Letters of A Pioneer 



ALEXANDER ROSS 



Colony Gardens was a well known spot in early Winnipeg. 

 It was the home of a man of mark, and of his sprightly and 

 intelligent family. 



Alexander Ross had been a trader in the Astor Fur Com- 

 pany across the mountains, had joined the Northwest Com- 

 pany, of Montreal, in 1813, and occupied a post in the 

 Okanagan country, was at ISTez Perces, in the Rockib^, in 

 1821, when the Northwest Company and Hudson's Bay 

 united, went on a great exploration for the united company, 

 but was allowed four years afterward, to leave the Pacific 

 coast to come to the valley of Red River and settle there. 



He became the first sheriff of Red River, became the most 

 trusted trader of the Selkirk settlers, and was as well, through 

 his Indian wife, a potent force among the native people. To 

 him it has been usual to trace the establishment in IS 51, of 

 the Presbyterian church in the Red River valley. 



Alexander Ross wrote " Adventures of the First Settlers 

 on the Oregon and Columbia Rivers" (1849), "The Pur 

 Traders of the Par West " (1853), " The Red River Settle- 

 ment " (1856). 



Ross, William, James, Jemima, and Alexander Streets 

 were all named after him or members of his family. Sheriff 

 Ross died in 1856. 



These are sufficient reasons for giving a few extracts from 

 some of his letters. 



