No. 112.J 57 



they evinced a skill and fidelity of execution, which even my distinguished 

 friend, Sir Francis Chantret, could not have surpassed. No doubt 

 exists in my mind, that they are the actual prints of human feet in 

 soft sand, which was quickly converted into solid rock by the infiltration 

 of calcareous matter. 



" With opinions so variant before me, and such names arrayed on either 

 side of the question, it is with diffidence that I shall proceed, after describ- 

 ing the slab in my possession, to venture my opinion as to the probable 

 origin of the impressions it contains ; yet I must be permitted to remark, 

 that I am unable fully to endorse the unqualified expressions of admira- 

 tion in regard to the matchless workmanship and inimitable fidelity of 

 execution which the inspection of these foot-prints has called forth in 

 various quarters. I may be supposed to regard the specimen which is the 

 subject of these eulogiums, certainly with no unfavorable eyes. To find 

 myself the possessor of a fossil unique in the cabinets of Europe or 

 America, or even of a specimen of aboriginal sculpture that should put 

 to shame the best eflforts of Ohantrey's chisel, was a prospect calculated 

 to quicken my perceptions of its merits and beauties, or to bias my judg- 

 ment in favor of its genuine character. Nevertheless, after the most 

 critical inspection, I regret to be impelled to the confession, that I see no 

 creditable display of anatomical knowledge or artistical skill; nothing 

 more than we may fairly attribute to the observant and ingenious Indian, 

 dependent for his very life, as the forest warrior daily is, on an intimate 

 and familiar acquaintance with tracks of every description, and more 

 especially, with those of his own race. The representation is, indeed, easy 

 and natural; at the heel, at the ball of the foot, at the outer edge of the 

 sole opposite the instep, the impressions of the muscular elevations are 

 given with fidelity, yet without any delicate details, minute lines of demar- 

 cation between the muscles, flexures of the skin or similar minutiae. 



"The appearance and dimensions of the foot-prints coincide otherwise 

 with Schoolcraft's description of them. The greatest depth of the im- 

 pression is about one-sixth of an inch. The rock, as already stated, is a 

 very compact limestone of a gray color, and its general surface has been 

 ground down level, and even partially polished by the attrition of sand 

 and water. The polish has extended to the impressions equally with the 

 rest of the slab, and gives to them a smooth and finished appearance. 



"After a close inspection of the slab itself, a careful examination into 

 its geological position, age, and origin, and a partial review of the argu- 

 ments of the various writers already quoted, I have come to the conelu- 



