Red Wing sentinel. [volume] (Red Wing, M.T. [i.e. Minn.]) 1855-1861, 1859-03-26
WHOLE NUMBER l38. 5:

NUMBER 1873.
on. In Australia, these two claxse..
ne gigantic birds and kangaroos. lived
'ge.her AZ members Of the same faun,.
! "a e. the kangaroos still remains. Ans'
E,ur1ls the land described in TIA
Nov. 18, + Commerce., in its issue of
=" where thtas the land of co,.t,,uriee
and the south thh is. the hot.wind.
swans are black, and tai: where the
where certain quadrupedsles white;
bills, feet and spurs Of aquatic> the
where the kangaroo has five claws o.,
his paws, three talons on his hind legs
like a bird, and yet hops on his tall
and where our river fishes inhabit the
waters Of the ocean, and viee versa.'''
This report of Dr. Hitchcock shows
rs that New England was once this
land of contraries, for its inhabitants
were the animals now found in Aus
tralia. The description Of the kanga-
roo referred to, corresponds precisely
with certain tracks found in this book
-6ve-clawed paws Of the front feet,
the three talons Of the hind foot, with
the mark of the tail found upon the
stone, all indicate similar animal
These tracks, with those of the large
birds, make the resemblance quits
complete; 80 that we cannot say that
New England was once inhabited by
animals fitted to walk upon an unf;n-
ished continent, but that Australia is =
land inferior at the present day. in it,
progress of development, to all the
rest of the world: Ea. 51sa-f; 20
This Connecticut bird, as has been
must have been IL feet
high, and have weighed from 500 to
800 pounds; for its foot was 1e inches
long, and covered an area of l3 inch
es, and its stride varied from 80 to SO
inches.
q. So
The "ornithoid lizards or batrachians"
from a group of animals never before
described, being intermediate between
birds and lizards or batracians. The
largest species is distinguished from
the largest bird chiefly by the presence
OF a long, slender tail, which often was
turned from side to side az the animal
waddled along. -. -. -, -. -
The most remarkable of all these
tracks is that ola supposed frog, whose
largest foot measures 20 by Ii inches;
covering an area of about one and 4
half square feet. Its front feet are less
than half the size Of the hind feet; the
hind feet are webbed, and terminated
with pellets instead of claws, and the
mark Of a tail is sometimes visible up
on the specimens. Such frog was
truly immense, and might appropriate
ly be styled the father of croakers.
fG= t. ~ &-F
The description ofseveral species Of
tracks formed in the historic period,
presents one interesting addition to
this subject. Among these are the
tracks Of man; and the conclusion !,
certainly fair, that had he existed when
the other animals left their footmarks
upon stone, his would be found among
them. This conclusion i. not new, but
corresponds with the whole testimony
Of geology, which can point to no AMI
NAL created later than man. 17a4
There are several conclusions at
which the author arrives, First, tho
tracks were made while yet the rocks
containing them were in plastic slate,
and have since been hardened by heat
and chemical agency. Second, the
tracks were made on the shores of Al
estuary, or lake, or river, where ami
mails resorted for food, as they now do.
This estuary extended from New
Haven, Ct., to the South line Of Ver-
mont, along the Cunuecticut river,
varying in width from l to go miles.
Third, the climate was tropical.
Fourth, an interesting moral conclu-
sion we give in the authors language.
"We see, in the preceding details, how
the slightest actions of ours, even the
most unnoticed decisions of our wills,
may make an impression on the globe,
which will endure, and may be read ~
long as the earth exists.'' 8 eE5..i