This is an account of a canoe trip across the province of New Brunswick by three young men of East Boston in the summer of 1874. 149 years ago.  This is early times in New Brunswick.  Aroostook County in Maine was only recently settled. These articles come to us as newspaper columns in a 6 x 8 pasteboard notebook. They come with two letters loose in the front which are explanatory.  Lawrence was the older son of Warren A. Reed.

65 Crescent Ave.Jersey City Heights
July 31st
Dear Lawrence
Yours of the 25th with enclosures was duly rec’d and I at once signed the statement of withdrawal and sent it to Mr Rogerson. Speaking of the New Brunswick trip that Henry Burrison, your father & myself took in 1874, I have just read the printed a/c of it in the E. Boston Advocate, which was written by Henry & your father & taken from a little note book I kept on the trip. Did your father save the articles from the news paper? If not I would be glad to send you mine. They were never finished as both writers were busy in college & the last half of the trip (which was the most exciting) was never written.
Sincerely, Geo Howard Reed

and

Joseph Dixon Crucible Co. Pencil DepartmentJersey City, N.J., U.S.A.
Dear Lawrence
Am sending the Nipisiguit and Tobique trip as it appeared original diary which you might like to read and keep also. Your father and Henry Burrison wrote the articles for the paper & when they quit and took up their school work in Sept 1874 the articles ended, leaving us at the headwaters where we crossed over through the 4 Nipisiguit Lakes to the upper Tobique. The last of it, coming down the Tob to McDougalls house when we ran out of grub was the most exciting.  The article written in the back of the book I think was Henrys beginning to write; mine is marked Front.
Sincerely
Geo. H. Reed

I happen to have this last mentioned diary, which serendipitously arrived from my Uncle Dick with a note of its own in 2001:


Richard C. Reed
Gus,
I came across this which I think is some notes on a fishing trip with Warren A. Reed. I don’t know who the others are. It’s some memorabilia do with it what you will. Excuse the writing.
Merry Xmas
RCR

So there are two accounts.  I transcribed the newspaper articles several years ago, and they are available as a PDF here.   The shorter one, the notes of George H. Reed, is included in the Map tab of this blog.