﻿160 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  discovery 
  (probably) 
  of 
  fossil 
  bones 
  and 
  teeth 
  in 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  

   New-York. 
  

  

  (From 
  Weld's 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  Royal 
  Society, 
  vol. 
  1, 
  p. 
  421.) 
  

  

  In 
  1713, 
  in 
  answer 
  to 
  " 
  instructions 
  to 
  Ministers 
  and 
  Governors 
  pro- 
  

   ceeding 
  abroad," 
  and 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  directed 
  by 
  the 
  Queen 
  to 
  be 
  pre- 
  

   pared, 
  Lord 
  Cornbury 
  made 
  the 
  following 
  communication. 
  It 
  is 
  dated 
  

   from 
  New- 
  York 
  and 
  addressed 
  to 
  the 
  secretary. 
  

  

  " 
  I 
  did 
  by 
  the 
  Virginia 
  fleet, 
  send 
  you 
  a 
  tooth, 
  which 
  on 
  the 
  outside 
  

   of 
  the 
  box, 
  was 
  called 
  the 
  tooth 
  of 
  a 
  giant, 
  and 
  I 
  desired 
  it 
  might 
  be 
  

   given 
  to 
  Gresham 
  College. 
  I 
  now 
  send 
  you 
  some 
  of 
  his 
  bones, 
  and 
  I 
  

   am 
  able 
  to 
  give 
  you 
  this 
  account. 
  The 
  tooth 
  I 
  sent 
  was 
  found 
  near 
  the 
  

   side 
  of 
  Hudson's 
  river, 
  rolled 
  down 
  from 
  a 
  high 
  bank, 
  by 
  a 
  Dutch 
  coun- 
  

   try 
  fellow, 
  about 
  twenty 
  miles 
  on 
  the 
  side 
  of 
  Albany, 
  and 
  sold 
  to 
  one 
  

   Van 
  Bruggen 
  for 
  a 
  gill 
  of 
  rum. 
  Van 
  Bruggen, 
  being 
  a 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  

   Assembly, 
  and 
  coming 
  down 
  to 
  New- 
  York 
  to 
  the 
  Assembly, 
  brought 
  

   the 
  tooth 
  with 
  him 
  and 
  shewed 
  it 
  to 
  several 
  persons 
  here. 
  I 
  was 
  told 
  of 
  

   it, 
  and 
  sent 
  for 
  it 
  to 
  see, 
  and 
  asked 
  if 
  he 
  would 
  dispose 
  of 
  it 
  ; 
  he 
  said 
  it 
  

   was 
  worth 
  nothing, 
  but 
  if 
  I 
  had 
  a 
  mind 
  to 
  it, 
  'twas 
  at 
  my 
  service. 
  Thus 
  

   I 
  came 
  by 
  it. 
  Some 
  said 
  'twas 
  the 
  tooth 
  of 
  a 
  human 
  creature 
  ; 
  others, 
  

   of 
  some 
  beast 
  or 
  fish, 
  but 
  nobody 
  could 
  tell 
  what 
  beast 
  or 
  fish 
  had 
  such 
  

   a 
  tooth. 
  I 
  was 
  of 
  opinion 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  the 
  tooth 
  of 
  a 
  giant, 
  which 
  gave 
  

   me 
  the 
  curiosity 
  to 
  enquire 
  farther. 
  One 
  Mr. 
  Abeel, 
  Recorder 
  of 
  Alba- 
  

   ny, 
  was 
  then 
  in 
  town, 
  so 
  I 
  directed 
  him 
  to 
  send 
  some 
  person 
  to 
  dig 
  near 
  

   the 
  place 
  where 
  the 
  tooth 
  was 
  found; 
  which 
  he 
  did, 
  and 
  that 
  you 
  may 
  

   see 
  the 
  account 
  he 
  gives 
  me 
  of 
  it, 
  I 
  send 
  you 
  the 
  original 
  letter 
  he 
  sent 
  

   me 
  ; 
  you 
  must 
  allow 
  for 
  the 
  bad 
  English. 
  I 
  desire 
  these 
  bones 
  may 
  be 
  

   sent 
  to 
  the 
  tooth, 
  if 
  you 
  think 
  fit. 
  When 
  I 
  go 
  up 
  to 
  Albany 
  next, 
  I 
  in- 
  

   tend 
  to 
  go 
  to 
  the 
  place 
  myself, 
  to 
  see 
  if 
  I 
  can 
  discover 
  any 
  thing 
  more 
  

   concerning 
  the 
  monstrous 
  creature, 
  for 
  so 
  I 
  think 
  I 
  may 
  call 
  it." 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Abeel's 
  letter 
  runs 
  thus 
  : 
  

  

  " 
  According 
  to 
  your 
  Excellency's 
  order, 
  I 
  sent 
  to 
  Klaverak 
  to 
  make 
  

   further 
  discovery 
  about 
  the 
  bones 
  of 
  that 
  creature, 
  where 
  the 
  great 
  tooth 
  

   of 
  it 
  was 
  found. 
  They 
  have 
  dug 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  bank, 
  where 
  the 
  

   tooth 
  was 
  rolled 
  down 
  from, 
  and 
  they 
  found, 
  fifteen 
  feet 
  under 
  ground, 
  

   the 
  bones 
  of 
  a 
  corpse 
  that 
  was 
  thirty 
  feet 
  long, 
  but 
  was 
  almost 
  all 
  de- 
  

   cayed 
  ; 
  so 
  soon 
  as 
  they 
  handled 
  them, 
  they 
  broke 
  in 
  pieces 
  ; 
  they 
  took 
  

   up 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  firm 
  pieces 
  and 
  sent 
  them 
  to 
  me, 
  and 
  I 
  have 
  ordered 
  

   them 
  to 
  be 
  delivered 
  to 
  your 
  Excellency." 
  

  

  