Tombstone: Gold Dollar
There
are many tales about the remarkable people who once walked the dusty streets of
Tombstone, Arizona. One such story is that of a Crystal Palace dancer and
murderer named, Gold Dollar. She was first known to town’s folks as Little
Gertie, but with her long golden hair, fair complexion, and earning a gold
dollar as payment for service bestowed, she was given the nickname of “Gold
Dollar”. She was tiny in stature, feisty and very protective of her man, Billy
Milgreen, a local gambler. The petite prostitute threatened bodily harm to any
woman of Tombstone who flirted with her man. Most were afraid of her, except
one.
Trouble
came to town in the name of Margarita, an attractive Mexican woman who worked
as a soiled dove at the Bird Cage Theatre. With her creamy bronze skin, this
mysterious woman with long black hair immediately set her dark eyes on Billy.
Many of the men were mesmerized by her beauty, and Billy was no exception.
Margarita was aware of Gold Dollar’s temper and her threats, but it didn’t stop
her allured behavior towards the inspiring gambler. Gold Dollar got wind of her
flirtations and marched over to the Bird Cage Theatre. She threatened to cut
Margarita’s heart out if this behavior didn't end. Margarita was not
intimidated by Gold Dollar and wouldn’t back off under pressure.
Billy
promised Gold Dollar he would not let Margarita’s aggressive flirting get to
him if she would let him gamble. She trusted her man and let him head off to
the Bird Cage for a high stakes poker game. Margarita was determined to grab
his attention by swaggering gracefully across the floor, strutting around the
table, and then finally dropping in his lap overwhelming him with kisses. Gold
Dollar went to the Bird Cage to check up on Billy and saw Margarita sitting in
his lap. She grabbed a fist full of hair and pulled her off. There are a couple
different stories of what came next. Gold Dollar stabbed her with a 4 inch
stiletto and either plunged it in her in the side or in her chest and almost
cut her heart out. Either way, Margarita died of her wounds in a pool of blood.
The Sheriff was called and Gold Dollar ran out of the Bird Cage with the bloody
stiletto in hand. She hid the stiletto
behind the building and since the murder weapon was never found, murder charges
were never filed against her. She ended up quietly leaving town, and was
followed by Billy months later. It is not known exactly how many years later
the stiletto was found, but it was discover behind the Bird Cage Theatre.
So I'm guessing nobody won that poker game, huh??
ReplyDeleteDeath by stiletto!! Damn!!
That was in the back of my mind the whole time we did a ghost hunt at Birdcage.
ReplyDelete