Complex sentence: Alger planned a trip to the western United States and left New York City in February 1877, travelling overland to California, and returning to New York in late summer 1877 with several manuscripts in hand.
Split into simpler sentences: Alger planned a trip to the western United States. Alger left New York City in February 1877, travelled overland to California, and returned to New York in late summer 1877 with several manuscripts in hand.