In 1857, the fastest way to get mail across the country was along the San Antonio and San Diego Mail Line, which took 52 days! That is, it was the fastest until John Butterfield received a $600,000/year federal grant to deliver mail from St. Louis to San Francisco in 25 days! The route stretched 2,800 miles through deserts and mountains, plagued by water shortages and conflicts with local tribes, but as John Butterfield put it, “Nothing on God’s earth must stop the United States Mail!” The Butterfield Overland Mail delivered mail continuously from 1858 until 1861!