The watching crowd cheered as rider Billy Hamilton vaulted into the saddle and sent his pony racing through San Francisco to the city's dock area. At sunset on Tuesday, April 3, 1860, the little horse clattered up the gangplank of the steamer New World.
The New World dropped anchor at the city of 'Sacramento late that night. Billy Hamilton and his pony immediately dashed east to distant St. Joseph, Missouri. Their journey marked the start of the most unusual mail service in United States history--the Pony Express.
