New-York tribune., 1842-04-04
Granife

In the upper part are found organic remains in
great abundance and in the red and white sand
stone there were found about seven wears ago in |
Germany the remains offootsteps-printsa apparent
ly made by the feet of quadrupeds (rudely repre-
scutcd in this dlawing) [exhibited Often FIVE or
six pairs of these found in one track They are
found near the borders of Bohemia at Hessbcrg
and ,hei, discovery created at first a prodigious
sensation in Germany because some imagined tliat
tho animals were sort of ecttnct form, perhaps.
Of man, OF some prototype ofman. The hand-likc
form OF these tracks. resembling in some degree
the human hand created great astonishment The
largest track was about eight inches long before
each of these large tracks is Il small one which is
referred to the fore foot of the creature. There
were observed four toes and one other which re-
sembled thumb. In one track that was found on
the right, in the next on the left and so on; and to
whatever distance they were traced they were found
thus to alternate right and left No doubt what
ever entertained that these represented the steps
of some animal imprinted on layers of clay when
in soft state. They stood out in relief upon the
under side of the slabs of sandstone WHEN taken
out; because this sandstone was once in the form
of loose sand, aad was thus deposited in the ho-
lows of the clay below; so that it would present
the appearance of a cast moulded in the hoowS
of the subaccnt clay, and we should have perfect
cas-, in relief of the footsteps OF the animal as it
walked on the clay.
Some coniecturcd that this animal belonged 10
the HarSnpial or Kangaroo tribe, because the hind
teet et=thlS animal remarkably large in COM
palSon with its fore feet and has feet also very
much IN the form OF the hunan hand Others bcllcv-
ed 1t to belong to the Crocodile tribe; and Prof.
LINK early conceived that it belonged to the Ba-
frachian or Frog ianrly. While this discussion
was gong on III Germany-or but few months al.
ter thiS-Slmllar footsteps were found in the Red
Sandstone OF the same age in England at S,oreton
Hill in Cheshire. not far from Liverpool, on the
banks of the Mersey. These salient footmarks were
observed on no less than FIVE distinct ranges ~
LAYERS Of sandstone; there tvc thin LAYERS of
CLAW, and resting on each was thin white or vel.
low quartzosc sandstone which presented these
footsteps precisely like those found in Germany.
1t had been previously a.ccrtained from the posi-
ton Of these beds, and the other fossil rocks in
question, that they were of the same agewith those
in which the footprints were found in GERMANY.
They were found Of several sizes; one in which
the larger foots,ep was eight nchcsin length; ano-
ther in which it was twelve this was called the
Ckeirothe,1um HercnhS, on aceoun, cf its great
size. The tracks were about fourteen inches apart
In the Museum a, Liverpool Is preserved y long
slab st sandstene-as long as this staf, (soue ten
teet) in which the prints beautifully distinct
in relief that suppose they had been made
by the chisei of the sculpor. In some slabs pre-
served in tho British Museum YOU may see prints
ofthis shape exhibited which are evidently casts
of the small cracks below. The clay having shrunk
these cracks were opened BY the heat of the sun
50 thai whea the loose sand deposited in the