11 



ated in the names of a number of the 

 streets of the city. Sheriff Eoss died 

 in 1856. 



ANDREW McDERMOTT. 



Trader and Capitalist. 



Among tlie notable business men of 

 Red Riverj stood easily first Andrew 

 McDermott His stout and solid form 

 indicated a man of affairs, and all old 

 party the greater number were from 

 residents knew old Mr. McDermott. 

 He was in the first ship tliat Lord Sel- 

 kirk sent out to Hudson Bay to begin 

 his colony on Red River. In that first 



After leaving the Hudson's Bay serv- 

 ice be became a dealer in all kinds of 

 wares. He could outfit a party for 

 the plains or supply the farmer with 

 implements. His store was aptly 

 compared to Noah's Ark. He grew to 

 be a man of much wealth. When the 

 first Canadian Pacific railway scheme 

 was formed he was the director for 

 Manitoba. Many a settler in Mani- 

 toba was indebted to him for getting 

 a start in life. Mr. McDermott mar- 

 ried a daughter of Trader McNabb. 

 HLs large family connected with the 

 natives of the country, married not- 

 able and prominent persons of the 



OI.D COURT HOUSE, WITH S. W. BASTION OF FORT GARRY 



the Highlands, but the vessel called at 

 Sligo in Ireland, whei-e it took a doz- 

 en or so of Irish emigrants. Among 

 them was Andrew McDermott. Com- 

 ing thus early he took a firm hold up- 

 on the soil of Red River. If the old 

 Red River proverb be true that any 

 one who once tastes the' water of Red 

 River, will always return to it, it is 

 certainly true that many of the earl- 

 iest settlers adhered most tenaciously 

 to it through good and evil report, 

 and found it to be to them a favorable 

 home. Whatever party or faction was 

 in power, Mr. McDermott was on good 

 terms with them. 



colony. Most distinguished among 

 his sons-in-laT\^s ^ve^e the late Mr. Ban- 

 natyne, one of the kindest hearted and 

 truest men that the Red River and 

 Manitoba have kno\\Ti; and the late 

 Governor William McTavish. Mr. Mc- 

 Dermott passed away on October 12th 

 1881, at the rine) age of ninety-three 

 years, sixty-nine of which had l)een 

 spent on Red River. 



DONALD GUNN, 

 Schoolmaster and Naturalist. 

 To a visitor to Red RiA^er in the old 

 times probably no resident in the set- 

 tlement was a more interesting com- 



