Full text of "Duluth and the raging St. Croix! [microform] : speech delivered in the House of Representatives at Washington"

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k^^

^,.

DULUTF

AND

THE RAGING ST. CROIX!

■ iti

• <♦»

DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AT |

WASHINGTON,

BY HON. J. PEOCTOE KNOTT,

OP KENTUCKY.

■' ■<■> ■■

Full of Wit and Humour— iV. F. Evening ^ost.

TORONTO:
THE CANADIAN NEWS AND PUBLISHING 00.

1S71.

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•'LiU

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iHiiiiiiipiiiii

I»S,ICE TBlSr CElsTTS.

DIJLUTH,

AND

THE RAGING ST. CROIX!

'■-<•►--

SFEEOH

DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AT

WASHINGTON,

BY HON. J. PEOCTOE KNOTT,

OF KENTUCKY.

^•^ -

FnlJ of Wit and Hiimoni— ^^. Y. Evening Po^t.

TORONTO:
THE CANADIAN NEWS AND PUBLISHING CO.

18 7 1.

X /

DXJLUTH

AND

THE RAGING ST. CROIX.

(The question bein^ on a motion for a grant of land to the St.
Croix and Superior Ilailway, the Hon. Mr. Knott spoixc as
follows : — )

Mr. Knott.

Mr. Speaker ; If I could be actuated by any con-
ceivable inducement to betraj^he sacred trust reposed
in me by those to whose generous confidence T am
indebted for the honour of a seat on this floor ; if I
could be influenced by any possible consideration to
become instrumental in giving away, in violation of
their known wishes, any i^ortion of their interest in
the public domain for the mere promotion of any rail-
road enterprise whatever, I should certainly feel a

Duluthy and the

strong inclination to give this measure my earnest
and hearty support ; for I am assured that its success
would materially exchange the pecuniary prosperity
of some of the most valued friends I have on earth ;
iriends for whose accommodation I would be willing
to make almost any sacrifice not involving my peit
sonal lionour, my fidelity as the trustee of an express
trust. And that fact of itself would be sufficient to
countervail almost any objection I might entertain to
the passage of this bill, not inspired by any impera-
tive and inexorable sense of public duty.

But, independent of the seductive influences' of
private friendship, to which I admit I am, perhaps
as susceptible as any of the gentlemen I see around
me, the intrinsic merits of the measure itself are of
such an extraordinary character as to commend it
most strongly to the favourable consideration of every
member of this House, myself not excepted, notwith-
standing my constituents, in whose behalf alone I am
acting here, would not be benefitted by its passage
one particle more than they would be by a project to
cultivate an orange grove on the bleakest summit of
Greenland's icy mountains. (Laughter.)

Now, sir, as to those great trunk-lines of railway,
spanning the continent from ocean to ocean, I confess
my mind has never been fully made up. It is true

Bcufing St, Croix. 7

they may afford some trifling advantages to local
traffic, and they may even in time become the chan-
nels of a more extended commerce. Yet I have never
been thoroughly sati.stied ether of the necessity or ex-
pediency of projects promising such meagre results
to the great body of our people. But with regard to
the transcendent merits of the gigantic enterprise
contemplated in this bill, I never entertained the
shadow of a doubt. (Laughter.)

Years ago, when I first heard t' at there was some-
where in the vast terra incognita, somewhere in the
bleak regions of the great Northwest, a stream of
water known to the nomadic inhabitants of the neigh-
borhood as the river St. Croix, I became satisfied
that the construction of a railroad from that raging
torrent to some point in the civilized world was essen-
tial to the happiness and prosperity of the American
people, if not absolutely indespens^able to the perpe-
tuity of republican institutions on this continent.
(Great laughter.) I felt instinctively that the bound-
less resources of that prolific region of sand and pine
shrubbery would never be fully developed without a
railroad constructed and equipped at the expense of
the Government, and perhaps not then. (Laughter.)
I had an abiding presentiment that, some day or other,
the people of the whole country, irrespective of party

Duluth, and the

affliations, regardless of sectional prejudices, and
'' without distinction of race, color, or previous con-
dition of servitude," would rise in their majesty and
demand an outlet for the enormous agricultural pro-
duction's of those vast and fertile pine districts watered
in the rain}^ season by the surging waters of the turbid
St. Croix. (Great laughter.)

