one o'clock
Changing horses frequently , one day out I had left Red River in my rear , but before me lay an uninhabited country , unless I veered from my course and went through the Chickasaw Nation . For the sake of securing grain for the horses , this tack was made , following the old Chisholm trail for nearly one hundred miles . The country was in the grip of winter , sleet and snow covering the ground , with succor for man and horse far apart . Mumford Johnson 's ranch on the Washita River was reached late the second night , and by daybreak the next morning I was on the trail , making Quartermaster Creek by one o'clock that day . Fortunately no storms were encountered en route , but King Winter ruled the range with an iron hand , fully six inches of snow covering the pasture , over which was a crusted sleet capable of carrying the weight of a beef . The foreman and his men were working night and day to succor the cattle . Between storms , two crews of the boys drifted everything back from the south line of fence , while others cut ice and opened the water to the perishing animals .