noon
had they only known which way to proceed , -- what direction would lead them to their home and friends , it would have been well with them . But they had pursued so many different directions they had become bewildered , and all courses seemed to them alike . The next and the next day passed over and found them undecided whether it was best to cross over the prairie or not ; but the third day they concluded to do so , and refreshed and invigorated they set out . Two days of their journey they found occasional supplies of water , and on the third towards noon they came to its boundary . The forest skirting the border of the prairie was a clump of stunted trees , and there was very little grass or shrubs growing around . Everything looked forlorn and desolate about them , offering but scanty subsistence for themselves or beasts . Following the forest down a short distance they found a tolerable camping ground where they spent the night .