The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1888-01-19

churches, were built, and Which i sllll
used hero 10 large extent
The most interesting features however,
OF these sandstone quarries, arc lbe eyi-
deaecs Of ancient life are found engraved
upon the surface OF lbe slabs Az they arc
split apart by the wedges Of tho quarry-
men. These relics consist 81 footprints
10 the solid rock, Of bird, beast aud reptile.
as plain and uumistakahle rs are those oi
the muskrat upon the soft mad Of tho
river bank few rods away 10 under
stand how these impressions came 10 their
present position. II is necessary TO recall
the circumstances under which they wcro
undoubtedly produced Geologsts agree
that some time Ia the remote past, long
before the Connecticut river oamo into
existence. the spot whore The quartiss new
lie was part Of long and comparatively
narrow arm OF tho ancieat Ocean, not fol-
lowing the line OF the present Connecticut
valley, but stretching away tosard New
Haven on the south
Its waters were probably mostly shallow
and brackish. The streams flowing Into
this ford from the north brought large
quantities OF the dotrilus ol the old forna.
tions, containing much iron, sand, mica
aud clay. aud deposited them 90 the hat
aud nearly level bottom. lhe waters ioem
ed with aquatic life, Of which remains arc
often found. The animals Of ths locality
then, AZ now, congreRaied upon The banks,
bars and sand.pits in pursuit oi their prey,
They were not, however. such animals as
We are familiar with at the present day, as
their footprints very plainly show Over
thirty species OF birds, four specimens Of
lizards, three OF tortoises aud six Of batrn-
chins (these were mostly mammoth frogs)
have been identified by those who have
made subject study. OF bird tracks. ono
OF the brontozoum measures twenty inches
in length aud must have bcen made by
bird al least tour times as largo as the
o''iiN"' hh'buNii VI tHs 1AuaNuhi ~ hNHuf
ty inches long, thirteen inches broad, and
unlike the bird tracks has four toes in
front, The distance between steps is three
feet, and the tracks are eq-distanoe.
showing that the animal was a hipel. Its
exact place in the animal kingdom is not
known, but it is believed TO have boon
allied to the batraohans
Some OF the tracks were made by gigan-
tic frogs, at least three feet in bight They
were as large as big cali and must have
had voices that command respect, Besides
these fossil footprints, the rocks abound
in mud tracks, ripple marks, worm trails
and impressions OF rain drops A single
slab which has, however, now been rcmov.
cd from the quarries, contained the track
OF a tortoise, the trail Of a worm, ending
in the path of footprints by
bird, the track OF another tortoise, and
over all the mark OF raindrops evidently
driven from the northeast This slab was
q leaf from Natures manuscript, contain
ing plain recount Of every day life in
ages almost uncomfortable remote, yet moro
undoubtedly yeracious than many print.
ed page OF later history. During the dis
position OF these sand stone beds, a con
tinual sinking OF the surface was going on
much the same as the level Of Long Island
is sinking at the present time though pos
sible more rapidly. Additional deposits
we're thrown down upon the tracks until
they finally became depressed to the
position in which wo now find them.