How many associations in the mind of every Indianian cluster around the name of Joseph Lane--a man who has been identified with the fortunes of the state for more than thirty years, and in all his relations has appeared as one of God's noblest works--a warm, generous, true-hearted friend--an honest man.
    A man possessed of the sterling worth and character of General Lane will ever be the idol of his fellow citizens, wherever his lot may be cast. This has been fully realized in all the varied scenes of his life's history. We first find him as an humble woodchopper on the banks of the Ohio about the time the first steamboats ascended the Mississippi River, freighted with the products of the sunny South. We next see him a regular trader to New Orleans--the commander of a flatboat--the means at that time used, almost exclusively, for the transportation of our commodities to market, and here it was that for a series of years he developed those admirable qualities that so well fitted him for a commander on the battlefields of Mexico.
    It was on this theater that he learned the true history of man, in all the varieties of his character. No braver man ever lived than Joe Lane, but at the same time none were more generous, so long as truth and honesty were pursued on the part of those around him. He was ever found on the side of the oppressed, and at his voice injustice and oppression hid their deformed faces.
    There are many anecdotes related showing the perfect control he had over the wild and sometimes lawless men of our western waters. His voice was sufficient to stay oppression, or stop the wild promptings of the reckless mob.
    It is now nearly a quarter of a century ago since we saw him in the councils of the state, as the representative of the people, and we find amongst his first public acts a report of much force and power in favor of a graduation and reduction in the price of our public lands--exhibiting thus early how ardently he sympathized with the early pioneers of the West.
    General Lane never was ambitious of public office. He served for a number of years in both branches of the Legislature but was always called, unsolicited, from his farm to a seat in our public councils. Had he been ambitious of public life, he might, on several occasions, have obtained a seat in Congress, but he never consented to serve his fellow citizens except when he thought he could be of service to his constituents and the state. Although residing in a Whig county, when the arrangement of our state debt was contemplated General Lane was singled out as one of the men to accomplish the work. He was a member of the [state] senate when war was declared as existing by the act of Mexico, and he had just succeeded, with others, in effecting our state debt arrangement, having been called from the farm to aid in that work by the united voice of the people of his district, without distinction of party. The honor and fame of Indiana were ever dear to his heart. The charge of repudiation he determined should never be urged against us, and his voice had great weight in the halls of legislation.
    His senatorial term had not expired when with other patriots he rallied around the standard of his country. He did not do like others--express a willingness to go to the field as officers--but he entered the ranks and enrolled his name as a private soldier. He was taken from the ranks and elected the first colonel of the second Indiana regiment--every private soldier having a right to vote. Soon after his election as colonel, he received a commission, unsolicited and unexpected on his part, of brigadier general from the President of the United States. There were those who knew the man and were willing, unsolicited, to vouch for his character as a soldier.
    With great distrust in his own abilities he assumed his new station, and early and late he labored to qualify himself to command. What a striking commentary does his character exhibit of our free institutions, and the alacrity with which the denizens of our western forests can be transformed into the bold defenders of their country, when actuated, as in the case of General Lane, by a pure and ardent patriotism.
    It has been said of General Lane that he was born a hero and a soldier, and the bloody battlefield of Buena Vista is a witness to his cool and self-collected patriotism. At an early period of the action he was wounded by a ball passing through is arm, and when most other men, similarly situated, would have retired, at least for medical relief, that bloody arm was seen amid the fire and the smoke of the conflict, until victory perched upon our standards. It was then, and not till then, that he hastened to his physician.
    But it was on the Vera Cruz line, when returning with fresh troops from Indiana and Ohio, that as commander-in-chief, in which he was engaged, he won for himself the proud title of the Marion of the  Mexican War. We here witnessed a series of bold and daring achievements that have scarcely a parallel in history, exhibiting those rare natural qualifications that fit a man for almost any emergency. In one of these, at Huamantla, with a small force, he met, out-generaled and defeated Santa Anna [against] an army of more than five times his number. He drove the enemy out of Puebla and opened up a communication with Gen. Scott's army. He was several months constantly in the saddle. No difficulty seemed too hazardous to undertake, and on one occasion was within an hour's time of catching Santa Anna in his bed.
    In fine, it may be said with pride to Indiana, and the West, that General Lane, in the last acts which concluded the Mexican War, by his gallantry and bold exploits, succeeded in chasing Santa Anna out of Mexico, dispersed the accumulating forces of Paredes, and hunted down and completely destroyed the power of the robber-chief Jarauta, whose depredations had been so fatal to our troops and trains. In all these movements no charge of rapine and pillage is urged against him, with the exception of suffering some of his officers to keep, as trophies, Santa Anna's coat and cane, which that runaway officer had left behind him in his flight.
