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Trail boss Gilbert "Gil" Favor, often called Mr. Favor, is a Rawhide played by Eric Fleming. He is the leader of a cattle drive crew and is faced with a lot of different challenges throughout the series. He can (almost) always count on the men working for him and his men can always count on him. 

Personal life[]

Family[]

Favor (6'4 [1]) is a widower and father of two daughters, Gillian and Maggie. While he is out working along the Sedalia Trail, Eleanor, his sister-in-law, raises his children in Philadelphia. [2]

Illnesses & Injuries[]

When escaped prisoners from a mining camp caused a fight over the horses that were with the nearby herd, they stumbled upon the resistance of Favor and his men. The escaped men started using explosives and one of them went off close to Favor. He survived the explosion but busted his arm. [3]

Favor fell ill after he was shot with an arrow by a disorderly Cheyenne, who was killed by his chief for his unnecessary act of violence. Chief Manso brought Favor back to their camp and the Cheyenne helped him recover. [4]

Near death experience(s)[]

Once, when the horses were startled by thunder, they slipped away from the herd and ran over a man as they stampeded. The man died and his friends and neighbors were out for revenge. Favor took responsibility and the men decided to hang him. They changed their mind, however, and did not go through with the hanging. [5]

Work[]

Favor spent most of his working days in the saddle, driving cattle. He started out at a young age when he and his friend Ken "Lucky" Higgins had run away from home and got a job punching cows. One day, when Favor took a spill during a stampede, Higgins got off his horse to help him. Favor got back, Lucky didn't. [6]

One of the trail bosses Favor worked under during his early cowboying days was Jess Hode. They met again years later on Hode's ranch near Trader Wells, Texas, when Favor's herd was passing through. [7]

Civil War[]

During the Civil War, Favor fought with the Confederates. He was a Captain under Colonel Millett and was at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Pete Nolan, who would go on to become scout for his cowboying crew, was there with him. [8]

Images[]

References[]

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