ation of a direct communication by railroad with the
piny woods of the St. Croix; and I knew that what the enterprising
inhabitants of those giant young cities would refuse to take would have
few charms 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 indispensable road should be, until I
accidentally overheard some gentleman the other day mention the name of
"Duluth." (Great laughter.) Duluth! The word fell upon my ear with
peculiar and indescribable charm, like the gentle murmur of a low
fountain stealing forth in the midst of roses, or the soft, sweet
accents of an angel's whisper in the bright, joyous dream of sleeping
innocence. Duluth! 'Twas the name for which my soul had panted for
years, as the hart panteth for the water-brooks. (Renewed laughter.) 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 profounder humiliation in my ignorance that its dulcet syllables had
never before ravished my delighted ear. (Roars of laughter.) I was
certain the draughtsman of this bill had never heard of it, or it would
have been designated as one of the termini of this road. I asked my
friends about it, but they knew nothing of it. I rushed to the library,
and examined all the maps I could find. (Laughter.) I discovered in one
of them a delicate, hair-like line, diverging from the Mississippi near
a place marked Prescott, which I supposed 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-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 incomplete without it (renewed laughter); that the
elements 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 resulted from leaving out Duluth. (Roars of laughter.) In
fact, sir, I was overwhelmed with the conviction that Duluth 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 a