R help - Feb 2010 - Multiple tables by splitting column headings

I have a table in a txt document. The table has column headings that look 
like this: "1.a, 1.b, 1.c, 2.a, 2.b, 2.c"
I would like to import these data to R as 2 tables (1 and 2), each with 
columns a, b, and c. I have seen this done before, but I cannot find the 
commands to make it happen.

Thanks,
Henry