made it act as an effective barb.

Their weir-traps were put in the rapids, and constructed by
building wing dams diagonally down to the middle of the stream
until the two ends came near together, and in this narrow outlet
was placed a sort of wicker basket trap, made of long willow
sprouts loosely woven together and closed at the pointed lower
end, which was elevated above the surface of the water below the
dam. 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. It is usually about six feet high and
three feet in diameter. It is set upon stout posts about three
feet high and supported in position by four longer posts on the
outside, reaching to the top, and there bound firmly to keep them
from spreading. The outside of the basket is thatched with small
pine branches, points downward, to shed the rain and snow, and to
protect the contents from the depredations of squirrels and
woodpeckers. When filled, the top also is securely covered with
bark, as a protection from the winter storms