Editing Pony Express (section)

==Fastest mail service==
William Russell, senior partner of Russell, Majors, and Waddell, and one of the biggest investors in the Pony Express, used [[1860 United States presidential election|the 1860 presidential election]], of [[Abraham Lincoln]], as a way to promote the Pony Express and how fast it could deliver the U.S. Mail. This was an important event because just four years earlier, in [[1856 United States presidential election|the prior election]], it took months to get news of James Buchanan's win.<ref name="Nat Geo why fascinate">{{Cite web|last=Worrall|first=Simon|date=June 13, 2018|title=Book Talk: Why the Short-Lived Pony Express Still Fascinates Us|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/why-the-short-lived-pony-express-still-fascinates-us|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302182408/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/why-the-short-lived-pony-express-still-fascinates-us|archive-date=March 2, 2021|website=National Geographic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=1856 Presidential Election|url=https://www.270towin.com/1856_Election/|website=270 To Win}}</ref> The election of Lincoln was important because the newly-named president would have to take the country into the Civil War.<ref name="Nat Geo why fascinate" /> Prior to the election, Russell hired extra riders to ensure that fresh riders and relay horses were available along the route. On November 7, 1860, a Pony Express rider departed [[Fort Kearny]], Nebraska Territory (the end of the eastern telegraph line) with the election results. Riders briskly traversed the route, over snow-covered trails to Fort Churchill, Nevada Territory (the end of the western telegraph line). California's newspapers received word of Lincoln's election only 7 days and 17 hours after the East Coast papers, an "unrivaled feat at the time".<ref>
{{cite web
 |url=http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibits/2a5a2_ponyexpress.html 
 |title=Pony Express: ''Romance'' versus ''Reality'' 
 |publisher=[[National Postal Museum]] 
 |access-date=December 10, 2012 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021120155/https://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibits/2a5a2_ponyexpress.html 
 |archive-date=October 21, 2012 
}}</ref>