A "Pretended Copy Right"? E. A. Kendall and the Writing of Alexander Henry's Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories

In the fall of 1809, two travel narratives appeared in New York from the press of Isaac Riley. The first, credited to Alexander Henry, was titled Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories, between the Years 1760 and 1776, and the second, by Edward Augustus Kendall, was Travels through the Northern Parts of the United States in the Years 1807 and 1808.¹ Neither book generated much interest at first, but Kendall created a stir when, a few weeks later, he alleged that Riley had printed both under "pretended copy rights."² On March 10, 1810, he issued a legal notice addressed to all "booksellers and others, throughout the United States," which read:

Whereas Isaac Riley of the city of New York, has printed in three volumes the Travels of Edward Augustus Kendall, Esq through the Northern Parts of the United States in the years 1807 and 1808, and published the said work without the assent, consent or approbation of the said Edward Augustus Kendall, the author thereof, in whom the copy right thereof is legally vested; And whereas, the said Isaac Riley has also printed in one volume, Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories, between the years 1760 and 1776, written by Alexander Henry, Esq. and published the same without the assent, consent, or approbation of Edward Augustus Kendall, the proprietor thereof, in whom the copy right is legally vested, Booksellers and others are therefore cautioned, not to sell or in any manner publish either of the said works, or any part or parts of them, or either of them, under the penalties of the act in such case made and provided.³

The matter never reached the courts: Riley soon went bankrupt and Kendall, out of funds, was forced to retreat to Britain as war loomed with the United States. How did an obscure British author, best known (if at all) for his children's books, come to claim ownership over one of the most famous titles in fur trade history? Did he have a role in its creation?

Alexander Henry's Travels and Adventures remained in print for decades (including this 1921 edition) and became an important source on the early years of the British fur trade in Michigan and the upper Great Lakes.

Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign/HathiTrust.

Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories is regarded as one of the most important sources on the early years of the British fur trade in Michigan and the upper Great Lakes.⁴ When the book was published in 1809, Henry had been retired from the fur trade for thirteen years and was living in Montreal, where he was King's auctioneer.⁵ It describes his initiation into the business at Albany and Montreal in 1760, his years at Sault Ste. Marie and Michilimackinac, where he partnered with Jean-Baptiste Cadotte, as well as his voyage to the Saskatchewan River in 1775-76.⁶ The book is best remembered, though, for its vivid portrayal of the capture of Michilimackinac during Pontiac's Rebellion in June 1763, Henry's rescue and "captivity" by an Anishinaabe man named Wawatam, as well as the Englishman's observations on the life and customs of indigenous peoples living in the upper Great Lakes region. But as scholars have noted, Henry's book also presents some problems. Almost all its dates are incorrect and there are many other small errors of fact, such as incorrect names and strengths of British regiments, misstated distances, and issues with chronology.⁷ More disconcerting are its many omissions and discrepancies.⁸ At the same time, a comparison of Henry's surviving correspondence and the text of Travels and Adventures reveals stark differences in literary style and vocabulary.⁹ Some of these issues can be attributed to the passage of time, while others cannot. As Keith Widder writes: "At the very least, Henry's manuscript underwent serious editing before...