John Fry – Pony Express Rider Who Won $200,000 Wager
Fry was selected to make the finish of a sixty‑mile stretch, using six horses [1][2]. A heavy rain had made the roads slippery, and he had only three hours and thirty minutes to cover the distance [1][2]. Joseph, watching the Kansas shore [1][2]. With just seven minutes remaining, Fry’s horse dashed from the thicket onto the ferry boat, winning the $200,000 wager and arriving with five minutes to spare [1][2].
Sources
- behind time… (1890)behind time. John Fry was to make the finish of sixty miles, and he had six horses with which to do it. A heavy rain had to set in, and the roads were very slippery. Two hundred thous- and dollars might tu…
- Silver City Enterprise — 1888-1890 (full OCR, Internet Archive) — 1890-05-16 (1890)e, however, in the quicksand and drown. The courier succeeded in reaching the shore, with his mail bag in hand, and traveled ten miles on foot to the reach the next relay. When the last courier arrived a…