The discussion attracted universal atten-…
source date: 1890
availability: public-domain

The discussion attracted universal atten- tion, and finally Wm. H. Russell, a well known western character, offered to bet $200,000 that he could put on a mail line between San Fran- cisco and St. Joseph that would make the dis- tance, 1950 miles, in ten days. He was given encouragement by Secretary of War Floyd and set to work making arrangements to carry his wager to a successful issue. The bet was taken, and April 3, 1860, was the fixed date for start-