he spent his winters in the south, in order that his love for outdoor life, and especially for fishing, might be enjoyed. In these pursuits, nothing in the marvelous variety of animal, plant or marine life escaped him, and many were the curious specimens he labored to secure and send home for the inspection and admiration of friends. His yacht Twilight, upon the waters of the gulf and the rivers of Florida, and his Peerless upon Lake Erie, were seldom idle when he was within their reach, and the long days and quiet nights he spent with family and friends upon their decks, were seasons of life he enjoyed to the fullest, and occasions for pleasant remembrance by those who were of his company. No man ever had a deeper or more sincere love for home and family, and it was in the one and with the other that his indoor hours were happily spent. Society and the club had little that could charm him; and as one who knew him well has said: "His heart was bound up in his family; it is the home circle that will miss him most; in the home circle he was best understood." While Mr. Harkness was averse to any thing that could attract public attention toward himself, and marked his career by no special charity with which his name was identified, he gave constantly, and in amounts and to a total of which not even those who knew him best could bear witness. As Dr. Haydn bore bore modest testimony in his eloquent tribute to his departed friend, "He was always giving. We have always found him ready to respond, freely and often. Moreover, I doubt if there have been many churches built here in these late years to which he has not lent a hand, and some of them could not have gone forward but for him. He believed in planting churches, so many and so fast as they were needed. The church enterprise at the corner of Madison and Euclid avenues owes its present status and growing hopes largely to him. It has been my fortune to often make requests of men of means for causes connected with the public weal, and I do not remember that Mr. Harkness ever refused me. One of his latest benefactions was to one of our local charities-the Central Inn." Mr. Harkness refused all requests to take part in official or public life, although a close and interested observer of public events, and of the current happenings of the day the world over. He was a believer in Republican principles, and a supporter and loyal member of the Republican party. In his business life, the subject of this brief memoir displayed talents of the highest order, and the success he won was by no mere combination of happy circumstances, but the legitimate fruits of an industry that hesitated at no labor, a courage that could meet obstacles and difficulties unmoved, and a natural genius intelligently applied. Those who knew him the most intimately speak with wonder of his intuition as to the future, and the keen foresight with which he could read the commercial and financial signs of the day, and indicate thereby the changes of the morrow. He could generalize conditions as then existing, and at times reach prophetic conclusions without being. able, perhaps, to explain the steps or processes by which his results were attained. Many illustrations of this remarkable faculty could be furnished did space permit. His judgment in business matters was of the highest character, and was continually exercised in aid of those about him, who had come to depend greatly upon his advice. Positive in his declarations, and self-reliant in all things, he never undertook a measure without seeing it through to the end, no matter what resources of courage or capital it demanded. His honesty was of the staunchest character, and in a business career extending over a half century and involv ing thousands of transactions, great and small, no man was ever knowingly wronged by him, or made to suffer a loss by depending upon his word or trusting in his honor. Dislike of crooked practices was an instinct of his character, and whenever he found himself connected ever so remotely with an enterprise that did not suggest square dealing, or parties who were not fair and above board, he made haste to end all connection therewith; and strong and vehement was his wrath when someone in whom he had trusted had meanly betrayed that confidence. As was said in the memorial discourse from which quotation has been already made: "It was with great satisfaction that I heard one, long and intimately associated with Mr. Harkness in business life, speak of his integrity, his unobtrusive modesty and quiet reticence over his successes, his faithfulness to his friends, and of his word being as good as his bond." While, in many ways, as most self-made men do, he felt the lack of those advantages of education and culture which his early years of self-support and self-dependence kept beyond his reach, he made the loss good by keen observation, by reading, and by keeping in the storehouse of memory the many things that the clear-sighted and strong-brained traveler sees in his journey through life. Few men were better informed as to the average affairs of life and the world, and none could more fairly analyze a theory or define an idea, or bring it to a sound investigation before the bar of common sense. In accordance with the custom