Twain traveled from Newark, NJ to Oswego, NY sometime between November 29 and December 1. A likely itinerary would have been to take the New Jersey Central to Hampton; then the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western past Delaware Water Gap., Scranton and Hallstead to Chenango Forks. The 1870 kml files has the New York and Erie running to Binghamton and the quads have the DL&W. From Binghamton, the Syracuse, Binghamton and New York runs to Syracuse and the DL&W Oswego and Syracuse Division to Oswego.
December 1 - Doolittle Hall, Oswego, New York - "Artemus Ward"
The Oswego and Syracuse then the Syracuse, Binghamton and New York to Homer.
December 2 - Barber Hall, Homer, New York - "Artemus Ward"
Reportedly Twain departed Homer on the 4th and returned to Syracuse, then took the New York Central to Geneva.
December 4 - Linden Hall, Geneva, New York - "Artemus Ward"
The New York Central ran between Geneva and Auburn.
December 5 - Academy of Music, Auburn, New York - "Artemus Ward"
The New York Central ran between Auburn and Syracuse.
December 6 - Wieting Opera House, Syracuse, New York - "Artemus Ward"
"...the Artemus Ward lecture lasted only about seven weeks. For a number of reasons it failed to satisfy Mark Twain."
"It is possible, of course that none of these considerations played a major role in causing him to abandon the lecture, During the early part of the tour he was reading proof on his new book Roughing It, and it is highly probable that he saw in its material far more promise of a good lecture than in Artemus Ward."
The 1870 kml files show the New York Central from Syracuse to Batavia, then two no-name lines running to Attica. From there runs the Buffalo, New York and Erie to Warsaw. The USGS maps indicate the New York Central and Hudson River RR - Auburn Road running from Syracuse to east of Canadaigua. From there, the NYC&HR - Batavia and Canadaigua Branch to Batavia. From Batavia to Attica, the maps show the Attica Branch of the NYC&HR. From Attica to Warsaw is the Erie RR.
December 7 - Sprague's Hall, Warsaw, New York - "Roughing It"
From Warsaw to Fredonia, Twain would need to backtrack to Attica and continue on the Buffalo, New York and Erie to Buffalo, NY. From there the kml files have a no-name line running to Dunkirk that was or would become the Lakeshore Railroad. As in January of 1870, he probably took a "horse-car" from Dunkirk to Fredonia.
December 8 - Union Hall, Fredonia, New York - "Roughing It"
From Dunkirk to Erie, Pennsylvania there is a no-name line which is probably the Lakeshore Railroad. Twain likely stayed at the Reed Hotel.
December 9 - Farrar Hall, Erie, Pennsylvania - "Artemus Ward"
The 1870 kml files have a no-name line from Erie to Girard then the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashatabula to Cleveland. The Cleveland and Toledo RR runs in a broken manner to Cleveland and includes a no name line from Fremont to Clay Center and Perrysburg. The USGS maps show the Lakeshore and Michigan Southern for the entire run.
December 11 - White's Hall, Toledo, Ohio - "Artemus Ward"
The Detroit, Monroe and Toledo to Detroit, then the Michigan Central to Ann Arbor.
December 12 - University Hall, Ann Arbor, Michigan - "Artemus Ward"
December 13 - Union Hall, Jackson, Michigan - "Artemus Ward"
Michigan Central or a no-name railroad.
December 14 - Mead's Hall, Lansing, Michigan - "Roughing It"
There is a no-name railroad from Lansing to Ionia that is named the Pere Marquette on the USGS quads. The 1870 kml file also indicate the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad between Ionia and Grand Rapids, the USGS quads show the Grand Trunk.
December 15 - Luce's Hall, Grand Rapids, Michigan - "Roughing It"
The 1870 kml files show a no-name line from Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo, the USGS quads show a more likely line with the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad.
December 16 - Union Hall, Kalamazoo, Michigan - "Roughing It"
2 Clemens jotted the Kalamazoo engagement in his lecture itinerary book and later added the hotel name—the Burdick (Redpath and Fall 1871–72, 7–8).
Day By Day reports that Twain departed Kalamazoo at 4 am December 17th and arrived in Chicago at 3 pm on the 18th. Quotated is the remark "some 11 hours for a 2-hour trip". Apparently Twain must have departed Kalamazoo on the 18th, not the 17th. the Michigan Central ran the entire length of the trip save for a short distance on the leased Illinois Central into downtown Chicago.
December 18 - Michigan Avenue Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois - "Roughing It"
December 19 - Union Park Congregational Church, Chicago, Illinois - "Roughing It"
The Chicago Tribune printed large portions of his lecture in Chicago Dec. 20 and 24, 1871. The complete stenographic report of his lecture in Lansing Michigan, State Republican, Dec. 21, 1871, had apparently escaped his notice. He wrote to Livy from Champaign, Illinois, Dec. 26, 1871, "My new lecture is about licked into shape, & this [afternoon] ; after trimming at it all day I memorized one-fourth of it. Shall commit another fourth tomorrow, maybe more—& shall begin talking it the moment I get out of the range of the cursed Chicago Tribune that printed my new lecture & so made it impossible for me to talk it with any spirit in Illinois. If these devils incarnate only appreciated what suffering they inflict with their infernal synopses, maybe they would try to have humanity enough to refrain."
The Chicago and North Western, previously the Galena and Chicago Union, ran from Chicago to Batavia, then Twain would have taken the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy to Sandwich.
December 20 - Sandwich, Illinois - Topic unknown - text not available
Backtrack to Aurora on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
December 21 - City Hall, Aurora, Illinois - Topic unknown - text not available
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
December 22 - Patterson Hall, Princeton, Illinois - "Artemus Ward"
Twain returned to Chicago for Christmas then took the Illinois Central to Champaign.
December 26 - Barrett Hall, Champaign, Illinois - "Artemus Ward"
December 27 - Tuscola, Illinois - "Artemus Ward"
There appear to be two possible routes to Danville from Tuscola, returning north on the Illinois Central to Tolono Twain could have taken the Great Western to Danville. Further north at Champaign he could have taken the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis (a no-name line in the 1870 kml collection) to Danville.
December 28 - Lincoln Hall, Danville, Illinois - "Roughing It"
Returning west to a junction with the Illinois Central, then south to Mattoon.
December 29 - Mattoon, Illinois - Topic unknown - text not available
The Terre Haute, Alton and St. Louis ran between Mattoon and Paris, IL.
December 30 - Paris, Illinois - Topic unknown - text not available
Day By Day includes this last bit for the year 1871: December 31 Sunday – In a “warm drizzling rain,” Sam went to church in Paris, Illinois, and wrote of the experience in a long letter to Livy. “It was the West & boyhood brought back again, vividly. It was as if twenty-five years had fallen away from me like a garment & I was a lad of eleven again in my Missouri village church of that ancient time” [MTL 4: 527].