This condensed statement shows the approximate deficit which the business incurred:
To equip the line .....................................$100,000
Maintenance at $30,000 per month (for sixteen months)..$480,000
War with the Utes and allied tribes ................... $75,000
Sundry items .......................................... $45,000
--------
Total .................................................$700,000
The receipts are said to have been about $500,000 leaving a debit balance of $200,000. That the Company changed hands in 1861 is not surprising.
While the Pony Express failed in a financial way; it had served the country faithfully and well. It had aided an imperiled Government, helped to tranquilize and retain to the Union a giant commonwealth, and it had shown the practicability of building a transcontinental railroad, and keeping it open for traffic regardless of winter snows. All this Pony Express did and more. It marked the supreme triumph of American spirit, of God-fearing, man-defying American pluck and determination--qualities which have always characterized the winning of the West.
[[41]] Senate Documents.