If you take a drive through remote parts of Kaua’i you might see Hawaiian cowboys, called a paniolo, working the cattle ranches. The tradition started in 1798 when Captain George Vancouver gave King Kamehameha I a few longhorns. He released them into the wild and soon thousands of wild cows roamed the island. In 1832, Mexican horsemen were recruited to teach ranching skills to the locals. They learned their lessons well because today Kaua’i has a thriving beef cattle industry.