Many swollen brooks and creeks had to be forded, and when night came they were wet and soaked to the waist.
But Tayoga then achieved a great triumph.

In the face of difficulties that seemed insuperable, he coaxed a fire in the lee of a hill, and the three fed it, until it threw out a great circle of heat in which they warmed and dried themselves.

When they had eaten and rested a long time they put out the fire, waited for the coals and ashes to cool, and then spread over them their blankets, thus securing a dry base upon which to sleep.

They were so thoroughly exhausted, and they were so sure that the forest contained no hostile presence that all three went to sleep at the same time and remained buried in slumber throughout the night.
Tayoga was the first to awake, and he saw the dawn of a new winter day, the earth reeking with cold damp and the thawing snow.

He unrolled himself from his blankets and arose a little stiffly, but with a few movements of the limbs all his flexibility returned.