The 101 Ranch Wild West Show and Zack Miller on horseback in Oklahoma The Millers' neighbor Major Gordon W. Lillie, who performed as
Pawnee Bill, motivated the Millers to produce a
Wild West show of their own. The Millers made their transition from putting on local shows to the national scene in 1907, when they performed at the
Jamestown Exposition in
Virginia. Later in 1907, the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show began the tour circuit in
Brighton Beach, New York. Joe Miller, the eldest son, was an exceptional equestrian and star performer. Over the course of the show's history, its cast included
Lillian Smith,
Bill Pickett, Bessie Herberg,
Bee Ho Gray,
Tom Mix,
Jack Hoxie,
Mexican Joe, Ross Hettan, and an elderly
Buffalo Bill. The Miller brothers entered the Wild West Show business late, and suffered financially along with other shows after the invention of motion pictures. Their show had more problems than most in a business that was harsh in the best of times. During their first year on the circuit, they suffered a serious railroad accident. Later several members of their cast contracted typhoid fever. In 1908, when
Buffalo Bill and
Pawnee Bill combined their shows into an extravaganza that broke records at
Madison Square Gardens in New York City, the Miller Brothers took their show abroad. In England, the British military confiscated most of the 101's horses, stagecoaches and automobiles to build up for war, as tensions were increasing related to impending
World War I. When the Millers' show toured the
German Empire, authorities arrested some of their
Oglala Sioux performers on suspicion of being
Serbian spies, and they were never seen again. A frantic Zack Miller got the remaining cast out of Germany via Norway, and then to England. In London he had difficulty finding steamship passage for his people. He eventually obtained passage for his cast on an American ship. Upon return to Oklahoma, the eldest brother Joe Miller refused to pay the Indian cast overtime. Hence the entire Indian cast quit the show. By 1916, the two younger Miller brothers abandoned trying to work with their volatile oldest brother. George Jr. and Zack worked at the ranch, while Joe schemed to make the Wild West Show a financial success. Joe Miller hired an out-of-work, aging and ill Buffalo Bill to star in a WWI recruitment show called "Pageant of Preparedness." Soon Cody quit the show, and died within a year. Unwilling to end the show, Joe continued to operate on a smaller scale. In 1927, Joe was unable to sell his show to the
American Circus Corporation.
Oil and Miller brothers' decline In 1908 the Millers entered into a leasing arrangement with
E. W. Marland, who formed the
101 Ranch Oil Company. Oil was struck in 1911 at the "Willie-Cries-for-War" well. Marland would become a millionaire and later a U.S. congressman. He was eventually elected the governor of Oklahoma. The company's 1911 oil discovery led to the founding of the
Marland Oil Company, later renamed the
Continental Oil Company, and then
ConocoPhillips. Circa 1924, the ranch reportedly had a herd of around 500
American bison. The herd was featured in the film
North of 36. On October 21, 1927, a neighbor found Joe Miller dead in the 101 Ranch garage with his car running. The family physician ruled his death accidental. In 1929, George Miller Jr., died in a car accident. Zack Miller tried to carry on alone, but in 1932, during the Great Depression, he filed for bankruptcy. The US government seized the show's remaining assets and bought of the 101 Ranch. Completely broke, the 101 Ranch show closed after the New York World's Fair in 1939. Zack Miller died of cancer in 1952. == National Historic Landmark ==