The Kelsey Papers (Canadian Plains Studies(CPS))

In 1926, certain documents were presented to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland by Major A.F. Dobbs of Castle Dobbs, Carrickfergus. These had been collected by Arthur Dobbs, author and statesman, who in addition to displaying varied interests, and no small influence, in colonial affairs during the eighteenth century — he was Governor of North Carolina from 1754 until his death in 1765 — distinguished himself as a critic of the administration of the Hudson's Bay Company.

In the Dobbs Collection were found "The Kelsey Papers." They were subsequently jointly published in 1929 by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and the Public Archives of Canada. The original papers — journals, letters and memoranda — are, it seems probable, in the handwriting of Henry Kelsey, a young employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, who journeyed into what is now Saskatchewan in 1690 and 1691. A keen observer, Kelsey recorded at least some of what he saw and heard, and his observations are recorded in this book.

This reprint edition contains the introduction to the 1929 edition, by Arthur G. Doughty (Keeper of Public Records) and Chester Martin (Head of the Department of History, University of Manitoba), as well as a new introduction by John Warkentin (York University).