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'''Milton Faver''' (c. 1822 &ndash 1889) was a rancher in the Big Bend country of [[Texas]] who is considered the first [[cattle]] baron west of the Pecos River.

'''Milton Faver''' (c. 1822 &ndash 1889) was a rancher in the Big Bend country of [[Texas]] who is considered the first [[cattle]] baron west of the Pecos River.

He has been described as a Frenchman, an Englishman, an eccentric, and even a fugitive from the law. By one account he was headed to the [[California]] Gold Rush of 1849 but detoured to the Big Bend of the [[Rio Grande River]]. He was believed to have spoken four languages: Frenc], German, English, and Spanish. He lived like an aristocrat and wore tailored clothing from Chihuahua, [[Mexico]]. He married a Mexican woman and worked as a freighter on the Chihuahua Trail by which he hauled goods to [[San Antonio]], Texas, and [[Santa Fe]], [[New Mexico|New Mexico Territory]].<ref name=saen>John MacCormack, "Faver First Cattle King West of the Pecos: Mysterious rancher lived like nobility in arid W. Texas", ''San Antonio Express-News'', February 4, 2018, p. nA8.</ref>  

He has been described as a Frenchman, an Englishman, an eccentric, and even a fugitive from the law. By one account he was headed to the [[California]] Gold Rush of 1849 but detoured to the Big Bend of the [[Rio Grande]] River. He was believed to have spoken four languages: Frenc], German, English, and Spanish. He lived like an aristocrat and wore tailored clothing from Chihuahua, [[Mexico]]. He married a Mexican woman and worked as a freighter on the Chihuahua Trail by which he hauled goods to [[San Antonio]], Texas, and [[Santa Fe]], [[New Mexico|New Mexico Territory]].<ref name=saen>John MacCormack, "Faver First Cattle King West of the Pecos: Mysterious rancher lived like nobility in arid W. Texas", ''San Antonio Express-News'', February 4, 2018, p. nA8.</ref>  

In 1857, Faver moved north of the border into an area of hostile Apaches and occupied a site on what was previously a Spanish mission at the foot of the Chinati Mountains in Presidio County. He took control of three springs long used by the Indians and established a successful [[irrigation]] system.  He brought in Mexican cattle, sheep, and goats. He constructed stone walls, adobe forts, and corrals and planted crops and orchards. He used the "F" brand.  He survived cattle thefts by bandits and Apaches, an Indian raid that  took the life of his brother-in-law, Carmen Ramirez, and developed large herds of longhorn cattle that roamed the open range. For thirty years he was the undisputed ruler over the Big Bend country. He hade more than eighty employees, most of them Mexican.<ref name=saen/>

In 1857, Faver moved north of the border into an area of hostile Apaches and occupied a site on what was previously a Spanish mission at the foot of the Chinati Mountains in Presidio County. He took control of three springs long used by the Indians and established a successful [[irrigation]] system.  He brought in Mexican cattle, sheep, and goats. He constructed stone walls, adobe forts, and corrals and planted crops and orchards. He used the "F" brand.  He survived cattle thefts by bandits and Apaches, an Indian raid that  took the life of his brother-in-law, Carmen Ramirez, and developed large herds of longhorn cattle that roamed the open range. For thirty years he was the undisputed ruler over the Big Bend country. He hade more than eighty employees, most of them Mexican.<ref name=saen/>