394 Prof. Hitchcock's Rejoinder to Dr. Deane. 



after seeing the specimens, I suspended my judgment till I could, 

 in the first place, examine all the quarries of sandstone within 

 my knowledge, to find every variety possible ; secondly, till I 

 had examined all accessible works on organic remains, and all 

 the important collections of the same in the country, to see if 

 these impressions could not be referred to some of them ; thirdly, 

 to explore in books and in nature all the cases of the sliding of 

 strata upon one another, of veins of segregation, and clay veins, 

 and of mud furrows ; of concretions, ripple marks, and septaria, 

 and unequal disintegration of rocks for the same purpose ; fourth- 



intimate to him what I have said. My impressions are so strong in favor of the 

 genuineness of the discovery, — judging only from the imperfect copy I have in 

 plaster, — that I feel exceedingly desirous to have the matter investigated ; and I do 

 not know in whose hands it can be better placed." 



It appears, then, that I was apprehensive Prof Silliman, instead of Dr. Deane, 

 was about to anticipate me in announcing the footmarks. For had I supposed the 

 latter gentleman to have sent a communication to the Journal, I could have hardly 

 had the impudence to request that it might be thus unceremoniously set aside ; 

 nor would Prof. S. have endured such an interference with his duties as an editor. 

 And further, in a letter to Dr. Deane of Sept. 15th, I told him that I should not pub- 

 lish till the January number of tJie Journal of Science ; which I should not have 

 done, if I had feared he would anticipate me, since the October number was still 

 open for papers. If Prof. Silliman should make the charge upon me which Dr. 

 Deane has, I could hardly vindicate myself. But I repeat, that I am not con- 

 scious of ever having had fears that the latter intended to anticipate me, whatever 

 may have been the fact as to his intentions. But admit that a treacherous mem- 

 ory has deceived me; nay, suppose he had actually published all that he ever 

 wrote about that one cloven specimen ; it would still be no less true than it now 

 is, that I made the first scientific examination of the footmarks ; which is all that 

 I claim. I will add, that not until quite recently, although years of pleasant and 

 friendly intercourse have passed between Dr. Deane and me, have I had an inti- 

 mation that he was not fully satisfied with the credit which I have awarded him. 



I am glad to have had my attention called to the early letters of Prof Silliman 

 on this subject; for the extracts above given show, that Dr. Deane's plaster casts 

 and letters produced essentially the same effect upon him as upon mj'self ; viz. a 

 stronger desire to see the specimens; but they neither removed his "scepticism," 

 nor prevented his "feeling exceedingly desirous to have the matter investigated." 

 I have been also struck with the distinctness and accuracy of his early opinions 

 upon the footmarks, formed, as he says they were, from an " imperfect copy in 

 plaster" of one species, and with a full knowledge of all the geological objections 

 Xo ihe'iY ornithic character; which fact makes a world of difference in estimating 

 the value of those opinions. And were he to demand of me, even at this late 

 day, the amende honorable for omitting to notice those opinions in my papers, I 

 could hardly refuse it ; presuming that on his part he would admit the omission 

 to have been unintentional. His attention was called to the subject about as 

 early as mine ; and had he taken the field, the public well know that my labors 

 would have been unnecessary. 



