Re: Paluxy tracks followup

[paleo@ix.netcom.com (Glen J. Kuban )]

other places where purported human tracks occur, and that some are 
inexplicable even by geologists.  I may have been a little 
presumptuous to read between the lines and assume that the intent
was to suggest there may be something to the reports; Jerry may have 
meant it for information, and I will let him (or is it her--sorry I 
know Jerry's of both genders and do not want to get in trouble about 
genders again) clarify anything if he wishes.  Anyway,  was having a 
bad day yesterday, so I apologize to Jerry now if I was out of line or 
misinterpreted the intent.  I also may be a little overly-sensitive on 
the issue since I have been tracking and battling man track claims for 
many years, and they seem to be like Jason in the Friday the 13th 
movies--always coming back to life no matter how decidely they appear 
to have been done in. 
    Second, in a direct post to me I was asked whether any of the 
Paluxy tracks are still visible.  Since this may be of interest to 
others, I want to answer it publicly.  The answer is yes, depending
on when you visit, and which tracks you want to see.  In the Glen Rose 
area, most of the tracks are in the Paluxy Riverbed, which is under 
water in most places most of the year.  Only in mid to late summer are 
some of the sites exposed or almost dry, but even then one should take 
along a shovel and broom or brush to clean off the tracks, since mud 
and debris often accumulate on them.  Many tracks are accessible in 
summer in Dinosaur Valley State Park, just west of downtown Glen Rose, 
and park personnel try to keep some of them cleaned off for visitors.  
However, it is hard to keep them permanently exposed due to changing 
weather and river conditions.  
    Most of the tracks in Roland Bird's original excavation (as seen in 
photos in his articles) are either no longer there (many having been 
removed to the American Museum and other insitutions, and others having 
eroded greatly since the original dig.  However, on the opposite bank 
are three surviving trails of sauropod tracks still in fairly good 
condition (tracks near the banks or inside bends tend to last longer 
because they are protected by layers of sediment and depris most of the 
time).  Although these are also in a lower part of the riverbed that 
even in summer requires some work (sandbagging, bailing, digging) to 
uncover, they are quite impressive (of course visitors should check 
with park personell before doing this kind of digging--or any other 
activity beyond light surface brusihing.  Nearby, across the river from 
the northwest parking lot, at the end of the stone path across the 
river, are a number of fairly good sauropod and theropod tracks that 
are among the ones the park tries to keep clean.  Other times of year 
tracks are even more difficult to see, but there is now a nice 
interpretive display at the entrance to the park with a cast replica of 
a portion of Bird's excavation, plus many models, photographs, maps, 
and other displays.  Also, there is a small museum (The Somervell 
County Musuem) in downtown Glen Rose with more track casts and related 
displays, plus historical (indian, pioneer, etc) artifacts from the 
area.  Visitors may also be interested in the invertebrate collecting 
locals along roadcust south of Glen Rose, and in the very nice 
drive-thru Fossil-Rim wildlife ranch several miles west of town.  Those 
planning to seem as many tracks as possible may wish to wait until mid 
summer for a visit (plan on hot weather of course), and it helps to 
call ahead to check on river conditions (flash floods can raise the 
water level and keep it there for a while).  There are also some sites 
outside the park.  Anyone planning a trip to the area and who wants 
more information on the best places to look for tracks in general or 
specific trails may contact me directly for more info. 
    Last, I want to discuss a message that Mickey Rowe yesterday 
posted, saying that there was an article on the Paluxy tracks by Ron 
Hastings (who has worked with me on many sites) in the talk.origins 
archive at ULR address http://runba.ics.uci/edu:8080/faqs/paluxy.html.  
I tried to access the site with this address, and recieved a message 
saying that the site could not be found.  Perhaps others had the same 
experience, but then I have a browser (Netcom's) that somethines acts 
weird.  Anyway, I took the next step (suggested by Mickey) and 
suuccessfuly accessed the main menu of the archives by using the same 
address minus the /faqs/paluxy.html suffix.  However, from there 
something very strange occurred.  Upon choosing the pointer to an 
Article entitled "ManTracks by Ron Hastings," up came a slightly 
revised copy of an article that I myself, not Ron, had written.  The 
only difference was that it had Ron's name on it, a few minor wording 
changes, and a few new sentences.  But about 90% of it was exactly as 
written in my own summary--with many sentences and even paragraphs word 
for word the same.  Needless to say I was quite surprised and 
taken-aback.  If this was done by a student any teacher would 
immediately give the paper an F for plagerism.  It was hard for me to 
believe that Ron would do this, since he has written many of his own 
papers on the subject, and could have easily posted one of them (or a 
shortened version) rather than put his name on a slightly modified 
version of one of my papers.  So I called Ron, at which point the plot 
thickened. He indicated that he did not post my summary to the 
archives, did not make the changes, and had no knowledge that it was 
even there.  He was as disturbed and befuddled as I was as to how it 
got there, and why someone would take a summary I had written, make a 
few minor changes, put Ron's name as the author, and then post it to a 
permanent Internet site without consulting either one of us.  I intend 
to pursue the matter and find out how this happened.  In the meantime, 
since readers have been invited to read the artivle, I wanted to inform 
everyone here of this situation.  Even though the information in the 
artivle is still largely accurate (since it is not changed much from my 
original), it is upsetting to me that one of my articles was posted 
without my permission, with modifications made, and with someone elses 
name on it--especially in an archive that has articles complaining of 
lack of creationist integrity.  I intend to pursue this with whoever is 
managing the archives, and will let readers know the outcome (at the 
least I want the authorship corrected.  

Glen J. Kuban