Powder River

Powder River. . This is the river that exuberant parties claim is a mile wide, an inch deep, and runs up hill. The statement is exaggerated. Captain Clark, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, named it the Redstone in 1806 and afterwards found out that the Indians called it the same thing but they pronounced it “Wah-ha-sah.” He camped just across the Yellowstone from the mouth of the Powder on the night of July 30, 1806. , Generals Terry and Custer, moving from the east to take part in a campaign against the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, camped on the Yellowstone about 25 miles west of here June 10, 1876. From that point Major Reno was sent with six troops of the 7th Cavalry to scout the Powder and Tongue valleys for Indian sign. He swung further west and picked up a fresh trail on the Rosebud. It was this trail that led Custer into contact with the hostiles resulting in the Battle of the Little Big Horn.