KO-MAH-TY
Chief Ko-Mah-Ty (Komalty) was considered by some people as the best historian of the Kiowa Tribe. In addition to being a historian, he was a prominent Kiowa warrier and a scout for the government. He was held in high esteem by other members of his tribe and clung to the Indian ways, continuing to live in his tent when his family built houses.
Ko-Mah-Ty kept a tribal calender from 1832 till his death. It was on buckskin and in color, the more important an event, the more space it was given. Featured on the calender are the four seasons: Salgya (winter) beginning with the first snowfall; Asegya (spring), time for the grass to grow; Poegya (summer), time for the blooming flowers and Paongya (autumn), colored leaves. Some of the events were the tribal treaties of 1880, selection of the allotments, the assination of President McKinley in 1901, the Snyder cyclone in 1905 and the Rainy Mountain cyclone on 1909.
The former little town of Komalty, located six miles east of Hobart on the Rock Island Railroad was named for him. Nothing remains now to show there was a post office and a number of businesses there.
Calender History of the Kiowa Indians" by James Mooney, published by Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. from reports, 1895-1896. Photo courtesy Western History Collection.