About noon
I have said that , upon the second night after leaving the butte , our travellers went to sleep supperless . On the third day , they began to feel the cravings of hunger in good earnest . Neither beast nor bird appeared in sight upon the wild desert plains that stretched inimitably around them . About noon , as they were riding through a thicket of the wild sage -LRB- _ Artemisia tridentata _ -RRB- , a brace of those singular birds , sage-cocks or prairie-grouse -LRB- _ Tetrao urophasianus _ -RRB- , the largest of all the grouse family , whirred up before the heads of their horses . Francois , with his ever-ready gun , fired at them , but they were too distant for the shot ; and the next moment both disappeared over the swells of the prairie . The sight only tantalised the unsuccessful hunters , and added to the hungry craving of appetites already sharp almost beyond endurance . They felt that there was no chance of getting anything to eat , before they should come up with the buffaloes .