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Audio Transcript of Henry Kelsey 1690 to 1692
Audio Transcript: On 12 June 1690, Kelsey started out from York (at the mouth of the Nelson and Hayes Rivers) on his journey west to the Canadian Plains. The expedition was authorized by Governor George Geyer at York to “call, encourage, and invite the remoter Indians to Trade with us.” From York, Kelsey travelled up the Hayes Rivers and Fox River to Moose Lake, an estimated 600 miles from York. On 10 July 1690, he took possession of land for Sir Edward Dering, deputy governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, at a point located along a bend in the Saskatchewan River at Derings Point, about 19 kilometres (twelve miles) south of present-day The Pas, Manitoba. Here he set up camp for the winter where they received fresh supplies and new orders from York.
On 15 July 1691, he set out from Derings Point and ascended the Saskatchewan River to the Carrot River, where the expedition abandoned its canoes and proceeded on foot until "they came to the edge of the timber country, where before him stretched the Great Salt Plain [the Prairies]."
Source: Voiceovers by Kyle Rawn, Christian Wyss and LeeAnn McLellan, Algonquin College, Ottawa. Assistance provided by Don Crockford, Coordinator, Broadcasting Radio and Media Design Sector, Algonquin College.
