Johnny Fry (upper right in photo) was just 19 when he won a horse race in Missouri in
1860—and got a job. For Alexander Majors watched that race and asked Fry if he’d ride
for the Pony Express. Fry said yes, and he became the first west-bound rider for the
service on April 3, 1860.
The diminutive horseman continued in the position until the Pony Express

True West May/June 2025
In This Issue:
Features
- Historic Hotels of the American West
- A Journey Through Wyoming’s Outlaw History
- A Journey Through Washington’s Wild Frontier
- Blazing The Oregon Trail
- Journey Through Time
- Did Brigham Young Order a Massacre?
- Mountain Meadows Scapegoat John D. Lee VS. A Firing Squad
- Mormons in the Movies
- An Indigenous Consultant Ensures Accuracy
- The Battle Axe And A Raw Deal
- Showdown: Bridger VS. Brigham
- The Mountain Man and the Mormon Moses
- The Ghosts of Mountain Meadows
- The War Before the War
- Mountain Meadows