midday
Yet even the best courage suffers when a man hears the wailing of his children back of him , the groans of his wife . As the hours passed , with no more than an occasional rifle shot or the zhut ! of an arrow ending its high arc , the tension on the nerves of the beleaguered began to manifest itself . At midday the children began to cry for water . They were appeased with milk from the few cows offering milk ; but how long might that last , with the cattle themselves beginning to moan and low ? `` How far are they back ? '' It was Hall , leader of the Ohio wagons .