A mochila ( Spanish,mochila
Diccionario de la Real Academia Española, 22ª edición. pronounced o-chee-lah for "knapsack", "pack", "pouch") is a removable lightweight leather cover put over a horse's

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...

. In the 19th century, it was used as a mail bag by the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pike ...

. Slits were cut through the eighth-inch leather to allow access to the saddle horn and cantle.Tucker, p. 18 Riders of the Pony Express made quick exchanges to new fresh horses, usually within a few minutes, at each remount station on their route across the United States. The ''mochila'' was removed from the exhausted horse and swiftly placed over the saddle of the fresh waiting horse.

Etymology

Linguist Joan Corominas derived the Spanish '' mochila'' from ''mochil'' ("delivery boy"), itself from Basque ''mutil'' ("boy").''mochila'' in Diccionario crítico etimológico de la lengua castellana, volume III, page 392, Joan Corominas, Francke Verlag-Bern, 1954 The word "mochila" connotes the soft sheepskin leather.

History and usage

Saddle bag mail pouches were never in use on the

system because of their unwieldiness. The normal large saddle bags could not be attached to a saddle efficiently and would cause much delay when switching from an exhausted horse to a fresh horse at a Pony Express station. In 1860, the Pony Express developed a fast mail delivery system using a special saddle mail bag cover called a ''mochila'' that made the Pony Express unique. The cover, which had four hard leather boxes to carry the mail, was transferred quickly and efficiently, usually in less than two minutes. If a horse was injured on the way from one station to another and not capable of further traveling, a rider would simply remove the cover with its mail from the injured horse and walk to the next station, where he would throw the cover on a new horse. The leather blanket cover was designed by Pony Express rider Jay G. Kelley.Van der Linde, p. 23 The ''mochila'' also had four pockets, called ''cantinas'', that were lockable with a type of small

padlock Padlocks are portable locks with a shackle that may be passed through an opening (such as a chain link, or hasp staple) to prevent use, theft, vandalism or harm. Naming and etymology The term '' padlock'' is from the late fifteenth century. ...

and could only be unlocked by authorized people. Two cantinas were in front of the rider's legs and two were behind the rider's thighs. Documents to be transported in the ''cantinas'' would first be covered with oiled silk to protect them from water and sweat. This mail service was very expensive (between one and five dollars per half-ounce, an astronomical amount that only businesses could afford). Most Pony Express saddles and ''mochilas'' were made by Israel Landis' shop in St. Joseph, Missouri. Israel made the entire saddle about one-third the weight of the ordinary

Western saddle Western saddles are used for western riding and are the saddles used on working horses on cattle ranches throughout the United States, particularly in the west. They are the "cowboy" saddles familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who h ...

. The specially designed saddle with its mochila weighed less than 13 pounds. The saddles and ''mochilas'' were standardized so they would work from one horse to another. When full of mail and telegrams, the ''mochila'' weighed about 20 pounds. The rider would also carry a canteen of water, a gun and a small Bible that included the solemn Pony Express loyalty oath. The saddles for the horses that traveled over the Overland Pony Express route were special and standardized, built by a saddlery firm owned and franchised by Landis. No authentic Pony Express ''mochilas'' have survived. Replicas have been made for demonstrations such as Wild West performances and modern-day reenactments.

Etymology

History and usage

See also