William Lightfoot Visscher

(1842 - 1924)

A prolific poet, peripatetic journalist, and novelist, William Lightfoot Visscher published his well-known account of the Pony Express in 1908, more than forty-five years after the service’s termination following the advent of the transcontinental telegraph system. In addition to his writing, he served four years in the Union army during the Civil War, took a law degree and was admitted to the bar (though never practiced), and did some stage acting.