Little Bird

Originally Aired: May 11, 1958 In Gunsmoke #318, "Little Bird," Marshal Matt Dillon becomes suspicious when saloon owner Kitty Russell points out a frightened young woman being mistreated by a massive brute named Bull Taggart in the Long Branch. The hulking stranger claims the woman is his Indian wife, but Kitty senses something terribly wrong. When Matt confronts them, the woman speaks Spanish and appears terrified of Taggart, who threatens her to keep silent. Despite Taggart's insistence that she's his wife, Matt suspects the truth is far darker. The situation escalates when Don Marco Velasquez arrives in Dodge from Chihuahua, Mexico, desperately searching for his young bride Maria, whom he describes as small "like the little bird." He reveals that Bull Taggart kidnapped her from his hacienda three weeks earlier, and now the Mexican rancher seeks satisfaction as a matter of honor. With Don Marco determined to confront the dangerous Taggart despite having no gun and little chance against the violent man, Matt must act quickly to prevent bloodshed in the Long Branch and rescue the stolen bride before the affair of honor turns deadly.