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派蒂屋，一棟1860年的旅館，當時的它是快馬郵遞的總部
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快馬郵遞
地方性遺產
現今的社會，將一封信從海岸的這一邊，送到海岸的另一邊，只需花費幾天的時間，而送一封電子郵件甚至只需要幾秒的時間。但19世紀中期時，從華盛頓特區寄出的一封信，要六個月以後，才能到達加州！
當美國將版圖擴張到西海岸後，對國家的成功及其西部拓荒者而言，通訊往來是一件非常重要的事，這個國家需要一個快速傳送訊息的方法。快馬郵遞就是因應這個需求的產物。
1860年4月，位於聖約瑟夫派蒂屋(Patee
House)旅館內的快馬郵遞總部，僱用了75位年青人，購買了100匹馬，以便將郵件送至加州。一封經由快馬郵遞遞送的信件，需要10天的時間才能由密蘇里州送達加州，而每封信的索價為$5。就現在的幣值來看，當時的$5約等於現在的美金90元！您能想像自己花90元美金在一封信的郵費上嗎？
到了1861年10月，快馬郵遞漸漸沒落，因為電報能以更便宜及更快速的方法來傳遞訊息。再加上1869年時，各海岸線之間的鐵路也都已經建築完成。您可以造訪現在的派蒂屋，它已經成為一座專門用來展示快馬郵遞歷史的博物館。這棟建築物已經成為國家歷史地標。
Nowadays, it takes only a few days for a letter to travel from coast to coast, and you can send an e-mail in seconds. But in the mid-19th century, it took six months for a letter to travel from Washington, D.C., to California!
As the United States expanded to the West Coast, communication became very important to the success of the nation and its Western pioneers. The country needed a speedy way to send messages. As a result, the Pony Express was born.
In April 1860, 75 young men were hired and 100 horses were purchased to carry mail on horseback from Pony Express headquarters in the Patee House hotel, in St. Joseph, Missouri, to California. The cost to have the Pony Express carry one letter, which took 10 days, from Missouri to California was $5. Today, that $5 is worth about $90! Can you imagine spending $90 to send a letter?
By October 1861, however, the Pony Express was extinct. The telegraph could send messages much cheaper and faster, and, by 1869, railroads stretched from coast to coast. Today, you can visit the Patee House, which is now a museum dedicated to the history of the Pony Express. The building is a National Historic Landmark.
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