The fish, in going down stream, ran into this trap, and soon found themselves at the lower end and out of the water.
The soap-root was used at a low stage of water, late in summer.
They dug several bushels of the bulbous roots and went to a suitable place on the bank, where the roots were pounded into a pulp, and mixed with soil and water.

This mixture, by the handful, was then rubbed on rocks out in the stream, which roiled the water and also made it somewhat foamy.

The fish were soon affected by it, became stupid with a sort of strangulation, and rose to the surface, where they were easily captured by the Indians with their scoop baskets.

In a stream the size of the South Fork of the Merced River at Wawona, by this one operation every fish in it for a distance of three miles would be taken in a few hours.
The fish were generally cooked by roasting on hot coals from burned oak wood or bark.
ACORNS AS FOOD.
Acorns were their main staple article of breadstuff, and they are still used by the present generation whenever they can be obtained.
[Illustration: _Drawing by Mrs.Jorgensen._ CHUCK'-AH.
Storehouse for nuts and acorns, thatched with pine branches, points downward, to keep out mice and squirrels.] They are gathered in the fall when ripe and are preserved for future use in the old style Indian _cache_ or storehouse.

This consists of a structure which they call a _chuck'-ah_, which is a large basket-shaped receptacle made of long willow sprouts closely woven together.