These impressions, derived simply and solely from
the " eternal fitness of things," were not only strength-
ened by iha interesting and eloquent debate on this
bill, to w'jich I listened with so much pleasure the
other day, but intensified, if popsible, as I read over
this morning the lively colloquy which took place on
that occasion, as I find it reported in last Friday's
Globe. I will ask the indulgence of the House, while
I read a few short passages, which are sufficient, in
my judgment, to place the merits of the great enter-
prise contemplated in the measure now under discus-
sion beyond all possible controversy.

The honorable gentleman from Minnesota (Mr.
Wilson), who, I believe, is managing this bill, in
speaking of the character of the country through
which this railroad is to pass, says this :

'' We want to have the timber brought to us as
cheaply as possible. Now, if you tie up the lands in
this way, so that no title can be obtained to them— for

Raging St. Croix. 9

no settler will go on these lands, for he cannot make
a living— you deprive m of the benefit of the timber."
Now, sir, I would not have it, by any means, in-
ferred from this that the gentleman frem Minnesota
would insinuate that the people out in his section de-
sire this timber merely for the purpose of fencing up
their farms so that their stock may not wander off
and die of starvation among the bleak hills of the St.
Croix. (Laughter.) I read it for no such purpose.
Sir, and made no such comment on it myself In cor-
roboration of this statement of the gentleman from
Minnesota, I find this testimony given by the honor-
able member from Wisconsin, (Mr. Washburn.)
Speaking of these same lands, he says :

" Under the bill, as amended by my friend from
Minnesota, nine-tenths of the land is open to actual
settlers at ^2 50 per acre ; the remaining one-tenth is
pine-timbered land, that is not fit for settlement, and
never will be settled upon ; but the timber will be
cut off. I admit that it is the most valuable portion
of the grant, for most of the grant ih not valuable. It
is quite valulesi ; and if you put in thif. amendment
of the gentleman from Indiana, you may just as well
kill the bill, for no man and no company will take the
grant and build the road "

I simply pause here to ask some gentleman better

Duluth, and the

versed in the science of mathematics than I am, to
tell me, if the timbered lands are in fact the most
valuable portion of that section of country, and they
would be entirely valueless without the timber that
is on them, what the remainder of the land is worth
which has no timber on it at all ? (Laughter.)

But further on I find a most entertaining and in-
structive interchange of views between the gentleman
from Arkansas (Mr. Rogers,) the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Washburn,) and the gentleman from
Maine, (Mr. Peters,) upon the subject of pine lands
generally, which I will tax the patience of the House
to read.

" Mr. Rogers— Will the gentleman allow me to ask
him a question ?

' " Mr. Washburn, of Wisconsin— Certainly.

'' Mr. Rogers— Are these pine lands entirely worth-
less except for timber ?

''Mr. Washburn, of Wisconsin— Thej are generallj^
worthless for any other purpose. I am perfectly fami-
liar with that subject. These lands are not valuable
for purposes of settlement.

'' Mr. Farnsworth— They will be after the timber
is taken off.

'' Mr. Washburn, of Wisconsin — No, sir.

Baging St. Croix. %%

"Mr. Eogers— I want to know the character of
these pine lands.

" Mr. Washburn, of Wisconsin— They are generally
sandy, barren lands. My friend from the Green Bay
district (Mr. Sawyer) is himself perfectly familiar
with this question, and he will bear me out in what
I say, that these pine timber lands are not adapted to
settlement.

" Mr. Rogers— The pine lands to which I am accus-
tomed are generally very good. What I want to
know is, what is the difference between our' pine
lands and your pine lands ?

"Mr. Washburn, of Wisconsin— The pine timber
of Wisconsin generally grows upon barren, sandy
land. The gentleman from Maine (Mr. Peters), who
is familiar with pine lands, will, I have no doubt, say
that pine timber generally grows upon the most
barren lands.

" Mr. Peters— As a general thing, pine lands are
not worth much for cultivation."

