=Significance of Kansas History.= Kansas is a comparatively new State. Nearly all of its history has been made within little more than a century, and most of it within the sixty years of its period of settlement. Few states, however, have had a more eventful history. From its beginning Kansas has been a place of action. The pages of its history are filled with wars and battles, with stirring adventure, and with deeds of courage and daring. Nearly every part of the State has its places of historic interest, and the names of men and women who should be honored for good and brave deeds would make a long list. The people of Kansas are proud of the history of their State and desire to preserve it. To that end they have taken steps to save a number of the old landmarks, they have built many monuments, and have gathered and kept many records of the past. [Illustration: Bust of Eugene Ware “Of all the states, but three will live in story; Old Massachusetts with her Plymouth Rock, And Old Virginia with her noble stock, And Sunny Kansas with her woes and glory.” ――EUGENE F. WARE.] =Pawnee Rock.= One of the early landmarks was Pawnee Rock on the old Santa Fe Trail, in what is now Barton County. This giant rock standing on the level plain was a noted spot, for the Trail ran near its base, and while it provided a place of rest and safety for many a weary traveler, it also afforded a retreat from which the Indians could dash down upon the traders. In later years much of the rock was torn away for building purposes and this historic old landmark was rapidly disappearing. The Woman’s Kansas Day Club resolved to save this historic spot, and secured a deed for the Rock and five acres of ground surrounding it. On Kansas Day, 1909, the women presented this deed to the State. The transfer was made with the condition that the State spend $3000 for improvements. This was done and the preservation of Pawnee Rock is now assured. [Illustration: PRESENT VIEW OF PAWNEE ROCK.] =The Pike Memorial.= The exact site of the Pawnee Indian village visited by Lieutenant Pike in 1806 was not known with certainty for many years, but was finally found to be in Republic County. It was located through the discovery of rows of circular ridges supposed to have been the embankments of the Indian lodges.[21] An iron fence now incloses about six acres of the ground, on which the rings are still plainly visible, and a granite shaft stands where the Stars and Stripes first floated over Kansas. The monument bears the inscription: “Erected by the State of Kansas, 1901, to mark the site of the Pawnee Republic where Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike caused the Spanish flag to be lowered and the flag of the United States to be raised, September 29, 1806.” [Illustration: WHERE THE STARS AND STRIPES FIRST FLOATED OVER KANSAS.]