"Buntline Special"
As a deputy, Earp was known for using a long-barreled revolver to pistol-whip and disarm cowboys who resisted town ordinances against carrying of firearms. Although there is no conclusive proof as to the kind of pistol Wyatt carried, his reported use of a long-barreled pistol, for many years doubted, may have been a reality. The story of the gun, known as the "Buntline Special," begins with the murder of actress Dora Hand (who was also known as Fannie Keenan) in 1878. Hand was shot by a man attempting to kill Dodge City Mayor James H. "Dog" Kelly. Dora was a guest in Kelly’s house and was sleeping in his bed at the time while Kelly and his wife were out of town. Dora was a celebrity, and her murder became a national story. Earp was in the posse that brought down the murderer. The story of the capture was reported in newspapers as far away as New York and California.
According to the newspaper stories, five men were dispatched as a posse to capture the assassin: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, a very young Bill Tilghman, Charlie Bassett and William Duffy. Earp shot the man’s horse, and Masterson wounded the assassin, who was James "Spike" Kenedy, son of Texas cattleman Miflin Kenedy. The Dodge City Times called them "as intrepid a posse as ever pulled a trigger."
It is very likely that Dora’s murder and the tracking down of her assassin were the events that caused Ned Buntline to bestow the gift of the "Buntline Specials." Earp’s biography claimed the Specials were given to "famous lawmen" Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Bill Tilghman, Charlie Bassett and Neal Brown by author Ned Buntline in return for “local color” for his western yarns. This is technically inaccurate since neither Tilghman nor Brown were lawmen then. Further, Buntline wrote only four western yarns, all about Buffalo Bill. So, if Buntline got any “local color," he never used it.
Lake spent much effort trying to track down the Buntline Special through the Colt company, Masterson and contacts in Alaska. It was a Colt Single Action Army model with a 12-inch (30 cm) barrel, standard sights, and wooden grips into which the name “Ned” was ornately carved. Earp was the only one of the recipients who kept his Buntline Special the original length; Masterson and the others cut the barrel down for easier concealment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyatt_Earp
The only clucking I have to face is the VISA bill at the end of the month. 
:banghead: 
:banghead: 