    He was appointed Governor of Oregon when he had just returned from the battlefields of Mexico, and almost on the instant tore himself away from friends, from home, from wife and children--and not fearing the snows of the Rocky Mountains, although later in the season than almost any other man would have dared to venture--rushed at once to the scene of his duties--arrived in time to aid in saving the Territory from the ruthless savages, established treaties with almost all the Indian tribes, and in his various messages to the Legislature of Oregon showed that he was a statesman as well as a hero--and his public acts have been approved by an almost entire vote of the people.
Western Star, Milwaukie, April 24, 1851, page 2

    We have received a pamphlet copy of this publication. It is a brief but well-written history of the life of this distinguished man, who is the favorite of Indiana for the Presidency. The following is the dedication:
    To the Delegates to the National Convention of the Democratic Party, about to assemble in Baltimore, June, 1852, and to the Democracy at large of the United States, the following brief biography of Joseph Lane, Brevet Major-General in the late war with Mexico, late Governor of Oregon Territory, and now representing said Territory in Congress--is respectfully dedicated.

    The advent of Oregon into the Union placed in the Senate of the United States, as one of her representatives, General Joseph Lane, one of the most remarkable men of the age, whose career is a fine illustration of the genius of our institutions, and demonstrates that the high places of honor and distinction are accessible to all who possess ability, energy and perseverance.
    General Lane descended from revolutionary ancestors, was born in the state of North Carolina, was reared and educated in Kentucky, emigrated to Indiana and settled on the banks of the Ohio, in the county of Vanderburgh, where, without the adventitious aid of fame, family or fortune, he worked his way from a humble plowboy and flatboatman on the Mississippi to the high position of a distinguished soldier and statesman. At the age of twenty-one, when barely eligible, he was elected a representative in the legislature of Indiana, and continued to represent his people, at intervals of one or two years, either in the house or the senate, for about a quarter of a century. Possessing a clear, strong and practical mind, he took a liberal and correct view of all questions meeting state or national interest, which he enforced with an eloquence and power which placed him in the front of the ablest men in the legislature.
    His name is indissolubly connected with some of the most important measures which developed the resources, advanced the prosperity and improved the finances of the state, especially his successful efforts to preserve untarnished the public faith and to prevent the repudiation of the public debt, which was boldly advocated by some of the strongest men in Indiana.
    When the Mexican War broke out, Gen. Lane was a member of the state senate, and when a call was made upon Indiana to furnish volunteers for the war, with that devoted patriotism which has ever characterized him, he immediately resigned his seat and volunteered as a private in Captain Walker's company. When the company rendezvoused at New Albany, he was elected from the ranks as their colonel, but he was permitted to hold the commission but a very few days. That sagacious statesman, James K. Polk, then President of the United States, discerning in General Lane the qualities to make a successful warrior, sent him a commission of brigadier general, a compliment as unexpected as it was solicited by him. The opponents of the Administration and of the war, throughout the state, denounced and ridiculed the appointment, declaring that he might make a good general of flatboatmen on the Mississippi, but that the idea of Joseph Lane, who had never commanded a company in his life, taking command of a brigade in war was simply ridiculous, that he would disgrace himself, his state and the nation. Never did a man's achievements in war more completely falsify the predictions of his enemies and realize the most sanguine expectations of his friends or more triumphantly vindicate the wisdom of the appointment.
    In less than three weeks after the receipt of his commission, he was at the seat of war, with all his troops. In communicating his arrival to General Taylor he wrote thus--"The brigade I have the honor to command is generally in good health and fine spirits, anxious to engage in active service."
    The indomitable energy, the self-sacrificing spirit, the sound judgment and firm purpose which he displayed in the active service of civil life were eminently conspicuous in the stirring scenes of battle, blood and carnage through which he passed, illustrated by a daring bravery and heroism, which placed him among the most distinguished heroes of that memorable war. To recount the battles in which General Lane was engaged, the dangers to which he was exposed, the brave deeds he performed, the skill and judgment with which he planned his battles, and the unvarying success with which he fought them, would consume more space than we have to spare. Such was the celerity of his movements, the skill and stratagem of his plans, the boldness and rapidity of their execution, and the enthusiasm and courage with which he inspired his men by his impassioned appeals to their valor, as they visited the most fearful slaughter upon the enemy, the name of Lane struck terror to the Mexican heart, and by common consent he was styled "the Marion of the Mexican War." Of all battles fought in Mexico, the battle of Buena Vista was the severest and most hotly contested, and one of the most remarkable in the annals of the world. There the American army, consisting of about five thousand, mostly raw militia, met twenty thousand of the chosen troops of Santa Anna in deadly conflict, and after a protracted struggle of two days achieved a glorious triumph.
