noon
The cold was bitter and the wind cut to the bone . They were saved from freezing to death only by digging a rude shelter through the snow into the side of a hill , and there they crouched for two days with so little food left in their knapsacks , that without game , they would perish , in a week , of hunger , if the cold did not get the first chance . The most experienced hunters went forth , but returned with nothing , thankful for so little a mercy as the ability to get back to their half-shelter . Henry at last took his rifle and ventured out alone -- the others were too listless to stop him -- and before the noon hour he found a buffalo bull , some outcast from the herd which had gone southward , struggling in the snow . The bull was old and lean , and it took two bullets to bring him down , but his death meant their life and Henry hurried to the camp with the joyful news . It was clearly recognized that he had saved them , but no one said anything and Henry was glad of their silence . When the storm ceased they renewed their journey toward the south with a plentiful supply of food and not long afterwards the snow began to melt .