The Pah Ute War disrupted the Pony Express briefly. About 6,000 Pah Utes lived in the Carson district of western Nevada.

They were upset at the intrusion of the white man. In January, 1860 they killed Dexter E. Deming on Willow Creek. The whites demanded the Pah Utes surrender those who killed Deming. Old Winnemucca, their leader, countered with a demand for $16,000 to pay for the loss of their hunting grounds and the piiion nut trees that had been cut down.

While negotiations dragged on, a young half breed Bannock Indian named Mogonnoga rallied some braves. On May 7 they attacked and killed the station keepers and riders at the Williams Station. The war was on. They went west and drove off W. H. Bloomfield's cattle. Young Winnemucca tried to plead with his people for peace, but it was no use.

The Indians attacked and killed people at Honey Lake and on the Truckee River. One hundred and five volunteers assembled to go after them. Major William 0. Ormsby was their leader, but nobody really listened to him. This, plus the white's contempt for the Pah Ute's fighting ability, ineffective weapons, and lack of military discipline spelled doom for almost half of them as they rode to mamid Lake looking for Indians.

They followed the Truckee River into an area covered with sagebrush with a grove of cottonwoods beyond. Unwittingly, they had ridden into a trap. Chaos erupkd immediately. The whites tried to retreat up the trail. Their leader was killed along with 46 others.

The news alarmed everyone west of the spot and people began to fortify homes and businesses. Pony Express rider, Bob Haslam, set out on May 9 going east. When he arrived at Carson City there were no relay horses. They had all been taken for the war. So he rested a bit and continued on to Buckland's Station, 75 miles away. There, the rider refused to take the mail. So Haslam took $50 from the stationmaster to keep going east. He did it, not for the money, but for duty. He went through three more stations, eventually going 190 miles without rest . Jay Kelley took the mochila from him at Smith's Creek, along with news of the Pah Ute War. The word "mochila" comes from the Spanish word for knapsack. On Haslam's return trip, he got to Cold Springs Station only to find it had been burned down, the keeper killed and the horses run off. He had the same kind of news all the way back to Carson City.

His total ride that time was 380 miles in 36 hours. After Pyramid Lake, 165 men came from Downieville. Volunteers came from other California and Nevada towns. Army men came. There were eventually over 800 men that came to fight the Indians. The government gave them ten days to win. One battle resulted in 26 Indians killed, but the main body got away.

The Indians refused to engage after that. Negotiations were finally successful between Indian agent Frederick Dodge and chiefs Young Winnemucca, Oderkoo, and Truckee. Full scale war was averted, but many small raids continued. The Express was disrupted for about 30 days and harassed after that. Small raids continued for about a year.

Men were sent out from Camp Floyd near Salt Lake City to protect the route westward. Bolivar Robers of Carson City hurriedly rebuilt stations and restocked them. More men manned each station until the Indian troubles were over.

The regular schedule resumed on July 7. Total lost was 150 horses, seven stations, 16 men killed. About $75,000 in replacement buildings and wages was spent. One good outcome of this whole mess was that the extraordinary feats of the riders were much publicized during this skirmish, turning them into national heroes.