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The Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company was a stagecoach line that operated in the American West in the early 1860s, but it is most well known as the parent company of the Pony Express. It was formed as a subsidiary of the freighting company Russell, Majors, and Waddell, after the latter two partners bought out Russell's stage line, the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express Company. The stage line had made its first journey from Westport, Missouri for Denver on March 9, 1859. Its stage lines ran from St. Joseph, Missouri to Denver and Salt Lake City and it succeeded the George Chorpenning contract for mail service from Utah to California in May 1860. In an attempt to win a more lucrative contract with the United States government, it started an express mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri and San Francisco, California on April 3, 1860, known as the Pony Express. Maintenance of frequent stage service and heavy losses from the Pony Express brought embarrassment to the C. O. C. & P. P. Express. When the Pony Express became obsolete upon completion of the Transcontinental Telegraph, the business ran out of cash and was sold to Ben Holladay for $100,000. ==Russell, Majors and Waddell== As the United States expanded westward in the early 19th century, the military erected forts and supply depots to protect and support this expansion. Initially the federal government contracted individuals or small companies to supply each post independently, but as the number of military posts continued to grow this system became increasingly time-consuming and inefficient. In 1854, Quartermaster General Thomas Jesup decided to change the system and implemented a single two-year contract to supply most of the posts west of the Missouri River. This consolidated contract was worth a lot of money and required more resources than many of the previous suppliers possessed. Alexander Majors was one of the individuals contracted by the United States government to supply military forts prior to 1854. He hauled freight along the Santa Fe Trail and had a reputation for success. William Waddell was a store owner in Lexington, Missouri who was described as "phlegmatic, stoical, ... a cautious penny-pincher, and unable to reach a decision without ponderous deliberation." In 1852 Waddell partnered in a wholesale trading firm with William Hepburn Russell, a good-looking entrepreneur of mixed success with social ambitions. In 1855, Waddell and Russell brought on Majors to go after the new military supply contract. Three months after forming their partnership, the firm of Russell, Majors, and Waddell received a two-year contract to supply all the military posts west of the Mississippi River. The three partners divided the labor based on the skills that each member brought to the firm. William Waddell managed the finances and made sure that their business activities ran smoothly. William Russell was the company salesman, generating contracts with the government and others as well as dealing with bankers to secure financing. Alexander Major oversaw the freighting operations which included hiring labor, supervising the loading and transport of freight, and making sure the trains were operating on time. The relationship between the three men were generally fine; Majors and Waddell had a similar conservative temperament and though Russell was the opposite, he was often on the East Coast seeking new contracts and investments. With a virtual monopoly on all western freighting contracting Russell, Majors, and Waddell became the largest freighting company in western Missouri.〔 The new contract with the War Department required a great deal of investment. Warehouses, stables, corrals, and wagon shops needed to be built and maintained; Wagon masters, freight handlers, herders and teamsters needed to be hired, housed, and paid; Oxen, wagons, and other equipment had to be acquired, stored, and moved about. The division of labor between the three partners of Russell, Majors, and Waddell was an important component in their success and the experience gained in organizing and managing the freighting enterprise served them well in their future endeavors. Between 1855 and 1856, the first two years of their government contract, business prospered and the firm made a profit of $300,000. Russell, Majors, and Waddell diversified, buying land and opening new stores. The success of the firm in handling the War Department's freighting naturally made them the choice for the next round and in February 1857 they signed the second contract.〔 In May 1857, the firm's wagon trains had been on the road for over a month when the Utah War broke out between the Mormons and the United States government. The government assembled 2,500 troops to send to Utah and required Russell, Majors, and Waddell to gather additional "wagons to transport two and half to three million pounds of military freight" to send with them. The company financed the new expedition by taking out large loans and leaning heavily on their credit. Over the course of the Utah War three wagon trains, worth more than $125,000 at the time, were lost. Having already maxed out their credit the company could not find new financiers and was practically bankrupt. Adding to their difficulties was the fact that Congress was unhappy with the war and did not pass the usual funding bill for the War Department which delayed payment for the 1857 contract. Despite this, the War Department required supplies and John B. Floyd, the Secretary of War, personally guaranteed the 1857 contract. Though an unusual situation, this allowed Russell, Majors, and Waddell to secure more credit and finance new supply trains.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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