The story of the Pony Express, which carried transcontinental mail from April 3, 1860 to October 24, 1861, is one of the most invigorating and satisfying episodes in American history. Saddles and Spurs: The Pony Express Saga brings together a storehouse of information about this brilliant operation. Projected against an account of the historical background-the great overland mail issue, the freighting and the stagecoach business, the development of the telegraph and the Pacific railroad-is the narrative of the Pony Express's organization and the laying out of its route; biographical sketches of the founders, company personnel, and riders; and a list and description of the stations. While undertaking their exhaustive research, the authors collected some three hundred photographs, of which more than fifty of the best appear in this volume. Mary Lund Settle and Raymond W. Settle collaborated on five books and numerous articles about the West.