    In that battle General Lane performed a most important part. No officer contributed more by his gallantry and generalship to win the fortunes of the day. Upon the left wing of the American army, which General Lane commanded, Santa Anna directed his most obstinate and deadly assaults. With but 400 men, General Lane repulsed a large body of Mexicans, six thousand strong. While nothing could exceed the fearful array of the assailants, as they moved towards the little band of Lane, with their long line of infantry presenting a continued sheet of fire, nothing could surpass the undaunted firmness and bravery with which Lane and his men maintained their position and poured their volleys of musketry into the advancing columns of the enemy, which made them break and fall back. Throughout the varying fortunes of that trying day, General Lane, with his little band of heroes, maintained his position and repulsed the enemy at every point. On the second day of the battle, Santa Anna finding his strength defied and his most skillful maneuvers defeated, as the day was drawing to a close [he] determined to make a most desperate effort to turn the tide of battle in his favor. Collecting all his infantry, he made a charge on the Illinois and Kentucky regiments. Gallantly did those brave troops resist the onset until seeing their leaders fall, and overpowered by numbers, they began to waver and fall back. At this critical moment, the eagle eye of General Lane observed the movement, when he hastened with his brigade to the rescue in time to enable the retreating regiments to form and return to the contest and drive back with great loss the advancing column of the enemy. This was Santa Anna's last struggle. On that bloody and hotly contested field night soon closed over the sanguinary scene, and when the morning sun arose, it shone on the battlefield deserted by Santa Anna with his shattered legions, while the star-spangled banner waved in triumph over the American army.
    No officer went into the American war with less pretensions than General Lane; none came out of it with a brighter fame--the testimony of eyewitnesses, historians and official records attest the fact. The New Orleans Delta of May 2, 1847 recorded the popular estimation in which General Lane's conduct was held in the battle of Buena Vista as follows:
    "BRIGADIER GENERAL LANE.--The bearing of this gallant officer in the battle of Buena Vista, as described by persons who were present, was in the highest degree gallant, noble and soldier-like. When his brigade, composed of the two Indiana regiments, was exposed to a murderous fire from the Mexican batteries on their flanks, and a front fire from a large body of the enemy's infantry--when the grape and musket shot flew thick as hail over and through the lines of our volunteers, who began to waver before the fiery storm, their brave General could be seen fifty yards in advance of the line, waving his sword with an arm already shattered by a musket ball, streaming with blood, and mounted on a noble charger, which was gradually sinking under the loss of blood, from five distinct wounds. A brave sight, indeed, was this!"
    This brave man, whose cheek never blanched with fear or eye quailed amidst the hottest conflicts of battle, has a heart of tenderness which melts at human woe. His solicitude and care of the sick, the wounded and the dying was manifested on many occasions. Numerous incidents and anecdotes are narrated illustrating his kindness and tenderness in relieving their sufferings and administering to their comfort in the hospitals and on the battlefields, which so endeared him to his troops that it made him always invincible when their leader. On his return home, wherever he stopped, citizens of all classes vied to do honor to the distinguished hero. Whilst in the city of Cincinnati, the guest of Gen. Moore, an incident occurred illustrative of his native kindness and tenderness, and the gratitude of the recipient. A German citizen ushered himself into the presence of Gen. Lane, amidst the guests in the parlor. He asked if Gen. Lane was in. The General arose and answered that he was. The German, with emotion, asked--"Do you know me, General?" "I do not," said the General. German--"Well, sir, I recollect and thank you, and will recollect and thank you to the last day of my life. Do you remember, after the fight with the guerrillas at Mango de Clavo, in which we routed the scoundrels so finely, you found a soldier dying by the wayside, exhausted by the heat of the sun and the exertions of the day, and dismounted from your horse and placed him on it, walking by his side until you reached the camp, where you did not rest until you saw him well taken care of?" The General replied that he recollected the circumstance very well. "Well," said the German, "I am the boy, and by that act of kindness you saved my life. I am here to thank you. How can I ever forget to cease to pray for you? God bless you, you were indeed the soldier's friend."
    In his own state of Indiana, it was a perfect ovation wherever he went. The masses--the hardy sons of toil--turned out from all the country, and from every hamlet and village, to welcome and do honor to the man of the people. He was feasted and toasted, and congratulatory addresses were made to him in the name of the people by the most distinguished men of the state. He bore all the honors and compliments showered upon him meekly and with characteristic modesty, claimed for himself nothing more than having tried to do his duty. In his emphatic language he said--"To the brave volunteers under my command I feel that the honor is justly due; without their aid I could have done nothing. 'Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war.'"
