Guide Rock, whose

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...

name is ''Pa-hur'' or ''Pahur'', is a hill in south central

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In the traditional Pawnee religion, it was one of five dwelling places of spirit animals with miraculous powers. In 1806, separate expeditions led by Facundo Melgares and

Zebulon Pike Zebulon Montgomery Pike (January 5, 1779 – April 27, 1813) was an American brigadier general and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named. As a U.S. Army officer he led two expeditions through the Louisiana Purchase territory, first ...

both journeyed to a large Pawnee village nearby; Pike persuaded the inhabitants to lower the recently received flag of Spain and replace it with that of the United States. The hill's English name was given to the nearby village of Guide Rock, Nebraska.

Description

Guide Rock is located in Webster County, Nebraska. It lies southeast of the town that bears its name, on the south side of the Republican River and just east of Rankin Creek. Descriptions of the landform vary. The

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

classifies it as a "pillar", which it defines as a " rtical, standing, often spire-shaped, natural rock formation". A local writer described it as a "vast rocky bluff".Ohmstede, Bonnie.
"Guide Rock—Webster County".Nebraska... Our Towns.
Retrieved 2010-09-17. However, the authors of ''Roadside Geology of Nebraska'' state that it is "not so much a rock as a

loess A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits. A loess ...

bluff of modest size". The difference might be due to human action: in 1973, it was reported that of the five sacred places of the Pawnee, four, including this one, had been "extensively damaged or totally destroyed".Jensen, Richard E. (1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Pahuk".

Pawnee traditional belief

In the Pawnee traditional religion, the supreme being Tirawa allots supernatural powers to certain animals. These animals, the ''nahurac'', act as Tirawa's servants and messengers, and intercede for the Pawnee with Tirawa.Grinnell, George Bird (1893).
''Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk Tales''.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved 2010-09-16. The ''nahurac'' had five lodges. The foremost among them was Pahuk, usually translated "hill island", a bluff on the south side of the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major American river, in the state of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, w ...

, near the town of Cedar Bluffs in present-day Saunders County, Nebraska. Lalawakohtito, or "dark island", was an island in the Platte near Central City, Nebraska; Ahkawitakol, or "white bank", was on the

Loup River The Loup River (pronounced /lup/) is a tributary of the Platte River, approximately long, in central Nebraska in the United States. The river drains a sparsely populated rural agricultural area on the eastern edge of the Great Plains southeast ...

opposite the mouth of the Cedar River in what is now

Nance County, Nebraska Nance County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,380. Its county seat is Fullerton. In the Nebraska license plate system, Nance County is represented by the prefix 58 (it had the fifty-eig ...

. Kitzawitzuk, translated "water on a bank", also known to the Pawnee as Pahowa, was a spring on the Solomon River near

Glen Elder, Kansas Glen Elder is a city in Mitchell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 362. History Glen Elder was originally known as West Hampton, and under the latter name was laid out and platted in 1871 b ...

; it is usually known today by its Kanza-derived name of Waconda Spring. It now lies beneath the waters of Waconda Reservoir. The fifth lodge of the ''nahurac'' was known to the Pawnee as Pahur, a name translated as "hill that points the way". According to

George Bird Grinnell George Bird Grinnell (September 20, 1849 – April 11, 1938) was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. Originally specializing in zoology, he became a prominent early conservationist and student of Native American life. ...

, the accent is on the second syllable; the "a" in the first syllable is pronounced like the "a" in "father"; and the "u" in the second syllable is pronounced long, like the vowel in "pool". In English, the name was shortened to "Guide Rock".

History

Pawnee village

The Pawnee tended to locate major population centers near homes of the ''nahurac''. Pahur was no exception: a large village of the Kitkehahki, or Republican Pawnee, was situated a short distance upstream from the hill. Retrieved 2010-09-17. The village was intermittently occupied from about 1770 to 1830."National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Hill Farm Site." Author's name and date not found on form; it refers to 1974 events and publications. After the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

, the United States found itself embroiled in a conflict with Spain, which disputed the boundaries of the

Louisiana Territory The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. The territory was formed out of t ...

, contending that most of the territory west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

belonged to them. The Spanish dispatched four expeditions from Santa Fe to find and arrest the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

. The fourth of these, in 1806, consisted of over 600 men under Lieutenant Facundo Melgares; its size was intended to impress the Native Americans of the area and to secure their cooperation with Spain against the United States.Oliva, Leo (2005).
"Lieutenant Facundo Melgares and the Spanish Troops in Kansas".Santa Fe Trail Research.
Retrieved 2010-09-17. Zebulon Pike

The United States also sent out an expedition in 1806. General

James Wilkinson James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American army officer and politician who was associated with multiple scandals and controversies during his life, including the Burr conspiracy. He served in the Continental Army du ...

, the newly appointed governor of the Louisiana Territory, dispatched

and 23 men to explore the headwaters of the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

Rivers, to negotiate peace between the Native American tribes of the area, and to contact the

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

of the High Plains. Melgares and 360 of his men arrived at the Guide Rock Pawnee village. They gave presents and a Spanish flag to the inhabitants, and requested that they block travel west and southwest into Spanish-claimed territory by anyone from the United States.Oliva, Leo E.
"Pike in Nebraska, 1806".
Retrieved 2010-09-17. Rather than continuing toward the Missouri, they then returned to the Arkansas River, where they rejoined the rest of their party; from there, they returned to Santa Fe. The failure of their expedition has been attributed to Pawnee opposition, combined with the difficulty of maintaining a force of that size on the country with no supply lines. The Pike party arrived at the Guide Rock village on September 25, 1806, a few weeks after Melgares's departure, and remained there for nearly two weeks. While there, Pike persuaded the Pawnee to haul down the Spanish flag that they had been given by Melgares, and to replace it with an American flag.
ttp://www.nebraskastudies.org/ Nebraskastudies.org. Retrieved 2010-09-17. However, he left the Spanish flag in the possession of the Pawnee, only asking that they not fly it while his party was in the village. When Pike prepared to depart, the Pawnee informed him that they would oppose his attempt to continue westward. Melgares had requested that they prevent such travel; furthermore, they did not want the United States to establish relations with their Comanche enemies. Pike refused to be intimidated, making it clear that if fighting ensued, his party would kill a great many Pawnee before their own extermination. In the end, the Pawnee relented, and Pike's expedition was allowed to proceed.

Guide Rock, Nebraska

The first settlement established by homesteaders in Webster County was established on the north side of the Republican River. By a unanimous vote of eight settlers, it was named Guide Rock after the nearby hill. An annual festival held in Guide Rock is called "Pa-Hur Days"."Guide Rock Community Club".Red Cloud/Guide Rock website.
Retrieved 2010-09-17.

References

{{Native Americans in Nebraska Hills of Nebraska Sacred places of the Pawnee Landforms of Webster County, Nebraska