An hour before noon
`` These were all big beeves to-day , going to some fort on the Yellowstone River . And they had such wide , sweeping horns ! And the smartest cattle ! An hour before noon one of the point men gave a shrill whistle , and the whole column of beeves turned aside and began feeding . The men called it ` throwing the herd off the trail to graze . ' It was just like saying _ halt _ ! to soldiers -- like we saw at that reunion in Ohio . ''