Powder River: Let Her Buck

An article from the Miles City Independent, Friday, March 7th, 1919 edition, in our ongoing coverage of Powder River County’s 100 Year Anniversary. Savvy readers will note the “her” used in the title, which was amended to ‘Er.

The Star is pleased that the bill creating the new county of Powder River has emerged triumphantly from the senate after having previously passed the house and is now on its way to the executive chamber awaiting the signature of Governor Stewart to make it a law. Miles City regrets that it is to be divorced from the prolific territory embraced in the proposed new county on the south side at the same time we feel that so long as the people interested were bent on creating a new seat of government there was nothing for us to do but let them have it. Like in all new counties there is going to be a merry scramble over the county seat but when this matter will have been finally determined by the will of the people we trust that the various factions will get together and work for the very best interests of all. The south side, or that portion of it embraced in the proposed new county of Powder River is the richest section of Custer County. As an ideal stock raising and farming section there is no other part in eastern Montana that surpasses it. Crop failures are unknown in the particular territory referred to and the great majority of the people who have engaged in the industry there have been prosperous. We trust that they will continue to be and it is our wish that the baby county will develop into sturdy manhood in time and be one of the most prosperous counties in the state.

As we asserted heretofore, Miles City dislikes to be separated from its neighbors by county lines, at the same time we have none but the very best wishes for them in their undertaking and we trust that the same friendly relations will continue for many years to come.

The time is not far distance when a railroad should traverse this vast and fertile section and we would like to see a move in this direction at the earliest possible date. The new county has a wild and wooly name but it is characteristic of the broad gauged and patriotic type of citizenship that has made the west famous and we trust that its future fame will be undying. Powder River; Let Her Buck.