already referred to, Mr. Harkness, in January, 1888, started upon his usual winter visit to the south, and hoped, in the pursuit of health and his loved out-door recreation, to spend several months upon his yacht and upon and about the waters of the Florida coast. His time was thus pleasantly spent until the early days of March, when he left Orlando, with the purpose of making a trip along the coast. An imprudent exposure to the cold when heated gave him slight trouble, which he was sure would be removed; but when some fifteen miles from land, he was taken suddenly with congestion of the heart, and although all the simple remedies at hand were carefully applied by those on board, they were of no avail, and on Tuesday night, March 6, he passed into the eternal sleep. The Twilight made all possible haste to Charlotte harbor, whence the sad news was sent to his family and friends in the north. Although well along in years, the health and strength of Mr. Harkness had been such that the announcement came like a sudden blow upon the wife and family, and upon the community of which he had been so long a part. The remains were borne to the home he had loved so well, and thence were con veyed to the quiet rest of Lake View. Words of sympathy and respect were heard upon all sides, and the wife and four children who survive him had reason to feel that, in all the varied experiences of a long and active life, the departed husband and father had been true to his manhood and the higher duties of life, and had left them the rich legacy of an honored name. J. H. K. OMAHA. THE town of Omaha (it would be improper to speak of it as ever having been a village) did not at once develop into a city, although it was given that title. when named; it was nearly three years in its chrysalis state, during which period occurred many events worthy of record. Before dwelling upon these, it is important to note the plan which had been adopted by its founders in "laying out" the site, and to make mention of the circumstances by which they became its real owners by virtue of patents issued to them by the United States. But first, as to its name. It was called "Omaha City" in honor of the Indians who claimed the land as their territory at the treaty held in March, 1854, with the Omahas, Otoes and Missouris, and who yielded their title to it, at the same time, to the general government.* It is certainly an appropriate appellation; and it will perpetuate to the latest generation During the summer of 1853, communications with Indians disclosed the fact that the Kickapoos, half-breed Missouris, Otoes and Omahas were not only willing but anxious to sell their lands to the government. In order to facilitate business, we determined to call a convention to meet at St. Joseph, Missouri, during the winter of 1853-4, for the purpose of memorializing the President and congress in regard the memory of the aboriginal inhabitants of this immediate section of country. A number of definitions have found their way into print of the word "Omaha "—all of which assume that there was originally such a word, and that it was the name of a particular nation of Indians when the country was first explored by white men ; but this is error. The original word, or name, as already intimated, was not "Omaha," but "Maha." The change is easily explained, for many other proper names in the country have undergone exactly the same alteration. As before stated, the earliest visitors to the Valley of the Missouri were white men, speaking the French language. By them the nation now known as the " Omaha" was spoken of as "au Maha," pronounced as if written "o Maha;" the meaning being" the Maha," in English. In course of time. to the necessity of taking early steps to treat with the Indians, organize the territory and open it up for settlement. The early settlement of Nebraska seemed to be a fixed fact, treaty or no treaty. The objective points for town sites and towns was the first thing to be taken into consideration."-E. H Coles, in Trans. and Reps. of the Neb. State Hist. Soc.,' Vol. I., pp. 38, 39. the English-speaking explorers to this region not only spoke the two words ("au Maha") as one word ("Omaha"), but so wrote it; hence its present form.* A vague tradition among the Indians gives this account as to the origin of the word " Omaha :" "Two tribes," so runs the narrative, "had met on the Missouri river and engaged in an encounter in which all on one side were killed, except one, who had been thrown into the river. Rising suddenly from what was thought to be a watery grave, he lifted his head above the surface and pronounced the word 'Omaha,' which had never been heard before. Its meaning was that the supposedly drowning Indian was above the water and not under it, as his enemies supposed, and those who heard it took that word as the name of their tribe." But this account is wholly erroneous.