6 



ward of the right foot, as 12 and 12 to 6 and 2 

 inches. 



The average straddle is only 5 inches; the 

 consecutive longitudinal distances between the 

 left toe of each pair are respectively 4 feet 8 

 inches, 5 feet 6 inches, and 6 feet 6 inches. I 

 have not drawn the imprints to scale, nor have 

 I been accurate in details of structure, because 

 casts will be made of them. The positions and 

 sizes of the bird and so-called man tracks are 

 only approximated in the drawing as of sec- 

 ondary importance in this relation. 



Footprints of the Horse. 



By removing some quarried rocks Mr. Bell 

 exhibited a line of tracks which seemed to 

 have been made by a horse, because the impress 

 of two of the best of them showed satisfactorily 

 the existence of the frog of the horse's foot. 

 The depth of the first one had preserved it 

 from injury in quarrying, etc., and at the bot- 

 tom the length was five inches and the breadth 

 four inches; at the surface the length was six 

 inches. These imprints indicated to my eye 

 that the foot was more like that of a mule 

 than a horse; and as my party is constantly 

 using both animals in our geodetic surveys we 

 are somewhat familiar with the different foot- 

 prints. 



The average longitudinal distance apart of 

 the imprints of the right side is five feet, two 

 inches; of the left side five feet, three inches; 

 and the breadth of the straddle is about four 

 inches, but the line of travel is not straight. 

 The accompanying diagram illustrates upon the 

 same scale as the others the stride and size of 

 the footprints of this animal. 



Nearly parallel with this line of march are 

 several other lines of apparently a similar ani- 

 mal, but the imprints are relatively obscure as 

 to structural details. The general features, 

 however, are similar. 



Footprints of a Bos. 



Provisionally we have referred to this animal 

 as the "nondescript." Close under the eastern 

 cliff there is seen the impresses of five feet. 

 The animal was apparently a short stepper, had 

 cloven hoofs, and a body so heavy that the feet 

 sank deeply into the soft mud layer, probably 

 to a harder layer below. It would appear that 

 when the foot was withdrawn the mud was in 

 such a plastic condition that it inflowed suffi- 

 ciently to obliterate the bottom marking of 

 the hoof. The surface of the layer is marked 

 by heavy rain drops, and there are bird tracks 

 near it. 



There are only five of these footprints, when 

 the animal turned to the left and the horizon is 

 lost. The average longitudinal distance apart 

 of the left imprints is two feet two inches; and 

 the average longitudinal distance of the consec- 

 utive footprints, one foot one inch; and the 

 straddle six inches. 



So far as measurements could be fairly made, 

 the average length of the double hoof was three 

 and three-fourths inches, and the breadth nearly 



three inches. Three of them were two and 

 three-fourths inches broad at the heel, and two 

 consecutive ones first before the animal turned 

 were three and a half broad. 



These imprints present somewhat the appear- 

 ance of a heifer's tracks, and Capt. Hooper, of 

 the U. S. Revenue Marine, who has had the ex- 

 perience of two seasons in the Arctic, says they 

 immediately suggested the reindeer tracks to 

 him, although the latter are broader. 



A Fine Curved Line. 



Near these imprints is a sharp, double-looped 

 curve cut in the soft mud. It is roughly indi- 

 cated on the canvas from memory. It is a fine- 

 cut line ranging from one-half to one millimeter 

 across, and less than that deep. I removed 

 some crystals from one part of it to test its hav- 

 ing been made at the same time as the nonde- 

 script. 



Footprints of the Dog 



A line of tracks provisionally assumed to be 

 those of a dog exhibit a peculiarity of gait, 

 which is shown in the unfinished drawing, in- 

 stead of progressing with apparently alternate 

 steps, we see a progression by alternate pairs; 

 i. c. , two steps rather close to each other or 

 side of the line of march, then a wider space to 

 similar tracks on the other side of the line of 

 march. 



The structural details are moderately good. 



Another drawing of similar but larger foot- 

 prints was made by Mr. Gibbes; it exhibits 

 this peculiarity of gait still more markedly, for 

 the prints of the close pairs are only 4 inches 

 apart, and the distance apart of the pairs is 14 

 inches. 



There were other footprints which we had 

 not time to measure, but, which may prove of 

 great interest; especially as two or more of 

 them may possibly have been made by web- 

 footed birds. 



The Published Diagrams Should 

 be Corrected. 



A pressure of other duties has compelled me 

 to be much briefer than the subject demands. 

 I have endeavored to state the facts as they have 

 appeared to my eye and to a steel tape line. I 

 had no theory to advance in making the exami- 

 nation, but I could not help having convictions 

 forced upon me which were made stronger with 

 each new phase of the investigation. But in the 

 first place I wish to call attention to the dia- 

 grams published under the auspices of the 

 academy, and therefore making it responsible 

 for the results. The work had been done with 

 great conscientiousness, but there is nothing in 

 the diagrams to indicate whether a footprint, 

 especially of the so-called man, is obscure, or 

 whether it is distinct and well marked, as in 

 series No. 1. Now, as a matter of fact, these 

 footprints on the lower floor are mainly very 

 faint indications, and would most likely have 

 left no outline from the removal of the upper 

 and softer layer, but that there is a develop- 

 ment of the red oxide of iron in what was the 