And further on I find this pregnant question,
the joint production of the two gentlemen from
Wisconsin.

Diiluth) and the

'^Mr. Peters — Does my friend from Indiana sup-
pose that, in any event, settlers will occupy and
cultivate these pine lands ?

'' Mr. Washburn, of Wisconsin— Particularly with-
out a railroad ?"

Yes, sir; *' particularly without a railroad." It
will be asked after awhile, I am afraid, if settlers
will go anywhere unless the Government builds a
railroad for them to go on. (Laughter.)

I desire to call attention to only one more state-
ment, which I think sufficient to settle the question.
It is one made by the gentleman from Wisconsin
(Mr. Paine), who says:

'• These lands will be abandoned for the present.
It may be that at some remote period there will
spring up in that region a new kind of agriculture,
which will cause a demand for these particular
lands ; and they may then come into use and be
valuable for agricultural purposes. But I know, and
I cannot help thinking that my friend from Indiana
understands, that for the present, and for many years
to come, these pine lands can have no possible value,
other than that arising from the pine timber which
stands on them,"

Raging St, Croix.

N"ow, sir, who, after listening to this emphatic and
unequivocal testimony of these intelligent, compet-
ent, and able-bodied witnesses (laughter) who that
is not as incredulous as St. Thomas himself— will
doubt for a moment that the Goshen of America is to
be found in the sandy valleys and upon the pine-clad
hills of the St. Croix ? (Laughter.) Who will have
the hardihood to rise in his seat on this floor and
assert that, excepting the pine bushes, the entire
region would not produce vegetation enough in ten
yerrs to fatten a grasshopper? (Great laughter.)
Where is the patriot who is willing that his country
shall incur the peril of remaining another day with-
out the amplest railroad connection with such an in-
exhaustible mine of agricultural wealth ? (Laughter.)
Who will answer for the consequences of abandoning
a great and warlike people, in possession of a country
like that, to brood over the indifference and neglect
of their Government ? (Laughter.) How long would
it be before they would take to studying the Declara-
tion of Independence and hatching out the damnable
heresy of secession ? How long before the grim
demon of civil discord would rear again his horrid
head in our midst, " gnash loud his iron fangs, and
shake his crest of bristling bayonets ?" (Laughter.)

Then, sir, think of the long and painful process of

Duluth, and the

reconstruction that must follow with its concomitant
amendments to the Constitution: the seventeenth,
eighteenth and nineteenth articles. The sixteenth,'
it is of course understood, is to be approi^riated to
those blushing damsels who are day after day,
beseeching us to let them vote, hold office, drink
cock-tails, ride astraddle, and do everything else the
men do. (Eoars of laughter.) But above all, let me
implore you to reflect for a single moment on the
deplorable condition of our country in case of a
foreign war, with all our ports blockaded, all our
cities in a state of siege, the gaunt spectre of famine
brooding like a hungry vulture over our starving
land, our commissary stores all exhausted, and our
famishing armies withering away in the field, a help-
less prey to the insatiate demon of hunger ; our navy
rotting in the docks for want of provisions for our
gallant seamen, and we without any railroad com-
munication whatever with the prolific pine tickets of
the St. Croix. (Great laughter.)

Ah, sir, I could very well understand why my
amiable friends from Pennsylvania (Mr. Myers, Mr.
Kelley and Mr. O'Xeill) should be so earnest in their
support of the bill the other day, and if their honour-
able colleague, my friend Mr. Eandall, will pardon
the remark, I will say I considered his criticism of

Racing St. Croix.

their action on that occasion as not only unjust but
ungenerous. I knew they were looking forward with
the far-reaching ken of enlightened statesmanship to
the pitiable condition in which Philadelphia will be
left unless 8i)eedily supplied with railroad connection
in some way or other \vith this garden spot of the
universe. (Laughter.) And besiies, sir, this dis-
cussion has relieved my mind of a mystery that has
weighed upon it like an incubus for years. I could
never understand before why there was so much ex-
citement during the last Congress over the acquisi-
tion of Alta Vela. I could never understand why it
was that some of our ablest statesmen and most disin-
terested patriots should entertain such dark forebod-
ings of the untold calamities that were to befall our
beloved country unless we should take immediate
possession of that desirable island. But I see now
^ that they were labouring under the mistaken impres-
sion that the Government would need the guano to
manure the public lands on the St. Croix. (Grreat
laughter.)

