Morris: North American Plantaginaceae 519 



to the detail part of the Journal this must have been some distance 

 up the Missouri, as the time between March 14 and May ii was 

 spent in reaching that point ; in another place he says, in referring 

 to the distribution of the honey bee, which was not known west 

 of the Mississippi up to 1797, 'They are now found as high up 

 the Missouri as the Maha Nation . . , a distance of 600 miles.' " 

 The name "Maha" in recent bibliographies refers to an Indian 

 tribe now situated in New Mexico. But doubtless Bradbury's use 



J 



of the name " Maha/' among several spellings, was for '' Omaha.'' . 

 The location of the Omahas Is indicated by the following from 

 Alice C. Fletcher's " Historical sketch of the Omaha tribe of 

 Indians in Nebraska" : "The Omaha tribe of Indians live in the 

 State of Nebraska, about 80 miles north of the city of Omaha, 

 on a reservation 12 miles in length north and south, and bound on 

 the east by the Missouri River and on the west by the Sioux City 

 and Omaha Railroad. Of the various tribes living in Nebraska 

 when the white settlers first entered the Territory the Omahas are 

 the only Indians remaining upon their ancient home lands. In the 

 absence of any written records it is almost impossible to fix dates, 

 but it seems probable that the Omahas have dwelt near their present 

 location for the past two centuries or^more. Their traditions point 

 to an earlier home in the Ohio valley, whence they were driven by 

 wars ; slowly migrating across the Mississippi River, up the Des 

 Moines and its tributaries to their headwaters, thence westward 

 until the Missouri was reached. Crossing this river, the people 

 gradually made their way south to their present place of residence." 

 Edwin James, in the narrative of the Long Expedition, also refers 

 to the location of the *' Omawhaws,'' as follows: *' What length 

 of time the Omawhaws have resided on the Missouri is unknown ; 

 but it seems highly probable that they were not there when Mr. 

 Bourgmont performed hisjourney to the Padoucas,in the year 1724, 

 as he makes no mention whatever of them. It would seem, indeed, 

 that they had separated from the great migrating nation ... on 

 or near the Mississippi, and that they had since passed slowly 

 across the country, or perhaps up the St. Peter's, until they finally 

 struck the Missouri at the mouth of the Sioux River. This is 

 rendered highly probable by the circumstance of Carter having 

 met with them on the St. Peter's in the year 1766, associated with 



