midnight
It was at this point , years before , that the four men and the boy had stopped to look away over the awe-inspiring scenes of wide sky , measureless plain , rolling sand hills , dream lakes and ever-changing seas of color , all hidden now in the blackness of the night . In the dark , hall-like Devil 's Canyon the sound of the horse 's feet echoed and re-echoed sharply from the rock walls , while the darkness was so thick that Abe could not see the animal 's head . At Mountain Spring , where travelers into the desert always filled their water barrels , Abe stopped again . It was a little past midnight . Loosing the saddle girth and removing the bridle , the surveyor let his horse drink and , taking a sack with his one feed of rolled barley , he deftly converted it into a rude nose-bag by cutting a strip in each side two-thirds the length of the sack and tying it over the horse 's head . After eating his own lunch the surveyor stretched himself out flat on his back on the ground with every muscle relaxed . The sound of the horse munching his feed ceased ; the animal 's head dropped lower , and he too -- wise in the wisdom of the open country -- relaxed his muscles and rested .