A Letter from Mr. Henry Baker, F. R. S.

to the President, concerning an Extraordinary Large

Fossil Tooth of an Elephant
Author(s): Henry Baker
Source: Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 43 (1744 - 1745), pp. 331-335
Published by: The Royal Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/104475 .
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XXI. X Leer fiSomM#. Henry Baker,

F. R. Soto thePrefildent,concerring
an enctraordirozrvy
largefoEllToothof ag Elephant.

S I X,
JReadMarch28.-l_

74;*

HE f6ffillTooth r have now the

Honcour
to lay beforeyou, wasSent

me lately,fromDlor=wich,
by lMr.DVilliam
Jrderon.
It ficemsto be a GrinderbelonginS,
to the LeftUnderJiu? of a very largeEiephane,as its own Size and
\Alelghtmaylhew: Forthe Circumference,
meaSured
by a Stringdrawnroundthe Edt,e?is 3 Fcet, want
ing l l-nFh;in length it meafuresI<SInches; in
Breadth,wherenvideR,7 Inches, in Thicknefsabonte3 ; and its M7eightis upxvards
of r I- Pounds.
On o-neSide it is convex, and on the otllerconr
nave, with I 6 Ridgesand Furrowsrunningon each
Slde tranfstert157,
and correEponding
stith thG [ame
Nllmberof Eminencieson the gtindingEdge, svhich
appearsfurrowedlike a ^Nlilllone.On tlaeBottom of
the Partthdt lay withln the.Gum are fseralCasities for the Inferttonof. the Aterstes.-Tlle sahoe
Tooth is aImoRi-ntirc)and SeemsYery littC, if at
petrefied; but, fince iS being expofed-to
the Air,fcsZeral
Iittlt Cracksappear.OtI-scr
-mondrous
Bones x.ere found with it, as 1 am informed;;and
particu;arly
Thigh Boncs,
5 iect
lontr, arldas;tnitk
as the Thigh of a LMl j all whichbciolztedprobably
to the fame Animal, and may be-confidcredas farther P;roofsof the CLca.uresenormousSize
allJ

T1st

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[ 332 ]
honr,ehefe
IrhePlacewlsere,and-the Man-ner
fOwell dcServZ
areParticulars
Boneswere difccnrered,
Apoloz,yfor
no
make
{hall
I
that
Confaderation,
ing
relatIngthem.
fituatedcloSeto
A little Town, -calledh!axfZey,-is
on the S7ortheaACoaSof the County
the Sea-Ihore,
of XorJalk,wherethe Sea is boundedby exceeding
luighrocky ClifEs:Some whereofbeinggradually
of the WanFes
underminedby the continualDaffiinO
nthen the Tide comes in, great Pieces frequently
tumble down upon the Shore: And by the tumbling down of one of thefe thc abovementioned
apdGrinderwerediScon?cred.
Borwes
Hierethereforecan be little ReaSotlfor lma^,ining
(as I know Somehantedone, nvhenfuch-likeBones
have been foursdin moreinlandCounties),that the
lZomansbroughtElephantsoverhither;which,when
dead,they burieddeepin the Earth,tO prevent their
becomingoffenflve: For they could rleserthink o
buryingfuch a CarcaSein a rockyCliff, clofe to, or
But,on the conperhapsover-hanging,the Sea.
trary,this Diicoveryfeemsa convincingDemonFration, that the EarthhasundergoneSomereryextraordinaryAlteratiorls:For the Remainsof Animals,
of quitediffercntClimatesandRegionssandof Kinds,

whlcll,-intheprefentSituationof thelVorld,could

come over hither,mufi citherimply

neverpoffi1bly
theirhavingbeen placedhereby Providence,origiginally, or, that this Inand mu0, heretofore,have
to the Continent:But,fsce we find
beencontiguoals

in very hot Countriesonly, it is

thefe Creatures

highly probable they were never placed here by

the Temperature
Provid<n; unlefswe an fiuppoSe
of

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[ 333 ]
of our Climate as to Heatand Cold, to havebeen
greatlyalter'd:And, withoutfuch a SuppolSttion,
it
would6s no leSsutlreafonable
tO tmaginetheywould
wanderllitherfromwarmerRegions,thoughevenall
the quartersof the GIobe {houldhave been contiguous.

