OLD SAMS REFORMS—A GOLD-DIGGING CHIEF. 353 
which the reader will probably smile, but which were certainly salutary so 
far as they went. One was that the widows no longer tarred their heads in 
mourning, but painted their faces, which would be less lasting in its loath- 
some effects. The other was that instead of holding an annual ‘‘ery” in 
memory of the dead, they should dance and chant dirges. 
In one of his speeches to his people he is reported to have counseled 
them to live at peace with the whites, to treat them kindly, and avoid quar- 
rels whenever possible, as it was worse than useless to contend against 
their conquerors. He then diverged into remarks on economy in the house- 
hold: “Do not waste cooked victuals. You never have too much, any- 
how. The Americans do not waste their food. They work hard for it, and 
take care of it. They keep it in their houses out of the rain. You let the 
squirrels get into your acorns. When you eat a piece of pie, you eat it up 
as far as the apple goes, then throw the crust into the fire. When you have 
a pancake left you throw it to the dogs. Every family should keep only 
one dog. It is wasteful.” 
Tai-pok’-si, chief of the Chimteya, was a notable Indian in his genera- 
tion, holding undisputed sovereignty in the valley of the Merced, from the 
South Fork to the plains. Early every morning, as soon as the families 
had had time decently to prepare breakfast, he would step out before his 
wigwam and lift up his sonorous voice like a Stentor, summoning the whole 
village to work in the gold-diggings, and himself went forth to share the 
labor of the humblest. Men, women, and children went out together, tak- 
ing their dinners along, and the village was totally deserted until about 
three o’clock Every one worked hard, inspired by the example of their 
great chieftain, the men making dives in the Merced of a minute or more, 
and bringing up the rich gravel, while the women and children washed it 
on shore. They got plenty of gold and lived in civilized luxury so long as 
Taipoksi was alive. He was described by one who knew him well as a 
magnificent specimen of a savage, standing fully six feet high, straight and 
sinewy, shiny-black as an Ethiopian, with eyes like an eagle’s, a lofty fore- 
head, nostrils high and strongly chiseled, each of them showing a clean, bold 
ellipse. He died in 1857, and was buried in Rum Hollow with unparalleled 
pomp and splendor. Over 1,200 Indians were present at his funeral. After 
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