destroyed along the way (Dicerto 18). However, the extent to which a Rider looked after the letters might be only as great as the riders own personal integrity and level of caring for the success of the Pony Express as a system. Therefore, measures were taken to ensure the integrity of the Rider himself. The Rider was made to swear to live a moral lifestyle for the duration of his employment with the Pony Express. The Rider was also made to swear to do his job to the best of his ability (Dicerto 25).The final layer within the model, is the Physical Layer (Stamper 30). The Physical Layer requires that there be a physical medium that the message can traverse. This physical medium must connect the sender to the receiver so that the message can be transported from its origin to its destination.In the Pony Express, the letters were physically transported in a sack called a mochila. The mochila was placed upon the saddle and held in place by the riders sitting on it. It had four pockets called cantinas. Two would hang over the left side of the animal, and two would hand over the right side. Two cantinas would be behind the Riders legs, and two in front of them. Three of the cantinas contained letters, and the fourth contained a time card upon which each station manager indicated the Riders arrival time at his station (Dicerto 33). All of the cantinas were kept locked. The station managers had the key for the one that contained the time card, and the other three (that contained the mail) could only be opened at a military fort (Dicerto 39). The Rider sat on the mochila, which was placed upon a saddle, which was strapped to the back of a horse. The horse carried the mochila with the letters and the Rider.The author has categorized and enumerated the elements of the Pony Express mail system. In doing this, a clear understanding of each factor in the Pony Express, its necessity, and its relation to the other factors, has been developed. However,...