Now, sir, I repeat, I have been satisfied for years
that if there was any portion of the inhabited globe
absolutely in a suffering condition for want of a rail-
road it was these teeming wild barrens of the St.
Croix. (Laughter.) At what particular point on

Duluth, and the

that noble stream such a road should be commenced
I knew was .mmaterial, and so it seems to have been
considered by the draughtsman of this bill. It might
be up at the spring or down at the foot-log, or The
water-gate, or the iish-dam, or anywhere along the
bank no matter wnere. (Laughter.) Bat in what
direction should it run, or where should it terminate,
were always to my mind questions of the most pain-
ful perplexity. I could conceive of no place on "God's
green earth " in such straitened circumstances for
railroad facilities as to be likely to desire or willintr
to accept such a connection. (Laughter.) I knew
that nether Bayfield nor Superior City would havl
It for ^ley both indignantly spurned the munificence
of the Government when coupled with such ignomin-
ious conditions, and let this very same land grant die
on their hands years and years ago rather than sub-
m. to the degradation of a direct communication by
railroad with the piny woods of the St. Croix; and I
knew that what the enterprssing inhabitants of those
giant young cities would refuse to take would have
few charm,, for others, whatever their necessities or
cupidity might be. (Laughter.)

Hence, as I have said, sir, I was utterly at a loss to
determine where the terminus of this great and indis-
pensable road should be, until I accidentally over-

Raging St. Croix. 17

heard some gentlemen the other day mention the
name of "Duluth." (Groat laughter.) Duluth' The
word fell upon my ear with peculiar and indescribable
charm, like the gentle murmur of a low fountain steal-
ing forth in the midst of roses, or the soft, sweet ac-
cents of an angel's whisper in the bright, joyous
dream of sleeping innocence. Duluth ! 'Twas the
name for which my soul had pined for years, as the
hart panteth for the water-brooks. (Renewed laugh-
ter.) But where was Duluth ? Never, in all my
limited reading, had my vision been gladdened by
seeing the celestial word in print. (Laughter.) And
I felt a profound humiliation in my ignorance that its
dulcet syllables had never before ravished my de-
lighted ear. (Roars of laughter.) I was certain the
draughtsman of this bill had never hoard of it or it
would have been designated as one of (he term'ini of
this road I asked my friends about it, but they
knew nothing of it. 1 rushed to the library and ex-
amined all the maps I could find, (Laughter. ^ I
discovered in one of them a delicate line, diverging
from the Mississippi near a place marked Prescott
which I suppose was intended to represent the river
St. Croix, but I could nowhere find Duluth.

Nevertheless, I was.'confident it existed somewhere,
and that its discovery would constitute the crowning

Dulvth, and the

glory of the present century, if not of all modern
times. (Laughter.) I knew it was bound to exist in
the very nature of things ; that the symmetry and
perfection of our planetary system would be incom-
plete without it, (renewed laughter) ; that the ele-
ments of material nature would long since have
resolved themselves back into original chaos if there
had been such a hiatus in creation as would have re-
sulted from leaving out Duluth. (Roars of laughter.)
In fact, sir, I was overwhelmed with the conviction
that Puluth not only existed somewhere, but that
wherever it was, it was a great and glorious place.
I was convinced that the greatest calamity that ever
befell the benighted nations of the ancient world
was in their having passed away without a knowledge
of the actual existence of Duluth ; that fabled Atlantis,
never seen save by the hallowed vision of inspired
poesy, was, in fact, but another name for Duluth ;
that the golden orchard of the Hesperides was but a
poetical synonym for the beer gardens in the vicinity
of Duluth. (Great laughter.) I was certain that
Herodotus had died a miserable death because, in all
his travels and with all his geographical research, he
had never heard of Duluth. (Laughter.) I knew
that if the immortal spirit of Homer could look down
from another heaven than that created by his own
celestial genius, upon the long lines of pilgrims from

Raging St. Croix.

