 In the early years of the Gold Rush the demand for beef was so great that there are records of about 60,000 longhorns being herded from Texas to California.The Pony Express used much of this same route across Nevada and the Sierras in 1860–1861.These combined stage and Pony Express stations along the Central Route across Utah and Nevada were joined by the first transcontinental telegraph stations (completed 24 October 1861).