296 Prof. Hitchcock on Ichnolithology^ or Fossil Footmarks. 



inburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine,* in Mr. Murchison's 

 Anniversary Address for 1843, before the London Geological So- 

 ciety,! and in the Proceedings of that Society, which are copied 

 into most of the scientific journals of Europe, representations 

 have been made which I feel bound to notice, because they con- 

 vey wrong impressions, and, unintentionally I doubt not, do me 

 injustice, and moreover imply injustice on my part towards oth- 

 ers. It is there stated, that Dr. James Deane not only originally 

 discovered but explored these footmarks; " expressing then his 

 own belief, from what he saw in existing nature, that the foot- 

 marks were made by birds, 5 ' and that when he communicated 

 the discovery to Professor Silliman and myself, both of us "ad- 

 mitted the plausibility of his statements, yet remained incredu- 

 lous as to inferences, ascribing; the origin of these remains to 

 accidental causes ; and it was only after accurate models were 

 transmitted to them, that the real truth was obvious." 



Now such statements, made in almost every instance by those 

 whom, up to this hour, I have the honor to regard as my friends, 

 certainly convey the impression, that when I commenced the 

 study of footmarks, the subject had been so far investigated by 

 Dr. Deane, that he was able, on scientific grounds, to form the 

 grand conclusion that they were the tracks of birds ; nay 

 my scepticism was overcome by his efforts. If all this be trtil 

 then I have not given him the credit which he deserves, in my 



, that 



i 



,i 



accounts of the footmarks. In my first paper on the subject 

 say, that "my attention was first called to the subject by Dr. 

 James Deane of Greenfield, who sent me some casts of impres- 

 sions on a red micaceous sandstone, brought from the south part 

 of Montague for flagging stones. Through the liberality of the 

 same gentleman, 1 soon after obtained the specimens themselves, 

 (which I then describe as containing impressions,) precisely re- 

 sembling the impressions of the feet of birds. Indeed, among 

 the hundreds who have examined these specimens, probably n° 

 one doubts that such was their origin." In my Report on the 

 Geology of Massachusetts I added nothing more, except to attac 

 Dr. Deane's name to a beautiful species. . d 



In order to do justice to all concerned, I feel myself compel e 

 to give a brief statement of the facts connected with the discovery 



Vol. xxm, p. 186. t P. 107. 



