In Live Oak County, Victoriano Chapa and his son Prisciliano Chapa were remembered for their imprint on the land and the people, and those who knew them bestowed the honorific Don on both for their character and reputation. Victoriano Chapa, born about 1812 near Matamoros in rural Mexico, was captured with another boy by Comanche Indians and escaped after four years, during which he accompanied raids into south Texas and became familiar with the terrain. He married Manuella Longoria, and after her death in 1857 their younger son Prisciliano, born in 1840, became his lifelong companion. Father and son came to Texas in 1856, where Victoriano became a mesteñero, breaking and herding wild horses. In the 1870s they herded cattle with T.J. Lyne on Padre Island, then moved to Live Oak County, where unclaimed grazing land was plentiful. In 1877 Victoriano bought his first property along Spring Creek in the southwest part of the county, beginning the transactions that grew into more than 8,000 acres known as Chapa Pasture. There Victoriano and Prisciliano raised Spanish horses and Longhorn cattle and provided parcels for their workers to cultivate. By all accounts, the Chapas and their neighbors took care of each other and the land. In 1901, Prisciliano persuaded Victoriano to sell the ranch and lease back one portion to live on for the rest of their lives. Both men are buried at Chapa Pasture, and their lives bridged the old Spanish feudal system and south Texas 20th century town development.