Hitchcock did not learn of the existence of fossil footprints until two years after the printing of the first edition of his Report to the State of Massachusetts on its geology, plants, and animals. He added a 60-page section on the topic in the 1841 Final Report update. He mentions the names of many men who showed him footprints in various locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and mentions James Deane in the same manner, giving him no more credit than anyone else.