Norbert Gay (?-?)

Adventurer.

A Frenchman who arrived in Red River mysteriously in January 1870, he claimed to be a correspondent for a Paris newspaper. It was rumoured that he was a spy, but no one was certain for whom he was spying. Known as “Captain Gay,” he became a loyal Riel supporter and attempted to instill European cavalry tactics into Riel’s few remaining armed horsemen in the spring of 1870. Gay was a member of the party of horsemen led by Riel that made the final reconnoitre of the Wolseley encampment before the expedition officially arrived at the Forks.

Source:

Profile revised: 23 January 2010

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