A sailor, a chief factor, a missionary and a cowboy started the Pacific Northwest cattle business. The U.S. secretary of state sent Naval Lt. William Slacum on the brig Loriot from Oahu to survey Pacific Northwest American settlements and Native American villages. He anchored at Cape Disappointment in December 1836. The settlers were a mix of Americans and French Canadians, many of whom had formerly worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company. All still relied on the fur company in some way, however.

During his survey, Slacum discovered that both groups felt the company created a dependence on trade goods and hampered the growth of their cattle herds, thereby jeopardizing their existence. Without evidence, a leading citizen, Samuel Thurston, even claimed the company’s chief factor, John McLoughli

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