224 Remarks on the Prints of Human Feet, 



ing a charitable remark in favour of religious tenets, of 

 which we can judge only by the peaceful, industrious, and 

 devotional lives ; the neat and cleanly appearance ; and 

 the inoffensive manners of those who profess them. Still 

 less could be conceded in favour of a personal taste for ob- 

 jects of natural history or curiosity, of which this act is, at 

 least, a proof. Be this as it may, Mr. Ra[)pe contracted 

 with a stone mason to cut out the block with the impres- 

 sions, paying him at the same time a liberal price for his 

 labour, and ordered it to be transported by water to his 

 residence in Posy county, Indiana. Visiting this place 

 d!;ring the last summer, in the suite of Governor Cass, Mr. 

 Rappe conducted us to see this curiosity, which has been 

 placed upon mason work in a paved area between his dwel- 

 ling house and garden, in the manner represented in figure 

 II. of tlie drawing.* The slab of stone thus preserved, 

 forms a parallelogram of eight feet in length, by three and a 

 half in breadth, and has a thickness of eight inches, which 

 appears to be the natural thickness of the stratum of lime- 

 stone rock, of which it is a part. This limestone possesses 

 a firm and compact structure, of the peculiar greyish blue 

 tint common to the calcareous rocks of the Mississippi val- 

 ley, and contains fossil encrinites, and some analagous re- 

 mains, very plentifully imbedded. It is quarried at St. Lou- 

 is, both for the purposes of building stone, and for quick- 

 lime. It becomes beautifully white on parting with its 

 carbonic acid and water, and those who have used it, ob- 

 serve, that it makes a good cement, with the usual propor- 

 tion of sand. 



The prints are those of a man standing erect, with his 

 heels drawn in, and his toes turned outward, which is the 

 most natural position. The distance between the heels, by 

 accurate measurement, is 6^ inches, and between the toes, 

 13| inches: but it will be perceived, that these are not the 

 impressions of feet accustomed to a close shoe, the toes 

 being very much spread, and the foot flattened in a man- 

 ner that happens to those who have been habituated to go 

 a great length of time without shoes. Notwithstanding 

 this circumstance, the prints are strikingly natural, exhibit- 

 ing every muscular impression, and swell of the heel and 

 toes, with a precision and faithfulness to nature, which I 

 have not been able to copy, with perfect exactness, in the 



* See the Plate at the enJ. 



