CHAPTER II 
FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME 
“ They are fraught with strange meanings, these footprints of Connecticut.” 
— Hugh Miller. 
Theee is a great deal of truth in the saying of Emerson, that 
'' everything in Nature is engaged in writing its own history.” 
The more one studies the changes taking place every day on the 
surface of the earth, in order to read the riddle of the rocks 
beneath our feet, which contain Mother Earth’s records of her 
past history, the more one is impressed with the truth of this 
saying. In fact, it is not too much to say that the whole science 
of Geology is founded on this idea. The geologist is he who 
interprets to his fellows the stony documents contained in 
Nature’s '' Eecord Office,” and he finds the key to the interpreta- 
tion of her hieroglyphics in watching her daily actions at the 
present time. One branch of this science, viz. Physical Geology, 
deals with the earth’s physical features, interpreting in the light 
of this leading principle their history, and telling us how the 
river carved out its valley ; how the volcano was built up ; how' 
the mighty mountains were raised up from the beds of ancient 
seas, to be carved out by the agents of denudation into all their 
varied and wonderful features. 
Another branch of geology, namely Palaeontology, with which 
we are about to deal in the present work, tells us of the long- 
lost tribes of plants and animals which, ages and ages ago, found 
