noon
He travelled thus . Having given his cattle as much as they would drink at the last watering-place , he started in the afternoon , and travelled until near daybreak . Then a halt of two hours was made , so that the animals should graze while the dew was still on the grass . Another long march followed , continuing until noon , then a rest of three or four hours brought the cool evening , when a fresh spell of marching brought the `` Jornada '' to its end , far on in the following night . Such is the mode of travelling still practised on the desert steppes of Chihuahua , Sonora , and North Mexico . After several days ' travelling the cibolero and his party descended from the high `` mesa , '' and , passing down its eastern slope , arrived on a tributary of the Red River . Here the scenery assumed a new aspect -- the aspect of the `` rolling '' prairie .