Faver, cont’d from page 15
Faver was a small man and
said to be a good and generous
host to visitors. He was a cul-
tured man, most agreed, speak-
ing several languages and wear-
ing the latest fashions tailored
for him in Chihuahua City. He
insisted on payment in gold or
silver and was rumored to bury
his money somewhere on his
land. Most visitors spoke of the
peach brandy he distilled him-
self from his numerous peach
trees.
Time and approaching civi-
lization brought an end to “Don
Meliton’s” empire. The Apache
menace effectively ended in
1880, the railroad came to
Alpine and Marfa, and more
and more cattlemen began
moving into the Big Bend area.
Many of Faver’s unbranded cat-
tle were branded by others as
mavericks, and the days of the
open range drew to a close.
Faver had sold his stock by
1889, and he died on Dec. 23 of
that year. He was buried accord-
ing to his wish on a rugged hill
near his headquarters at Cibolo.
His widow inherited Cibolo,
and the couple’s only child,
Juan, inherited La Cienega. La
Morita had been given to a
cousin of Mrs. Faver. Thus
ended the tale of the “Lord of
Three Manors,” as one author
called Milton Faver, pioneer cat-
tleman of the Big Bend.
All three of Faver’s ranch
homes have been restored and
are available to guests as Cibolo
Creek Ranch.
Leaton, cont’d from page 14
“There was a lot of back and
forth,” Reed said. “You say you
want a wagon. What size should
the wheels be? What should the
wagon look like?”
It was tricky making the
unknown as historically accu-
rate as possible.
“We had to run the imagery
by our natural resource people,”
explained Reed. “And they
would say ‘No, there were no
cows like you have here. They
were skinny and underfed. If
you had one, it was a random
milking cow.’”
“I’m not a history buff,”
Dumitrescu said, “and I didn’t
know the period.”
“We had all kinds of people
looking at Avram’s images to
make sure they were accurate,
not only for the history, but for
the topography and the climate.
The going back and forth on
our part was probably hard for
Avram, because we’d have to
come back with these tiny
details,” Reed said.
Portraying Ben Leaton and
the fort presented challenges for
the artist.
“I don’t typically do a lot of
figurative work, and it’s a lot of
figures,” Dumitrescu said. “The
trick for me was finding good
photo references. Mary Bones at
the Museum of the Big Bend
invited me to look at the
Smithers Photographic Collec -
tion. I went through hundreds
and hundreds of photographs
from around that time to find
good sources of historical mate-
rial, in addition to those provid-
ed by parks and wildlife.”
“We would love to have had
Avram do a million pictures,”
Reed said, “but then there’s the
budget.”
The video is the icing on the
cake for the new exhibits at Fort
Leaton. It stands out not just for
the story, but for the incredible
investment of energy and
enthusiasm of the many people
involved in its creation.
“We hope that it will present
Ben Leaton’s story in a way that
modern Texans can appreciate
and find entertaining,” Brandi -
marte said. “Most of all, we
hope that the film will bring a
long-lost character of West
Texas history back to life in visi-
tors’ imaginations.”
Many of the new exhibits are
already in place, with comple-
tion of the entire project, includ-
ing the video, scheduled for the
end of the summer 2011.
Live Music. Dancing. Outdoor Patio.
Great Food. Gameroom. Jukeboxes. Free Popcorn.
Oasis, cont’d from page 24
harder and involved much
time-consuming work. Her
hard work has paid off, as those
saplings she planted in the mid-
1990s are now nearly 30 feet
tall and the fruit trees regularly
produce ample berries for her
hungry bird friends. Now she
has all three elements needed
to sustain wildlife: food, water
and shelter.
She can supplement her
natural food sources with seeds
and other bird food, but water
will always be a challenge,
especially in periods of
drought.
We all know the phrase, “if
you build it, they will come.”
Come they have – first the
birds and then the birders.
Carolyn has recorded over 230
species of birds at her stopover
for thirsty and hungry migrants
winging their way between
their summer and winter
homes. During the peak of
migration season, it is not
uncommon to see 60 species
per day, including warblers,
vireos, sparrows and even a
Sora rail. Not only do the trav-
eling birds take advantage of
Carolyn’s hospitality, a number
of species have moved in to
breed in the vicinity of her
oasis, including Lucifer’s hum-
mingbirds, yellow-breasted
chats, elf owls and varied
buntings.
Word of Carolyn’s oasis has
spread among birders and
ornithologists around the
nation and world. Birders from
as far away as Africa have visit-
ed and enjoyed Carolyn’s oasis.
She enjoys sharing her oasis
with people who appreciate
birds as much as she does.
Carolyn’s resolve is summed
up in a quote she has kept on
her refrigerator, “When the
going gets tough, the tough get
going.”
T
Check out our Lunch Specials on padresmarfa.com
T
Mon - Fri 11:30 am to Midnight
Sat 11:30 am to 1am
T
Kitchen Open 11:30 am to 10:00 pm
Free Popcorn during All Day Happy Hour, 11:30 am to 6 pm, Mon - Fri
T
209 West El Paso, Marfa
padresmarfa.com
432.729.4425
Quetzal
International
Beauty Salon
An ideal place for him & her
• Mary Kay Products
• All-Nutrient Organic Products
• Credit & Debit Cards
Bar B Que
and
Good Times
Mon-Sat 9-12 & 1-7
905 W. San Antonio, Marfa
432-295-0025
7 Days a Week
306 E. San Antonio, Marfa
432.729.4499
Socorrito Mena
Proprietor
- 40 years experience -
BIGGEST
SELECTION
West of the Pecos
Open 10am to 9pm
Mon - Sat
605 E Holland Ave • Alpine
432.837.7476
www.twinpeaksliquors.com
Cenizo
Third Quarter 2011
27