What Changeshavehappenedto our Earth,and

how they have been produced,no humanWiSdomsan pofliblyfindout with arxyCertainty:Butruppofie
only tlle PolarPoits, or Swxsthereof,to havebeen
Eifted
tre

at any

of

tisne

tO

Gravity

but

haate

a few
been

Degrees,
altex'd

itS

and

(which

fome

Cengreat

lten have imaginednot improbable)j

what Consulfions in Nature,what an univerfalChangein the
Eace

of

Things,

What

Inandations,

thing

before

and

! For

tHl,

by

thereby

have

or Del;uges

them

EIllrricanes
iEvent

mu(t

!- What

Breaclles

TempePrs

the

mufi

Waters

them,

an

been

of Vlater,
sn tlle

llave

muft

been

was

evety

Earth,

attendcd

have

EquipoiSe

occafioned
beatin^,

svhat
rll-ch an

roli'd

alongX

produced.

ltl

fE-ort,all Partsof the World would therebyacquirc

different

Degrees

had

bcfore.

had

been:

perhaps
Sea

would

of

bt
the

in

Dufc

thoSe

decp

would

Such
mate

into

at fir{t

which

would,

Heat

would
Inands

with

The

Sluellsa

Adion

as

have

to

livsn

Bed
matille

Salts

remain
beerl

fuch
for
tlle

or

tllt

of

and

appear
Bodtes,

of

away

but

they

in funder,

Land,

otlzer

nitrous

and

probably

what

antient

motllder

tlue SurEace;

than

wYhere Gontinent.s
torn

dry

and

and

Years,

Alld

Cold
be

into

be preferved

would4

Thtngs:

would

chant,ed

a few
upon

and

be fz3rmed

Continents
fplit

sovered

of

Seas

thz

and

Air

turn

as were

tes

buricd

mas:txr AzWcso
Fate

CxeatNt)

of inani
thcy

muR
havf

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[ 334 ]
havebeen almol llniverEally
deRroyedandpbur;nd
in
tlle Ruinsof theWorld as perhaps
tllisElephaxut
may
havebeen. Some few, h<zwever,would in all likelil:loodefcape,cither by fwimmingto, or beingleft
on-, rillng Lands s^Llere,if they met witll proper

Tood, andal1 agreeableCtimate,they would COlltinue and increafe,or otllcrnvifcwould wandertill

they foundfucha Collntry,unleSsprevented
by interpoiSrlgSeas,czr-impaCable
Rivers.
A31tllis indteedis l)arelyConjcAure:Buttbe BOtleS
andTecthof!Fiffics,^thelKlultitudcs
of Sea-Sllelis(60nac
xvhereofare petrefied,and ofhersnot), and tlle nzany
Sea-Produdiorlsfotlad buried in tlue Earel;in alzlolt
cvery Country, at vaR DiRanccs from vlle Sea, and
even ill the -nsidlandParts, are Dcrnzo*\atations
of
the fllrpriSngAlterations tllat muRllaVe llappenedas
to the [:)i-fpofition
of Sea and Land. The Horns of
tlle greatMoure-Deer)dug frequentlyOUt of rhe Bo;:,s
in Ireland,and fometitmesin England,thc Boncs
and Teetll of Elephantsfouradtllerl"cX
and tllis prefent
DiScovery, togeeher witll fome others of the like
Ilind that have been made in Engl?nd7
feem to prove
that fuch AnilmalsfornnerlyinhabitedtheCeCountrie>
notwithfiandingthe Mourc-Deeris known at prefent
only in J#merira, and Elephantsare llot found ex
cept in tfrira andS%a.
Part of the Horn and Palm of a Deer, found irt
a Cllalk-Pit, at a Vil-la=,ecalled Babery
4 Milss EaR

of Norwich,at the I)epth of

I6 FeetX and aimoPr

convertedinto a chalky SubRance,being of a Kind
c)fwhich, I am told, wc havenone in this Inand I
alSo iay beforeyczu,as anotllerProof to tlle fame

Purpo-le

lIoping

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[ 335 J
HopingPardonfor tIlisDigreSton,I ffialljuQbeg
Leasreto obSer^e,
thatthe prefentGrinderandBonc}
however tlley camc nthfithe,muRhave lain thiS
CliS for manyAges; and tlzatthe Grindersn palti
irLl

and heavicr tl1anlarlycllr

has slelltioned
late worthy\Ptefdent SileIltans 5>loane
Ervs*N
in N. 4G3. and so+. c>fthe PhilaJ^apkirvV
vcSions}
wherehe g;Ncsan Accolln. of all tlle fofI;l
clllar

is

velFy

->zucll

larger

XTeeth
of Elephnts thathadcorncto hislknoxvlcdt,eO
I may add, that nonc czf tl.olScmentioncdhy =NIrb
cornenearit
Molinew, in his Hilloryof IreAand,
in Weightor Size. OurThigh-Bonesof 6 Fcetlong
exceedalSoby 2 Feet arlyI haveeveryet heardof
And, accordingto Mr.Blair'sOReologyof arlElein Srotphant g Feet higll, which died at COtadee
laszd,in the Year I706, and whofe Thiglz-Bones
nvere3 Feet in Lel1gth(Vide(Phil.ErasJ:N. 327.),
sre may IilppoSe,by the Rslles of Proporton, that
the Elcpllant, to wllom our Boxles and Tos3th be
lollged, xvasI 8 Feet in Height.
Permit me, Sir, tOaffiureyou, that I an1 ntit' the
utmoLtRerped and Sinceritv,

h^n61eSertant}
rosr moJ?
obedieat
Londox,March25.
.

I74T

Baker.,

SeeTAB.IWlUg. 7

NXII.

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