midnight
The pursuits of the naturalist frequently led him , however , for days at a time , from the direct line of the route of the squatter , who rarely seemed to have any other guide than the sun . Most men would have deemed themselves fortunate to have been absent on the perilous occasion of the Sioux inroad , as was Obed Bat , -LRB- or as he was fond of hearing himself called , Battius , -RRB- M.D. and fellow of several cis-Atlantic learned societies -- the adventurous gentleman in question . Although the sluggish nature of Ishmael was not actually awakened , it was sorely pricked by the liberties which had just been taken with his property . He slept , however , for it was the hour he had allotted to that refreshment , and because he knew how impotent any exertions to recover his effects must prove in the darkness of midnight . He also knew the danger of his present situation too well to hazard what was left in pursuit of that which was lost . Much as the inhabitants of the prairies were known to love horses , their attachment to many other articles , still in the possession of the travellers , was equally well understood . It was a common artifice to scatter the herds , and to profit by the confusion .