every nation of the earth to the gushing fountain of
poesy opened by the touch of his magic wand ; if he
could be permitted to behold the vast assemblage of
grand and glorious productions of the lyric art called
in being by his own inspired strains, he would weep
tears of bitter anguish, that, instead of lavishing all
the stores of his mighty genius upon the fall of Ilion,
it had not been his more blessed lot to crystalize in
deathless song the rising glories of Duluth. (Great
and continued laughter.) Yes, sir, had it not been
for this map, kindly furnished me by the Legislature
of Minnesota, I might have gone down to my obscure
and humble grave in an agony of despair, because I
could nowhere find Duluth. (Eenewed laughter.)
Had such been my melancholy fate, I have no doubt
that with the last feeble pulsation of my breaking
heart, with the last faint exhalation of my fleeting
breath, I should have whispered. " Where is Duluth?"
(Roars of laughter.)

But, thanks to the benoficence of that band of min-
istering angels who have their bright abodes in the
far-off capital of Minnesota, just as the agony of my
anxiety was about to culminate in the frenzy of des-
pair, this blessed map was placed in my hands ; and
as I unfolded it a resplendent scene of ineifable glory
opened before me, such as I imagine burst upon the

Duluth, and the

enraptured vision of the wandering peri through the
opening gates of paradise. (Renewed hiughter.)
There, there for the first time, my enchanted eyes
rested upon the ravishing word " Duluth."

This map, sir, is intended, as it appears from its
title, to illustrate the position of Duluth in the United
States ; but if gentlemen will examine it, I think they
will concur with me in the opinion that it is far too
modest in its pretensions. It not only illustrates
Duluth in the United States, but exhibits its relations
with all created things. It even goes further than
this. It lifts the shadowy veil of futurity and affords
us a view of the golden prospects of Duluth far along
the dim vista of ages yet to come.

. If gentlemen will examine it, they will find Duluth
not only in the centre of the map, but represented in
the centre of a series of concentric circles one hun-
dred miles apart, and some of them as much as four
thousand miles in diameter, embracing alike in their
tremendous sweep the fragrant savannas of the sunlit
South and the eternal solitudes of snow J a!, mantle
the ice-bound North. (Laughter.) How tnose circles
were produced is perhaps one of those primordial
mysteries that the most skilful j)aleologist will never
be able t? explain. (Eenewed laughter.) But the

Raging St. Croix,

fant is, sir, Duluth is pro-eminently a central place,
for I am told by gentlemen who have been so recklese
of their own pernonal safety as to venture away into
those awful regions where Duluth is supposed to be>
that it is so exactly in the centre of the visible uni-
verse that the sky comes down at precisely the same
distance all around it. (Roars of laughter.)

I find by reference te this map that Duluth is situ-
ated somewhere near the western end of Lake Sup-
erior, but as there is no dot or other mark indicating
its exact location I am unable to say whether it is
actually confined to any particular spot, or whether
*' it is just lying around there loose." (Renew^ed
laughter.) I really cannot tell whether it is one of
those ethereal creations of intellectual frost-work,
more intangible than the rose-tinted clouds of summer
sunset ; one of those airy exhalations of the specu-
lator's brain, which I am told are ever flitting in the
form of towns and cities along those lines of railroad
built with Government subsidies, luring the unwary
settler as the mirage of the desert lures the famishing
traveler on, and ever on, until it fades away in the
darkening horizon, or whether it is a real bona fide,
substantial city, all " staked oif," with the lots marked
with their own er's names, like that proud commercial
metropolis recently discovered on the desirable shores

Duluth, and the

of San Domingo. (Laughter.) But, however, that
may be, I am satisfied Duluth is there, or thereabout,
for I see it stated here on this map that it is exactly
thirty-nine hundred and ninety miles from Liverpool
(laughter) ; though I have no doubt, for the sake of
convenience, it will be moved back ten miles, so as to
make the distance an even four thousand. ) Renewed
laughter.)

