undertaking - one that had been held impossible of realization - would
be a strong asset to the firm's reputation. He also declared that in his
conversation with Gwin he had already committed their company to the
undertaking, and he did not see how they could, with honor and
propriety, evade the responsibility of attempting it. Knowledge of the
last mentioned fact at once enlisted the support or his partners.
Probably no firm has ever surpassed in integrity that of Russell,
Majors, and Waddell, famous throughout the West in the freighting and
mail business before the advent of railroads in that section of the men,
the verbal promise of one of their number was a binding guarantee and as
sacredly respected as a bonded obligation. Finding themselves thus
committed, they at once began preparations with tremendous activity. All
this happened early in the year 1860.

The first step was to form a corporation, the more adequately to conduct
the enterprise; and to that end the Central Overland California and
Pike's Peak Express Company was organized under a charter granted by the
Territory of Kansas. Besides the three original members of the firm, the
incorporators included General Superintendent B. F. Ficklin, together
with F. A. Bee, W. W. Finney, and John S. Jones, all tried and
trustworthy stage employees who were retained on account of their wide
experience in the overland traffic business. The new concern then took
over the old stage line from Atchison to Salt Lake City and purchased
the mail route and outfit then operating between Salt Lake City and
Sacramento. The latter, which had been running a monthly round trip
stage between these terminals, was known as the West End Division of the
Central Route, and was called the Chorpenning line.

Besides conducting the Pony Express, the corporation aimed to continue a
large passenger and freighting business, so it next absorbed the