Trip to Mt. Carmel Illinois [Mount Carmel, Illinois]
1878.
April 13 [April 13, 1878] Left Boston Saturday morning 
April 13th and arrived in Washington 
Sunday morning at 2 A.M.
Spent Sunday [and] Monday with Henry
W. Henshaw and Monday night
left the city with R. Ridgway [Robert Ridgway] on 
the 9.25 train over the B.&O. R.R. [Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]
for Mt. Carmel. Tuesday morning
we woke to find the train running
into Grafton where we took breakfast.
Thro' the forenoon we were passing
swiftly thro' West V. [West Virginia] & I had a good
view of my old collecting ground
at Petroleum. Passed Parkersburg
at 10 and thro' the remainder
of the day we were running thro'
Ohio. Saw a good many birds
but none of especial interest.
Doves (Z. car. [Zenaidura Carolinensis]) exceedingly 
abundant. The road passes thro'
a country universally under
cultivation & apparently exceedingly
fertile. The beautiful red bud tree
was in full bloom everywhere &
gave a very effective touch of 
color to the nearly leafless woods.
At 7 P.M. we reached Cincinnati
and took supper. The sun was
just setting as we ran into the
outskirts of the city and its 
ever present pall of dense black
murky smoke hung over the
great city. English sparrows
made discord on every side as
at home. We soon left all this behind
& shot away again into the night.