American literature -- Humor; American wit and humor
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 these 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 toward Duluth, with about a thousand Piegans on their
grass-bellied ponies yelling at their heels! (Great laughter.) On they
come! And as they sweep past the Creeks, they join in the chase, and
away they all go, yelling, bellowing, ripping, and tearing along, amid
clouds of dust, until the last buffalo is safely penned in the
stockyards of Duluth! (Shouts of laughter.)
Sir, I might stand here for hours and hours, and expatiate 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 valuable to
allow me to linger longer upon the delightful theme, (Laughter.) I think
every gentleman on this floor is as well satisfied as I am that Duluth
is destined to become the commercial 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 favor of "women's
rights" should be drafted and set to work upon this great work without
delay. (Roars of laughter.) Nevertheless, sir, it grieves my very soul
to be compelled to say that I can not vote for the grant of lands
provided for in this bill.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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