8 TRAXSAcnoys of riih 



is indistinctly defined, rendering its description and indentification very diffi- 

 cult. The reason that no direct footprints were discovered was very apparent. 

 The layer on which the animal walked was a soft clay, wdiich did not harden, 

 but crumbled in removal of the layer above. But the latter being of fine 

 sand and a small trace of lime, took the print of the footstep and hardened 

 to stone. For sidewalks this layer is the most durable, and is in demand 

 where large and firm slabs are desired. In several places on Kansas avenue, 

 Topeka, the slabs show where the raised casts of the footprint have been 

 taken ofi" by the stone-mason to give an even surface. Their relative positioa 

 can still be easily traced. 



Another footprint is that of a smaller animal, the foot measuring by tha 

 toes about two inches in length — heel not discovered. Number of toes, four, 

 the fourth being small and obscure. A lateral spur was found in a few 

 instances. Length of the stride, twelve inches, and width of the trackway 

 from center to center, six inches. These tracks were found on six slabs, and 

 on several solitary pieces at three different quarries. Some were also 

 obtained by splitting the larger slabs fi'om the old quarries. The footprint 

 and cast of the same track were, in such cases, obtained. In several instances 

 the lobes of the toes were distinctly seen. The general impression left after a 

 study of this species is, that the animal must have been a clumsy reptile, with 

 some of the traits of both frog and salamander. The number of tracks seea 

 on single slabs varied from one to sixteen. About one hundred and fifty 

 tracks of this species were procured. 



The best and most distinctly preserved tracks are those resembling the 

 Cheirothereum, These are found at what is called the " Old Quarry." These 

 tracks are very clear in the outline of the front toes, but the heel is obscure. 

 The outline of the foot appears to have been four and a half to five inches 

 wide, and in length five and a half The length of the stride is from 

 twenty-one to twenty-two inches. The hind footprint usually covers the heel 

 of the fore foot. We obtained both the true track and the cast. The width 

 of the trackway is eleven and twelve inches, measuring from center to center. 

 The front foot has four toes, the hind foot five, the fifth being short and per- 

 haps rudimentary. The footprint shows that the animal in walking rested his 

 weight mostly on the toes, as these are strongly and clearly impressed, while 

 the heel can be ti'aced with difficulty. In several instances the wrinkle of 

 the skin could be seen. No trace of a claw was visible. In plumpness the 

 toe resembles the Chierotherium, the toes being more divergent. It also resem- 

 bles the foot of the Saurotus Primevus, found in the sub-carboniferous of 

 Pennsylvania, but is clearly an animal differing from both. We procured 

 twelve slabs of this species, and a few single tracks. From four to sixteen 

 footprints were found on each slab, numbering in all about one hundred. 



These footprints are as distinct and clear as the average of those found in 

 the sandstone of the Connecticut valley. They are sufficiently perfect to give 

 the characteristics of the feet of these animals, and their modes of progression, 

 from which thev can be reconstructed. 



