14 JOURNAL AND PROCKKDINGS. 



LAKE MEDAD AND THE KWIN-NI-BI-NAH COLLEC- 

 TION OF INDIAN RELICS. 



READ BEFORE THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 

 BY J. O. MCGREGOR, M. D. 



This beautiful little lake, with the homely but filial name, is sit- 

 uated just within the western Umit of Halton County, in the 2nd 

 Concession north of Dundas Street. It has an area of about 40 

 acres, and is undoubtedly the remains of a lake eight or ten times as 

 large, having a broad outlet running in a northerly direction, as well 

 as a much smaller one leading into Lake Ontario. That the adjoin- 

 ing marsh to the west, and the marshy ravine extending northerly, 

 together with the present lake, were once parts of the same body of 

 water, is shown by the marl deposit found at the bottom of all three. 

 The existing portion of the old lake has been preserved by the 

 entrance here of several streams fed by powerful springs, of which 

 the largest could furnish the city of Hamilton with an abundant sup- 

 ply of pure water, while the adjoining marsh has been made such by 

 washings from the banks which form its borders. 



Lake Medad is rioted for its pure water and ice ; the excellent 

 quality of its fish : its beautiful and picturesque scenery, as well as 

 for marl of first quality, but most of all for things archaeological. 

 With these last in an honest and imperfect manner I shall now 

 attempt to deal. 



The western border of the lake is a rugged and mostly perpen- 

 dicular ledge of rocks. Here at the bottom of the ledge bursts forth 

 the principal spring that feeds the lake. Near this spring, on the 

 bank above, which, as well as the adjacent country for miles around, 

 was and is the best of corn land, was situated a large Indian village 

 or town, which, as shown by the position of its ash-pits, occupied the 

 northern slope of a U shaped piece of ground, gently rising in three 

 directions, north, east and south from the open part of the U, which 

 may be conceived to be on the top of the ledge just mentioned. 