‡ ་་ *The Maumee river in Ohio was first known to the French and by them called Au Miami," that is, "the Miami," pronounced in English ears as "O Miami." This was corrupted to "Omee," and finally to "Maumee." It is a singular fact that the Auglaize ("Au Glaize "-" the Glaize ") has retained its original orthography as well as its pronunciation. History of the State of Nebraska' (Chicago : 1882), p. 682. Compare, in this connection, Omaha Illustrated,' under the heading, The City [Omaha] Surveyed and Platted." For an ingenious but erroneous attempt to explain how the word Omaha came to be used, see letters of Rev. Wm. Hamilton, published in the 'Trans. and Reps. of the Neb. State Hist. Soc.,' Vol. I., pp. 47-49, 73-76. The reverend gentleman confuses the whole matter in this way, after affirming that "Omaha" is a contradiction of 44 Eromaha :" The The question is, then, not what is the origin or meaning of the word "Omaha," but of "Maha." From a reliable statement, recently made, we learn that it signifies "farthest up the river"-" up yonder "-" up above the others ;"§ so -"up that by "Maha Indians" is meant "upriver Indians." The place actually received its name before the survey of the site, as will hereafter be fully shown. The lands upon which the original survey of the town was made were, as to title, first vested wholly in the United States, by virtue of the treaty of March, 1854, with the Omaha Indians: then, by the general government, they were sold and patents issued for the same, first, on an entry made on the seventeenth of March, 1857; second, on a bid made at a government sale on the fifth day of July, 1859. The last-mentioned patent was of the date May 1, 1860, and is known as the McCormick patent, it having been issued to John McCormick; the other was issued October letter 'O' was always annexed or prefixed to 'Mahas; 'Omaha is proper. The early voyagers, the French, abbreviated the word or name by leaving off the word 'O' and calling them 'de Maha,' instead of 'des Omaha.'" See, also, as to another of Mr. Hamilton's letters, upon the same subject, 'The Early History of Nebraska.' By Alfred Sorenson (Omaha: 1876). p. 33. For still another error with regard to the word "Omaha," see an account of Henry Fontenelle, entitled "A History of Omaha Indians," published in the volume just cited (p. 77), where he derives the word from Kemoha," meaning "against the cur-"against the wind." rent ? Robert W. Furnas, in 'Trans. and Reps. of the Neb. State Hist. Soc.,' Vol. I., p. 49. This information was obtained by Mr. Furnas from an old chief of the Omahas, known as Noise, or Muttering Thunder. I of the same year, and is called the Lowe patent, it having been granted to Jesse Lowe as mayor. Both were issued to the patentees in trust for the owners of the lots upon the town site, under and by virtue of an act of the United States congress, entitled, "An act for the relief of citizens of towns upon the lands of the United States under certain circumstances," approved the twenty-third of May, 1841. These patents were for lands in the northeast quarter and the north half of the northwest quarter of section number twenty-two, and lot number two in fractional section number twentythree, in township fifteen north, of range thirteen east, of the government survey; which survey was made after that of "Omaha City," but previous, of course, to the issuing of the patents. The McCormick patent was for seven hundred and fifty-seven and one-fifth acres ; the Lowe patent called for two hundred and ninety-eight and one-fifth acres. The general plan of the survey of the site was on a very liberal scale, for which the present city has reason to be profoundly thankful. The surveying, mapping and marking of the public highways-the streets being one hundred feet wide, and one, "Capitol avenue," one hundred and twentyexhibit very forcibly the generosity of Dr. Enos Lowe, who, as president of the ferry company (the founders), supervised the work as it was carried forward by the surveyor-A. D. Jones. All the lots were staked out sixty-six by one hundred and thirty-two feet, each with an alley in the rear. Three squares were dedicated to the public: these were Capitol square, Washington square and Jefferson square. A park was also reserved for public use, but, subsequently, the latter (as well as Washington square) was vacated by the city and sold. Capitol square contained four blocks of the survey, the other two squares, one block each, while the park absorbed seven. Jefferson square was numbered as "Block 42," Washington square, as "Block 118." The blocks in Capitol square and the park were not numbered. Under the head "Plan of Omaha City," the editors of a paper printed at Council Bluffs say, in their first number, which was issued on the twentyeighth of July, 1854, that the survey "has been made with the greatest possible care and accuracy by A. D. Jones, esq., and is now platted and can be seen at Tootle & Jackson's store, at Dr. Lowe's office, Bluff City, or at Mr. Gaylord's, recorder, this place [Council Bluffs]. The lots are sixty-six feet front and one hundred and thirty-two in length, every lot running back to an alley twenty feet wide; and, instead of laying off the entire tract into small lots for speculation, our lots have been laid off around the business part on a liberal scale, including an ample number of commanding and beautiful points for private residences and gardens. All the streets are one hundred feet wide, except two avenues which lead to Capitol square, which are one hundred and twenty feet wide. All the alleys are twenty feet wide. Squares have been reserved and set apart for all |