Lot
825 
Cheyenne & Black Hills Stage Co's Express, G. S. & P., printed frank (Type 2c) on 3¢ Green entire to Lexington, Michigan, carried from the Black Hills to Cheyenne where it entered the mails with "Cheyenne, Wyo. Fed 9" cds with killer cancelling the indicia. neat mended tear at right, still Very Fine.Estimate $750 - 1,000.
A VERY RARE WESTERN EXPRESS WITH ONLY THREE OTHER EXAMPLES OF THIS FRANK ARE RECORDED.
The Cheyenne & Black Hills Express was organized in 1876 by F. D. Yates, with its inaugural run departing on February 2, 1876, from Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, to Custer City, Dakota Territory, via the Red Cloud Agency. Just ten days later, Yates sold his interest to Gilmer, Salisbury, and Patrick, who expanded the route through Fort Laramie, Wyoming Territory, to the booming mining camp of Deadwood, Dakota Territory. Patrick withdrew from the partnership on October 1, 1878, and on May 15, 1883, Gilmer and Salisbury sold the operation to Russell Thorpe, Sr., who continued to run the line until February 19, 1887.
The Express emerged in direct response to the Black Hills gold rush. On August 3, 1874, famed Army scout "Lonesome" Charley Reynolds rode into Fort Laramie bearing sensational news: gold had been discovered in the Black Hills by Custer's exploring expedition. The announcement spread rapidly, igniting a stampede of prospectors into the region - land long held sacred by Native tribes and guaranteed to them as hunting grounds under treaty agreements.
Realized: $625