Then, sir, there is the climate of Duluth, unques-
tionably the most salubrious and delightful to be
found anywhere on the Lord's earth. ISTow, I have
always been under the impression, as I presume other
gentlemen have, that in the region around Lake
Superior it was cold enough for at least nine months
in the year to freeze the smoke-stack off a locomo-
tive. (Great laughter.) But I see it represented on
this map, that Duluth is situated exactly half-way be-
tween the latitudes of Paris and Venice, so that
gentlemen who have inhaled the exhilarating air
of the one or basked in the golden sunlight of the
other, may see at a glance that Duluth must be a
place of untold delight (laughter), a terrestrial
paradise, fanned by the balmy zephyrs of an eternal
spring, clothed in the gorgeous sheen of ever-bloom-
ing flowers, and vocal with the silvery melody of
nature's choicest songsters. (Laughter.) In fact,

Baging St. Croix.

sir, since I have seen this map, I have no doabt
that Byron was vainly endeavouring to convey some
faint conception of the delicious charms of Duluth,
when his poetic soul gushed forth in the rippling
strains of that beautiful rhapsody —

"Know ye the land of the cedar and vine,
Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine ;
Where the light wings of Zephyr, oppressed with perfume.
Wax faint o'er the gardens of Gul in her bloom ;
Where the citron and olive are fairest of fruit.
And the voice of the nightingale never is mute ;
Where the tints of the earth and the hues of the sky,
In colour though varied, in beauty may vie ?"

(Laughter.)

As to the commercial resources of Duluth, sir, they
are simply illimitable and inexhaustible, as is shown
by this map. I see it stated here that there is a vast
scope of territory, embracing an area of over two
million square miles, rich in every element in
material wealth and commercial prosperity, all
tributary to Duluth. Look at it, sir (pointing to the
map). Here are inexhaustible mines of gold, im-
measurable veins of silver, impenetrable depths of
boundless forest, vast coal measures, wide extended
plains of richest pasturage, all, all embraced in this

Diiluth, and the

vast territory, which must, in the very nature of
things, empty the untold treasures of its commerce
into the lap of Duluth. (Laughter.)

Look at it, sir (pointing to the map). Do not you
see from these broad, brown lines drawn around this
immense territory, that the enterprising inhabitants
of Duluth intend some day to inclose it all in one
vast corral, so that its commerce will be bound to go
there whether it would or not? (Great laughter.)
Add here, sir (still pointing to the map), I find with-
in a convenient distance the Piegan Indians, which,
of all the many accessories to the glory of Duluth I
consider by far the most inestimable. For, sir, I have
been told that when the small-pox breaks out among
the women and children of that famous tribe, as it
sometimes does, they afford the finest subjects in the
world for the strategical experiments of any enter-
prising military hero who desires to improve himself
in the noble art of war — (laughter) ; especially for
any valiant lieutenant general whose

"Trenchant blade, Toledo trusty,
For want of fighting has grown rusty,
And eats into itself for lack
Of somebody to hew and hack."

(Great laughter.)

Maging St. Croix.

Sir, the great conflict now raging in the Old World
has presented a phenomenon in military science un-
precedented in the annals of mankind, a phenomenon
that has reversed all the traditions of the past as it
has disappointed all the expectations of the present.
A great and warlike people, renowned alike for their
skill and valour, have been swept away before the
triumphant advance of an inferior foe, like autumn
stubble before a hurricane of fire. For aught I know,
the next flash of electric fire that shimmers along the
ocean cable may tell us that Paris, with every fibre
quivering with the agony of impotent despair, writhes
beneath the conquering heel of her loathed invader.
Ere another moon shall wax and wane, the brightest
star in the galaxy of nations may fall from the zenith
of her glory never to rise again. Ere the modest
violets of early spring shall oj^e their beauteous eyes,
the genius of civilization may chaunt the wailing re-
quiem of the proudest nationality the world has
ever seen, as she scatters her withered and tear-
moistened lilies o'er the bloody tomb of butchered
France. But, sir, I wish to ask if you honestly and
candidly believe that the Dutch would have ever over-
run the French in that kind of style if Gen. Sheridan
had not gone over there and told King ^\illiam and
Yon Moltke how he had managed to whip the Piegan
Indians ? (Great Laughter.)

iniiiBriii'iMiinirfi a.^KJiwwwa..-^'- ^-■f-vT,^,

Duluth, and the

And here, 8ir, recurring to this map, I find in the
immediate vicinity of the Piegans ^'vast herds of
buffalo" and '^immense tields of rich wheat lands."

