sketch of himself as a Pony Express rider at the age of twenty and entertained guests with stories of his adventures.

Haslam is credited with having made the longest round trip ride of the Pony Express. He had received the eastbound mail (probably the May 10 mail from San Francisco) at Friday's Station. At Buckland's Station his relief rider was so badly frightened over the Indian threat that he refused to take the mail. Haslam agreed to take the mail all the way to Smith's Creek for a total distance of 190 miles without a rest. After a rest of nine hours, he retraced his route with the westbound mail. At Cold Springs he found that Indians had raided the place, killing the station keeper and running off all of the stock. Finally he reached Buckland's Station, completing a 380-mile round trip, the longest on record for the Pony Express.^[1]

Haslam continued to work as a rider for Wells Fargo and Company after the U.S.

Buffalo Bill Cody on a diplomatic mission to negotiate the surrender of Chief Sitting Bull in December 1890. He drifted in and out of public mention but eventually died in Chicago during the winter of 1912 (age 72) in deep poverty after suffering a stroke.^[2] It is reported that Buffalo Bill paid for Pony Bob's headstone at Mount Greenwood Cemetery on Chicago's far south side; however, the business records indicate it was paid for by a family member. A map to the grave site is available from the cemetery office during regular business hours (all week, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM).^[3]

References

^ Bradley, Glenn D. The Story of the Pony Express: An Account of the Most Remarkable Mail Service Ever in Existence, and Its Place in History. Project Gutenberg Release #4671
^ Christopher Corbett, "Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express", Broadway Books, New York, 2003.
^ Personal interview on 29 November 2010 with Mount Greenwood Cemetery staff, 2900 West 111th Street, Chicago, IL

4.^ Riders of the pony express

Settle, Raymond W; Settle, Mary Lund (1955). Saddles and Spurs: The Pony Express Saga. Harrisburg, Pa., Stackpole Co.
Bloss, Roy S. Pony Express: The Great Gamble.
Bloss, Roy S, Thomas Bowdler's Elegy for the Pony Express: An Essay

[1] Bradley, Glenn D. The Story of the Pony Express: An Account of the Most Remarkable Mail Service Ever in Existence, and Its Place in History. Project Gutenberg Release #4671

[2] Christopher Corbett, "Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express", Broadway Books, New York, 2003.

[3] Personal interview on 29 November 2010 with Mount Greenwood Cemetery staff, 2900 West 111th Street, Chicago, IL

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