016 我的驿马快信骑手生涯

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Giddyap! With a good swat to my mustang Bandit's rump, I'm off

驾！我猛拍一下我的野马“强盗”的屁股，这就出发了。

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My name is Henry Thompson; I'm 19 years old

and I'm galloping as fast as I can.

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Since April of last year, I have ridden for the Central Overland

California and Pike's Peak Express Company,

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which is the official name for the Pony Express

这就是小马快递的正式名称。

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My route in Nevada, from Fort Churchill to Friday's Station

我在内华达的路线，是从丘吉尔堡到星期五站，

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is only one part of a large network of routes that have

made it possible to send news, letters,

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and other important papers all the way across the country

和其他重要文件能够跨越整个国家。

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I'm proud to be a part of the Pony Express, which takes the mail from St

Joseph, Missouri, to San Francisco, California, in about ten days.

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But today, November 17, 1861, is my last ride, because the telegraph line

joining both coasts of America went into operation about three weeks ago.

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Soon there will be no more need for the Pony Express

很快就不再需要小马快递了。

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Eighteen months ago I was picked from the many young men who answered

a newspaper advertisement in Sacramento, California.

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The company wanted skilled riders weighing less than 120 pounds, which

describes me perfectly, since I'm skinny as a rail and an excellent rider.

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The weight the horses carry must be as low as

possible because they run very hard.

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The horses we ride aren't really ponies, but they're small, which is

probably why the company got the nickname "Pony Express."

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To make it easier on our horses, I'm only allowed to carry 25 pounds

of equipment, like some food and my Colt revolver.

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Of course I also carry an additional twenty pounds of

mail in a mochila, a leather saddlebag.

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I was assigned to the Fort Churchill home station

and I've learned my route well.

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It's one of the hardest routes, because I have to go

high into the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

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You'd think the Pony Express carries the mail only

by horse, but that's not exactly true.

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The mail usually travels between San Francisco and Sacramento by boat

邮件在旧金山和萨克拉门托之间通常是用船运输的。

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Between the east and St. Joseph, Missouri, the mail travels by stagecoach

在东部和密苏里州圣约瑟夫之间，邮件由驿站马车运送。

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But riders on horseback are needed between St. Joseph and

Sacramento because it's rough country—

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through the deserts of the Great Basin and over the mountains

穿越大盆地的沙漠，翻越高山。

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There are home stations, where the riders live

between trips, every 75 to 100 miles,

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and relay stations, where the riders can change

horses, every 10 to 15 miles.

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Saddling up a fresh horse usually takes less than two minutes, and

then we're off again to the next relay station.

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My route is about 75 miles, but other routes are longer

我的路线大约75英里，但其他路线更长。

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Special, lightweight saddles make the horses' jobs easier

特制的轻便马鞍能让马匹更轻松。

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I sling the mochila over the saddle and secure it over the saddle's horn

我把邮件袋搭在马鞍上，并把它固定在马鞍的鞍头上。

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Most of the time we carry about fifty pieces of mail, which are placed in

four leather boxes sewn into the corners of the mochila.

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When the Pony Express started, the price to deliver a piece of

mail was five dollars for each half ounce.

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Only the wealthiest people use our service; although we've dropped the

price to one dollar now, that's still a lot of money.

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Our service is expensive because it's the quickest

我们的服务之所以贵，是因为它速度最快。

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Before the Pony Express, mail from New York to San Francisco

took about four weeks—and often longer—

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because it had to be shipped down the East Coast to the Isthmus

of Panama, transported by rail overland,

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and then shipped up the West Coast by steamship

然后再由蒸汽轮船沿西海岸北上运送。

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But President Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address made

it to California in 7 days and 17 hours—

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because it was telegraphed to Nebraska and then

traveled on the Pony Express.

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The rider from the east arrived at Fort Churchill at six

o'clock tonight, and I left right away.

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I'm so grateful the moon is full

我真庆幸今晚月光明亮。

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Although I know this route like the back of my hand, I don't

want anything bad to happen on my last ride.

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As I head toward Reed's Station, I remember the day I rode through

a forest of aspens, where Indians were hiding.

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I crouched over my horse's neck and rode as fast as I could

shooting behind me the whole time—

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that was the fastest I have ever ridden in my whole life

那是我这辈子骑得最快的一次。

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As I get close to Reed's Station, I blow a horn four times to

alert the stationmaster that I'm coming in.

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A fresh horse is ready for me, and I immediately set off for Dayton

一匹精力充沛的马已为我备好，我立刻启程前往代顿。

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That little town sprang up just recently because gold was discovered nearby

那座小镇是最近才兴起的，因为附近发现了金子。

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Riding through a hemlock forest, I have to be careful my horse doesn't

stumble in the dark, because a few riders have been hurt this way.

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But once we're out of the woods, there are places where I can let him run

as fast as he wants on this chilly, moonlit night.

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Pony Express horses are specially selected for their speed and endurance

小马快递的马是专门挑选的，看重的是速度和耐力，

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and they can gallop up to 25 miles per hour; usually, though, we ride at

about 10 miles per hour to save the horses' energy.

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After a brief stop at Carson City, it's a fairly easy 15-mile ride to Genoa

but the hardest part of my trip is still ahead of me.

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With a fresh horse, I head into the Sierra Nevada Mountains

换上新马，我向內華達山脈进发。

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This stretch of the ride is only about ten miles, but

the uphill climb is extremely difficult.

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Halfway up I find myself in six inches of snow, and I must slow down —

slipping on the rocky slopes would be a costly delay.

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Soon, though, I see the light reflecting off Lake Tahoe, and both my horse

and I are relieved to finally arrive at our destination, Friday's Station,

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and pass the mochila on to the next rider

并把邮件袋交给下一位骑手。

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Now I'm going to take off my boots, grab a bowl of beans, and sit by the

fire as I think of all the men that made the Pony Express possible.

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Some are no longer with us, killed by Indians or robbers or the weather

有些人已经不在我们身边了，他们死于印第安人、劫匪或恶劣天气。

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After I rest a bit, I'll probably head east, where I hear the

Union Army is looking for some good riders.

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After being a Pony Express rider, I'm used to danger

当过小马快递骑手后，我对危险已经习以为常了。

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It's time for me to look for a new adventure

是时候去寻找新的冒险了。