Abstract The Erastus Beck mercantile ledger (1901) was presented to Beck by the Agencia del Timbre de la Ascencion to be used for his mercantile business located in the Colonia Diaz, a Latter Day Saint colony in Mexico. The ledger consists of accounting notations regarding merchandise sold along with a listing of about 250 different buyers of more than a thousand horses. Each of these entries list the buyer, the number of horses, the colors, the brands, and the initials of the clerk.