The year is 1920. The town is Tonopah, Nevada. Dixie Miller is employed as a saloon girl, who could charm the silver right out of a miner's pocket. But her smile couldn't sweeten the bitter truth – she and the scowling bartender were locked in a deadly dispute. Accusations flew thicker than smoke in a local saloon. Then, one scorching August day, a desperate scream shattered the silence.
Did a heated argument over stolen money escalate to murder? Or was there something more to the story – a dark secret that fueled a deadly rage? We’re uncovering the story of Dixie Miller and Fred Wilberg.
TRANSCRIPT
Among the saloons and gambling halls of 1920 Tonopah, the Colorado Saloon stood as a beacon for those seeking respite from the harsh desert life.
Imagine the scene: thick smoke swirling, glasses clinking, and miners drowning their sorrows in whiskey. Enter Dixie Miller, adorned in fabulous cabaret-style attire. As a Saloon Girl, she knew her role well—to persuade lonely men to buy her "whiskey," often no more than colored sugar water or cold tea. The real stuff, reserved for customers, carried a hefty markup, and Dixie, a skilled hustler, made a good living off the difference. But "good" was enough for Fred Wilberg, the bartender.
Fred, a hardened man, suspected Dixie of taking more than her agreed share. Their nightly arguments became a spectacle, tension thick in the air. One scorching August morning, tensions boiled over. Voices rose above the usual fray. Dixie stormed out, leaving Fred seething behind the bar.
Minutes later, the saloon doors swung open again, not with laughter but with frantic footsteps in pursuit. Panic flashed in Dixie's eyes as she burst into Blake's Cabaret down the street. "No!" she screamed in desperation.
Before anyone could react, Fred appeared, a glint of steel in hand—the saloon's revolver. A deafening shot shattered the silence, followed by a choked gasp. Dixie crumpled to the floor, her life snuffed out in an instant.
The horrified crowd watched as Fred stood over her, gun still smoking. Chaos erupted. Fred was tackled, his weapon wrestled away. When the Sheriff arrived, the scene was grim. Dixie Miller, another victim of circumstance and misplaced trust, lay lifeless. Fred Wilberg, his face contorted with rage and despair, was promptly arrested.
But what drove such a tragic end? The dispute over money was clear, but how much had Dixie taken, and what compelled Fred to such a drastic act? Fred's rage was evident, but was the killing premeditated or a momentary outburst?
And Dixie—what was her story? A hustler in the saloon, but what were her hopes, her fears, her past? These questions would echo in the courtroom in the days to come.
Yet, the tale did not end with Fred's imprisonment. A year later, he underwent surgery at the Nevada State Hospital, where doctors removed a small-caliber bullet that had been lodged in his head for twenty-one years. The bullet, stemming from a shot to his nose, had caused him to lose sight in one eye, and his remaining sight was failing, prompting the surgery. Did this injury affect his cognitive processing at the time of the shooting?
Three years into his sentence, Fred made a daring escape from the prison farm, fleeing south. Bloodhounds and guards quickly caught his trail, recapturing him the following day after he doubled back on his tracks.
In Tonopah, rumors persist of Dixie Miller's ghost haunting Main Street—an echo of her desperate scream. It serves as a chilling reminder that the pursuit of riches can leave one with nothing, akin to the hollow gasps of Dixie's spirit.
Also check out:
Tonopah Daily Bonanza. September 02, 1920
Tonopah Daily Bonanza. August 25, 1920
Carson City Daily Appeal. August 15, 1922
STATE v. WILLBERG., Supreme Court of Nevada, September 6, 1921
Reno Gazette-Journal, 22 May 1928.
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