bark, as a protection from the winter storms. When the acorns are
wanted for use, a small hole is made at the bottom of the
_chuck´-ah_, and they are taken out from time to time as
required.

The acorns from the black or Kellogg's oak (_Quercus
Californica_) are considered much the best and most nutritious
by the Indians. This is the oak which is so beautiful and
abundant in the Yosemite Valley.

These acorns are quite bitter, and are not eaten in their natural
condition, as most fruit and nuts are eaten, but have to be quite
elaborately prepared and cooked to make them palatable. First,
the hull is cracked and removed, and the kernel pounded or ground
into a fine meal. In the Yosemite Valley and at other Indian
camps in the mountains, this is done by grinding with their stone
pestles or _metats (may-tat´s)_ in the _ho´yas_ or mortars,
worn by long usage in large flat-top granite rocks, one of which
is near every Indian camp. Lower down in the foothills, where
there are no suitable large rocks for these permanent mortars,
the Indians used single portable stone mortars for this purpose.

[Illustration: _Photograph by Fiske_.
HO´-YAS AND ME-TATS´.
Rude mortars and pestles for grinding acorn meal. The holes have
been worn in the granite by constant use.]

After the acorns are ground to a fine meal, the next process is
to take out the bitter tannin principle. This is done in the
following manner: They make large shallow basins in clean washed