By May 11, 1878, the Dodge newspapers reported that Earp had returned. The "Dodge City Times" noted on May 14 that he'd been appointed Assistant Marshal for $75 per month, serving under Charlie Bassett. Doc Holliday also showed up in Dodge City with his common-law wife Big Nose Kate during the summer of 1878. Ed Morrison and another two dozen cowboys rode into Dodge that summer and shot up the town, galloping down Front Street. They entered the Long Branch Saloon, vandalized and harassed the customers. Hearing the commotion, Earp burst through the front door to find numerous guns pointing at him; another version of the story has it that only 3-5 cowboys were there. In both versions, Holliday was playing cards in the back and he put his pistol at Morrison's head, forcing him and his men to disarm. Earp credited Holliday with saving his life that day, and the two were friends ever since.