In 1855, U.S. Senator William Gwin of California urged Congress to fund a faster overland express mail system using horses and riders supported by livery and supply stations to link California and Missouri, but Congress refused. The idea of a 10-day express relay from Missouri to California was later carried out by the private partnership Russell, Majors and Waddell, a dominant military freight contractor in the American West, which organized the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company, known as the Pony Express, in hopes of winning a government mail contract. Launching the enterprise required about 80 riders and 200 station keepers, the use of existing stage and mail relay stations, the construction of new relay stations where needed, and the purchase of supplies, equipment, and 500 fast horses. The venture arose after Mexican government control ended in 1848 and California entered the United States in September 1850, as gold discovered at Sutter's Mill drew tens of thousands of gold seekers, miners, entrepreneurs, and other newcomers whose growing numbers increased demand for faster communication with the East. That need also led the United States government to keep the new state informed about political activity and Civil War developments before news became stale, while a mail contract to and from California offered the prospect of great profit if handled more efficiently than competitors. Even as the Pony Express began, however, other private companies were rapidly building a telegraph line between Omaha and Sacramento. When the transcontinental telegraph wires were connected in Salt Lake City on October 24, 1861, the new system was faster and less expensive and ended the need for the Pony Express nearly 19 months after the first rider left St. Joseph, Missouri, on April 3, 1860. Though even the telegraph wires have largely been forgotten, the memory of solitary Pony Express riders crossing prairie, sagebrush, and mountain passes continues to inspire people around the world.