About midnight
We were all sleepy that night , and no sooner was supper over than every mother 's son of us was in his blankets . We slept so soundly that the guards were compelled to dismount when calling the relief , and shake the next guards on duty out of their slumber and see that they got up , for men would unconsciously answer in their sleep . The cattle were likewise tired , and slept as willingly as the men . About midnight , however , Fox Quarternight dashed into camp , firing his six-shooter and yelling like a demon . We tumbled out of our blankets in a dazed condition to hear that one of the herds camped near the river had stampeded , the heavy rumbling of the running herd and the shooting of their outfit now being distinctly audible . We lost no time getting our horses , and in less than a minute were riding for our cattle , which had already got up and were timidly listening to the approaching noise . Although we were a good quarter mile from the trail , before we could drift our herd to a point of safety , the stampeding cattle swept down the trail like a cyclone and our herd was absorbed into the maelstrom of the onrush like leaves in a whirlwind .