midnight
And so on till night . Then demon-like indeed are the forms seen flitting around its fires , and as much the faces , lit up by the red glare from blazing fagots of _ mezquite _ and _ pinon _ -- both resinous trees . Still more the discordant sounds , a chorus of cries and ejaculations , in mad wild yelling , as of Bedlam broke loose . It is midnight , and darkness over mountain and plain ; pitch darkness , although there is a moon in the sky . But she is not visible , obscured by a bank of thick cumulus clouds , that have rolled up from the Californian Gulf -- portent of an approaching rain-storm . The savages have gone to rest ; or , at all events , brought their noisy revelry to an end , and silence reigns everywhere around , save now and then a snort from a miner 's horse , or mule , with a stamp of hoof , uneasy in their new companionship ; the half howl , half bark of prowling coyote , and the wailing of chuck-will 's widow -- the nightjar of Sonora -- hawking for insects high over the lake . But no sound of human voice is heard , nor through the inky blackness can be seen form of man .