They spoke hopefully of soon adding to it.
A brook flowed less than a hundred yards away, and they would have no trouble about their water supply, while the country about seemed highly favorable for game.

But on their first day there they did not do any hunting.

They rolled several large stones before the door of their new home, making it secure against any prying wild animals, and then, after a hearty meal, they wrapped themselves in their blankets and slept prodigiously.
Tayoga went into the forest the next day and set traps and snares, while Robert worked in the valley, breaking up fallen wood to be used for fires, and doing other chores.

The Onondaga in the next three or four days shot a large panther, a little bear, and caught in the traps and snares a quantity of small game.

The big pelts and the little pelts, after proper treatment, were spread upon the floor or hung against the walls of the cave, which now began to assume a much more inviting aspect, and the flesh of the animals that were eatable, cured after the primitive but effective processes, was stored there also.
Providence granted them a period of good weather, days and nights alike being clear and cold.