As a means of communication meant to replace the inefficient letter delivery via ocean around South America's Cape Horn, the Pony Express was brought to Sacramento in 1860. This was the first cross-continent means of communication and tied California to the states in the east across the Great Plains. However, the Pony Express only lasted eighteen months and was rendered obsolete upon the arrival of the First Transcontinental Telegraph. By 1861, Sacramento was linked to the telegraph lines on the other side of the continent.