John Mcdonald of Garth: The Last Nor'wester‪.‬

John McDonald of Garth, the son of a military officer, was born about 1774 on the family estate at Callander, Perthshire, in the Highlands of Scotland. He was destined for a career in the army and when he was fourteen years old his father obtained a commission for him. But a childhood injury intervened. He explains: My right hand had been dislocated by the carelessness of my nurse in raising [me] up by the arms. It was not perceptible until of age to use it. It was then too late to set it in its original socket and so I remained to make my left hand my right.... It was found that my arm was an objection to my entering the army, so that I did not follow the profession of most of my Forefathers.(1)