THE ROGUE RIVEE WARS. 311
Lane was at Roseburg when the news of the outbreak reached him, and set out at once for Rogue river, accom panied by Pleasant Armstrong of Yamhill county, and James Cluggage, who had been to the Umpqua valley in the vain endeavor to enlist the Klickitats against the Rogue-river Indians, and eleven other men. Immediately on Lane s arrival, Alden tendered him the command, which he accepted on the twenty-first, and on the twenty- second assumed his office in due form. An aggressive movement was decided upon. W. G. T Vault was ap pointed his aide, and C. Lewis, a captain of volunteers, his assistant adjutant-general, but Lewis falling ill, L. F. Mosher took his place.
The available forces were divided into two battalions, one consisting of the companies of Captains Goodall and Rhodes under Colonel Alden, with Lane at their head, to proceed up the river to where Ely had met with defeat, there to find the enemy s trail, which was known led in the direction of Evans creek. The other battalion, under John E. Ross, was directed to proceed to the mouth of Evans creek, and thence up that stream to a junction with Alden, to prevent the Indians from being driven back on the settlements.
After a day s travel, made exhausting by smoke from the burning forest, Alden s command came upon the trail of the enemy and encamped. On the following day, after another fatiguing march, he again encamped, and had hardly taken up the line of march on the twenty -fourth, when Lane, who was in advance, heard the discharge of a rifle and distinguished voices. Waiting for the companies to come up, he halted them, and outlined his plan of at tack, which was that Alden, with Goodall s company, should quietly proceed on foot along the trail and attack the Indians in front, while a detachment of ten picked men from Rhodes command, under Lieutenant Charles Blair, was to take a ridge to the left to turn the enemy s flank. Lane would himself wait for the rear guard to come up, and lead them into action.
