six in the evening
George and Harry accompanied the teams , and when they left the main column the forest was skirted in their trip southwardly . It was known that the forest was less dense in that direction , and after traveling thus for nearly four hours , the men delegated to beat the forest to the east , announced that they might safely turn to the east , which meant two hours more of struggling through a country which , without the warriors to aid them , would have been impossible . Most of the men were ahead of the team with their bolos , cutting down and dragging away the trees and bushes , and thus forming a trail which would allow the wagons to pass . It was past six in the evening when the river was reached . In order to gain as much time as possible , Stut and the boys concluded to push across , and move northwardly along the eastern bank , as it was evident the eastern shore afforded the best route . Before the plan could be put into execution a body of Illyas appeared in force before them . They hastily drew back , and after consulting , concluded to proceed north along the western bank .