From their first days in the Pacific Northwest, trappers, soldiers and settlers wanted to eat beef. The Spanish brought the first cattle to the region.

In 1789, the Spanish began building a stronghold at Nootka Sound to sustain their claim to the area. The Spanish troops brought cattle from Mexico to feed themselves. British naval Capt. George Vancouver visited the compound in 1793, requesting a dozen cattle, and the Spanish complied. Curiously, the Spanish abandoned their Vancouver Island post in 1795, likely believing it of political rather than economic interest.

In Oregon, David Douglas reported cattle in the woods at Fort George, where he visited prior to the Hudson’s Bay Company abandoning it in 1825. That year, Chief Factor John McLoughlin’s letters reported 20 cattle at Fort Vanc

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