five A.M.
Every man was to keep his weapons loaded . If the gun was a caplock , the cap was to be taken off and a piece of leather put on to exclude moisture and dirt ; if a flintlock , the filling was to be taken out and the pan filled with tow or cotton . Their march was not only cautious but orderly . At five A.M. the bugle sounded for rising , two hours being allowed for prayers and breakfast . At night each man had to retire to his wagon for prayer at eight-thirty , and to rest at nine . If they camped by a river they drew the wagons into a semicircle with the river at its base . Other times the wagons made a circle , a fore-wheel of one touching a rear wheel of the next , thus providing a corral for the stock .