(Here the hammer fell.)

(Many cries : " Go on !" " Go on !")

The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the gentle-
man from Kentucky continuing his remarks? The
Chair hears none. The gentleman will proceed.

Mr. Knott. — I was remarking, sir, upon these vast
wheat fields represented on this map in the immediate
neighborhood of the buttaloes and the Piegans, and
was about to say tha<^ the idea of there being these
immense wheat fields in the very heart of a wilder-
ness, hundreds and hundreds of miles beyond the
utmost verge of civilization, may appear to some
gentlemen as rather incongruous, or rather too great
a strain on the '' blankets " of veracity. But to my
mind there is no difficulty in the matter whatever.
The phenomenon is very easily accounted for. It is
evident, sir, that the Piegans, sowed that wheat

))

Raging St. Croix. 27

there and plowed it with buffalo bulls. [Great
laugeter.] Now, sir, this fortunate combination
of Buffaloes and Piegans, considering their re-
lative positions to each other and to Duluth, as thej
are arranged on this map, satisfies me that Duluth is
destined to be the beef market of the world. [Great
laughter.]

Here, you will observe (pointing to the map) are
the buffaloes, directly between the Piegans and
Duluth; and here, right on the road to Duluth,
are the Creeks. Now, sir, when the buffaloes are
sufficiently fat from grazing on those immense wheat
fields, you see it will be the easiest thing in the world
for the Piegans to drive them on down, stay all night
with their friends, the Creeks, and go into Duluth in
the morning. (Great laughter.) I think I see them
now, sir ; a vast herd of buffaloes, with their heads
down, their eyes glaring, their nostrils dilated, their
tongues out, and their tails curled over their backs,
tearing along towards Duluth, with about a thousand
Piegans on their grass-bellied ponies, yelling at their
heels I [Great laughter.] On they come ! And as

Duluthj and the

they sweep past the Creeks, they join in the chase,
and away they all go, yelling, bellowing, ripping, and
tearing, amid clouds of dust, until the last buffalo is
safely penned in the stock-yards of Duluth ! [Shouts
of laughter.]

Sir, I might stand here for hours and hours, and ex-
patiate with rapture upon the gorgeous prospects of
Duluth, as depicted upon this map. But human life
is too short and the time of this House far too valu-
able to allow me to linger longer upon the delightful
theme. [Laughter.] I think every gentleman upon
this floor is as well satisfied as I am that Duluth is
destined to become the metropolis of the universe,
and that this road should be built at once. I am
fully persuaded that no patriotic representative of the
American people, who has a proper appreciation of
the associated glories of Duluth and the St. Croix,
will hesitate a moment to say that every able-bodied
female in the land between the ages of eighteen and
forty-five who is in favour of '' women's rights "
should be drafted and set to work upon this great
work without delay. [Roars of laughter.] Never-

Raging St. Croix,

theless, sir, it grieves my very soul to be compelled to
say that I cannot vote for the grant of lands pro-
vided for in this bill.

Ah I sir, you can have no conception of the poign-
ancy of my anguish that I am deprived of that blessed
privilege 1 [Laughter.] There are two insuperable
obstacles in the way. In the first place my consti-
tuents, for whom I am acting here, have no more in-
terest in this road than they have in the great ques-
tion of culinary taste now perhaps agitating the
public mind of Dominica, as to whether the illustrious
commissioners who recently left this capital for that
free and enlightened republic would be belter fricas-
seed, boiled or roasted [great laughter] ; and in the
second place, these lands, which 1 am as]:(^d to give
away, alas, are not mine to bestow ! My relation to
them is simply that of trustee to an express trust.
And shall I ever betray tl>at trust? ^N'ever, sir!
Rather perish Duluth 1 [Shouts cf laughter.] Perish
the paragon of cities! Rather let the freezing cy-
clones of the bleak North West bury it forever beneath
the eddying sands of the raging St. Croix ! [G-reat
laughter.]

^ §tw iWmttmA Pouthljj.

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