Gilmer and Salisbury Stage Lines ledger, 1875-1876

According to a history article, during the 1870s "Proprietors Jack Gilmer and Monroe Salisbury purchased surplus of Utah assets and the Idaho and Montana branches of the Wells, Fargo and Company line. They also bought out Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage, Mail, and Express Line in 1876. By 1880, their company became one of the most powerful corporations in the West, far exceeding those of Ben Holladay. Their lines ran from the Canadian border to southern Utah and from the Great Plains to the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains." According to another article, "A seemingly minor incident, however, caused the demise of this company when an employee was bitten by a horse that turned out to have a disease called glander. The man died, the widow sued, and was awarded a sum so large that the company was forced out of business. All the coaches and equipment were sent to Helena, Montana, which at the time was a center of the large stage business."