midnight
Ere the frightened warrior could give an alarm , a stunning blow from behind felled him to the wet earth , where he lay motionless and apparently devoid of life . On this night of storm and escape , Cat-sha , the Seminole chief , was more than usually restless . He tossed and turned on his couch of robes , but found it impossible to sleep . Finally he determined to make one of his customary midnight visits of inspection to the several guards , and to his sole remaining prisoner , the `` young white chief . '' As he left his lodge Cat-sha bowed his head to the bitter storm , and drew his robe more closely about him . On approaching the hut , in which he imagined the prisoner to be spending his last hours of life , he found the guard standing before it , motionless , but wide-awake , and with one corner of his robe drawn over his head to protect it somewhat from the pelting rain . Cat-sha questioned him as to the safety of the prisoner , and the warrior answered that he had looked in upon him just as the storm began , and found him quietly sleeping and securely bound .