314 ^^^^ American Geologist. ^^y- i^^*- 
Between the two hills the land sinks to a level of fifty-five 
feet above the bay or about the hight of the Nipissing beach of 
Spencer. 
On the northern part of the island no traces of old lake 
beaches were noticed, but on the sandy southern portion, espec- 
ially on the southern and eastern sides where the wave action 
was less violent, they were found in great abundance and va- 
riety. On the eastern sides the records of these old lake levels 
vary from low sandy ridges of three or four feet high to a wave- 
cut cliff of thirty-five feet marked at the bottom by excellent 
examples of boulder pavement. As many as seven or eight dif- 
ferent water levels have left their records on this side of the 
island. One of the most prominent of these levels is marked by 
a strong beach of fine sand, in some places ten to fifteen rods 
wide, which was followed for over two miles. This beach has 
a hight of twenty-two feet (level and bar.) above the mean 
level of the bay near the southern hill where the material is 
most abundant, and falls gradually to a hight of sixteen feet or 
even less two miles to the north at its greatest distance from the 
hills and the source of its material. 
On this beach are located some of the cabins of the Indian 
village southeast of the southern hill and also the ruins called 
"the chimneys" two miles to the north. These "chimneys" are 
the ruins of some dozen or so cabins, of which little is now left 
except the remains of the brick and stone fireplaces and chim- 
neys, which tradition says mark the last settlement of the Hu- 
ron Indians and the Jesuit priests before the extermination of 
that tribe about the middle of the seventeenth century. At this 
point the ridge is about .fifteen rods wide, and its composition 
of fine sand is excellently shown in the numerous excavations 
made by seekers after the traditional buried treasure of the 
Jesuits. 
Between this beach and the water is another well defined 
beach at about nine or ten feet above the water of the bay. 
The most prominent of all the shore lines on this island is 
probably the Nipissing beach of Spencer. This is best seen as 
a fine terrace cut into the southern hill back of the Indian vil- 
lage, plainly visible from the steamers from Midland to Pene- 
tanguishene (Fig. 5). 
