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would kill a cow [remembered Rosie Eisner, a resident of Indiahoma] and do the work together. Everyone who worked got some meat.’”9 The families who lived on Chevato’s land along the creek were another manifestation of the community pulling together during hard economic times. Chevato’s place in Indiahoma and Comanche County history was recognized in 1978, when the town renamed its streets in honor of the first settlers, both Indian and Anglo.10 The Death of Chevato Of all my grandfather’s sons, my father was the only one who was very interested and cared about the older ways. So it also was with my brother and I; my older brother didn’t care as much as I cared about the old things. So my father and I were always the ones attuned to our fathers. One day, when Chevato was quite elderly, he approached my father and asked, “Would you like to have this power I’ve got?” Of course, my father agreed. So he told my father the rules that governed having this power—he couldn’t accept monetary value for using his power, he had to use the power to help people. So my father was schooled in this power. One day, Chevato caught pneumonia. He got very sick, so he called my father into the room and said, “Do you remember what we talked about? The power we talked about? Stay with me, I’m getting very weak. Just before I die, just before I take my last breath, my mouth will come open. There will be four things that come out of my lungs. They will rest on my lips just long enough for you to reach over and grab them. Put them in your mouth and swallow them. Four times, things will come up to my lips. Regardless of what they look like, just reach over, take them and swallow them. The fourth time, you will have the powers that I have. I hope you use the powers well.” Shortly after that, Chevato fell into a coma. The first day went by, then the night; my father sat in the room waiting.And Chevato still hung onto life. More time went by, and my father was getting very tired. He thought, “I’m just going to lean my chair against the wall.” ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ My mother came into the room, and it was already daybreak. She tapped him on the shoulder and said, “I’d like for you to go get some rest. Your father has passed away.” My father couldn’t believe it. “Why didn’t you wake me?” he asked. My mother said, “We did, but you were very tired.” And so my father did not take possession of Chevato’s power. He lived in the modern world where people were cured by doctors, instead of by black silk handkerchiefs , but he always held precious the things of the past.§ After the death of Pi-he sometime between 1926 and 1927, Chevato lived his last years in the home of his son, Thomas David Chebahtah. On September 3, 1931, Chevato died at the age of eighty.1 He was buried in the cemetery attached to the Post Oak Mission Mennonite Brethren Church, since his son, Thomas David, had become a Christian.A small handmade headstone marked his grave. In 1956, due to an expansion of the Ft. Sill Artillery and Guided Missile Center,the cemetery was moved.Formerly located two miles east and three miles north of Indiahoma,Oklahoma,the cemetery was moved within the town, and many Indian graves were reinterred at the new location.2 So Chevato rests amid his Comanche family. He rests near his two Mescalero sons, Alguno and Jo-Co, who chose to follow their father to Oklahoma . He rests near his brother, Dinero, protecting him in death as he did in life. As close as his relationship was with his family and children, his life was also interwoven,in a strange and unfathomable way,with that of the elevenyear -old boy whom he had helped kidnap in 1870. Herman Lehmann died on February 2, 1932, five months after the death of his friend, Chevato. In his book, Herman tells the reader that Chevato was almost one hundred years old at the time of the book’s writing (1927).This is not true,although Herman must have considered Chevato a mentor and attributed his wisdom to Chevato’s advanced years. In truth, Chevato was only eight...

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