noon
The trapper grasped the offered hand in a moment , and after due preparation , they once more pursued their journey , taking their way directly across the prairie that stretched out before them . Their horses were fleet travellers , and they hurried over the smooth , green sward that covered the prairie , for two hours , when they were brought to a sudden pause by stumbling on a borough of prairie dogs , the ground being tunneled in every direction underneath , leaving a thin crust of earth , through which the horses broke , sending the yelping denizens howling from their dens over the prairie in admirable fright and confusion . Making a circuit round the deceptive traps of the snarling curs , they again struck out for the distant boundary of the prairie , which they hoped soon to reach . At noon they rested by a pool of stagnant water , the first they had seen since morning , which was unfit for use but of which the horses drank sparingly . The spring grass , now tender and nutritious , was cropped with avidity by the horses , and after a halt of two hours , they again pursued their journey . They soon found the first buffalo they had seen since the preceding autumn , and they hailed the sight of them as an omen of good . About sunset , Whirlwind had the good fortune to kill one , and they deemed it prudent to encamp , as it would be impossible for them to reach the boundary of the prairie that night .