noon
Within an hour after starting that morning , Quince Forrest , who was riding in front of me in the swing , dismounted , and picking out of the snow a brave little flower which looked something like a pansy , dropped back to me and said , `` My weather gauge says it 's eighty-eight degrees below freezo . But I want you to smell this posy , Quirk , and tell me on the dead thieving , do you ever expect to see your sunny southern home again ? And did you notice the pock-marked colonel , baring his brisket to the morning breeze ? '' Two hours after the sun came out , the snow had disappeared , and the cattle fell to and grazed until long after the noon hour . Our pilot led us up the divide between the Missouri and the headwaters of the Musselshell during the afternoon , weaving in and out around the heads of creeks putting into either river ; and towards evening we crossed quite a creek running towards the Missouri , where we secured ample water for the herd . We made a late camp that night , and our guide assured us that another half day 's drive would put us on the Judith River , where we would intercept the Fort Benton road . The following morning our guide led us for several hours up a gradual ascent to the plateau , till we reached the tableland , when he left us to return to his own camp .