chunk: The author comments wryly on the political fallout. The states which kept some portion of their land above water eventually demand their full representation in Congress, including two Senators each for several states which exist only as slivers of land.
  Trade and commerce flourish on the new waterway. Eventually the new sea can be fished to great profit. The story ends with an optimistic view of a vibrant future in which "fleets of all the world sail...where once the prairie schooner made its laborious and dusty way west!".