about noon
Dividing the milk of the goat between them , they lay down to sleep . At dawn , they were again in motion ; and after three hours ' hard riding , they saw the distant forest , that bounded the prairie , looming against the horizon . Buffalo , antelope , elk , deer , and fowl now became quite numerous , giving indications that the forest was well watered and fertile . With renewed energy , they rode on , and about noon entered the welcome heavily timbered forest -- the surface of which was uneven and rolling , sometimes rising in gentle hills , then towering in precipitous cliffs , interspersed with sylvan dells , through which streamlets wound , sometimes in quiet beauty , and again dashing down ledges of rock , lashing their waters to a foam . Eagerly they drank the waters of the limpid stream for which they as well as their beasts had been suffering . Tired with their rapid marches which the necessity of procuring water had forced them to take they resolved to rest the remainder of the day . Selecting a spot by the stream , shut in by tall cliffs on either side , they secured their horses and were preparing to spend the night when the chief hurriedly motioned them to be silent .