6 The Saginaw Valley Collection 
Zizania aquatica Linn, a staple produced by nature in such abun- 
dance that it was of great importance to the primitive people of 
the region. The streams which were of the most importance to 
the prehistoric inhabitants of the valley were the Saginaw river and 
its main tributaries, including the Shiawassee, Flint, Bad, Cass, 
Tittabawassee and their branches, while the Pigeon, Sebewaing, 
Kawkawlin and Rifle were not unimportant. Bordering the lower 
e. | 
W. Orchard, Photo, 
CHERT NODULE IN LIMESTONE, 
From Bay Port Quarries. 
courses of the rivers there are numerous bayous with low sand 
ridges scattered over the land between them. At the head waters 
the streams flow more swiftly and undercut their banks, and large 
bayous and swamps are less frequent. 
Chert or impure flint was extensively quarried and chipped 
into implements by the prehistoric inhabitants of the valley, and 
in the chipped implements found on the village sites and hunting- 
grounds this material largely predominates. A specimen of 
limestone of Subcarboniferous age bearing a nodule of chert, ob- 
tained at the modern quarries at Bay Port, Michigan, is illus- 
