I believe it's a mangled interpretation ( by early traders, trappers, etc... ) of what the Osage Indians called themselves...which I think was something like "Wazhazhe"....which most translate to mean "The Children of the Middle Water"...
FRegards,
72 posted on 07/05/2004 7:33:56 AM PDT by Osage Orange
(Hillary's heart is as dark as truck-stop coffee.............)