oose

A favorite substitute for soap was the root of the "oose," or yucca, sometimes called "soap root." This root looked about like a sugarbeet. Cut up and left in water it soon made a fluffy suds. Colored clothes came out fresh and bright because the cleanser did not harm the dyes. White clothes however were turned slightly yellow by it and therefore were not generally washed with oose. I remember how soft, fluffy, and sweet-smelling my hair always felt after a shampoo with oose suds. For mopping the wooden floors the oose root served not only as soap but as scrubbing brush as well. And how white and beautiful those floors would look.