    A few days after General Lane reached his home, he was called to a different scene of duty, where he could exercise his sound judgment and practical knowledge in organizing and putting in operation a civil government, on the shores of the Pacific, for a remote people who had been long neglected and uncared for. In August, 1848, he received a commission as Governor of Oregon Territory, another compliment as unexpected as it was unsolicited from Mr. Polk. In less than one month from the time he returned to the bosom of his family from the stirring scenes of war, he was en route for the distant shores of the Pacific, with hardships, perils and privations to encounter in crossing the Rocky Mountains at that season of the year to reach his post of duty which required an energy, hardihood and self-reliance to overcome which few men possess. Col. Fremont, who followed him in a few weeks afterwards, taking a different route across the mountains, lost almost his entire party, amid the cold and snows in the gorges and defiles of the mountains, and nearly perished himself.
    A narrative of the hardships and sufferings endured, and the perils encountered, by Gov. Lane and his party in crossing the Rocky Mountains would fill a volume. We can now no more than quote from a speech made by Mr. Voorhies of Indiana last winter to the citizens of Washington, who had assembled to congratulate Gen. Lane upon the admission of Oregon into the Union, and himself into the United States Senate as one of her Senators. He said:
    "There is a history of events connected with the pioneer movements of Gen. Lane to Oregon not generally known to the American people. On the 11th of September, 1848, at the foot of the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, with a commission from President Polk as Governor of Oregon Territory in his pocket, he, to whom you tender the honor of this demonstration, gave evidence to his country and to the world, of a will and a courage in the discharge of duty surpassing that which Napoleon displayed in his immortal passage of the Alps. The great hero of Austerlitz and Marengo was told by his guide that the route was barely passable, and the order came from that bold spirit to set forward immediately. Gen. Lane, in consultation with Col. Dougherty, a mountaineer of twenty years' experience, was told that the passage of the Rocky Mountains at this season of the year, with the certainty of spending the winter in their midst, was a human impossibility. 'We will set forward in the morning,' was the reply of the American hero and patriot, who never knew fear in the achievement of public duty. He and his little band [started] moving in the morning, and for five weary and desolate months were lost and buried amid the gorges and defiles and snows of the mountains. Fancy may paint, but the tongue cannot sketch even the faint outlines of that expedition. On the 3rd of March, 1849, Gen. Lane reached the capital of Oregon, and before he slept put the Territorial government in operation and started a communication to the President, informing him of the fact."
    In the discharge of the duties of Governor of the Territory of Oregon, and ex-officio Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Gen. Lane evinced the highest order of ability. His messages to the Territorial legislature abound in sound and practical views relative to the wants and interests of the Territory, and in recommendation of wholesome and judicious measures calculated to develop the resources and promote the prosperity of the people. He found the Indian affairs in a most troubled condition--the troops disbanded, the various tribes in a hostile attitude to the citizens--[they] had committed depredations upon their property and murdered several families--the murderers unpunished and no restitution of property. As soon as he put the government in operation, without any troops he proceeded to the scenes of depredations, robbery and murder, and by his superior address, tact and judgment he quelled all disturbances, had the murderers arrested and punished, and without war or bloodshed accomplished what both had failed to effect. An incident occurred in Lane's talk with the Rogue River Indians, a warlike and predatory tribe, which illustrates his remarkable self-possession, coolness and judgment in imminent peril. He entered their country with twelve or fifteen men; these Indians had fiercely rejected all attempts by the whites at conciliation terms of war and peace. Gen. Lane chose the latter; with difficulty he succeeded in assembling four or five hundred warriors in council. During this interview, one of his company recognized a couple of horses stolen from him, in possession of the Indians, and two pistols then in the belts of the two chiefs. The Governor demanded restitution of the property, which restored, he said, would evince their willingness to treat and preserve peace. The head chief ordered restitution, but the possessors refused. The Governor then stepped forward and took one of the stolen pistols from the Indian's belt and gave it to the owner, and was about to take the other pistol when the Indian who had it presented his gun and raised the war-whoop. Instantly four or five hundred guns were pointed at Gen. Lane and his small party.
    A single false step would have led to the most disastrous results, but Gen. Lane's coolness and promptness was equal to the crisis. He said, "I have come here to make a treaty of peace, not to have a fight," and promptly stepping to the side of the principal chief, with his firm eye fixed on his, pistol in hand, he told him [that] if a drop of blood of any of the whites was shed, it would be avenged by the destruction of the entire tribe. This well-timed move had the desired effect. The chief told his warriors to cease their demonstrations. The Governor then advanced among the foremost, took their arrows from their bows and returned them to their quivers, and uncocked their guns and knocked the priming from their pans.
    Gen. Lane did not hold the office of Governor of Oregon more than about fifteen months before he was removed by President Taylor. He "who had no friends to reward or enemies to punish," as he declared before he was elected President, signalized his administration by proscribing his former companion in arms, who stood by him so firmly on the field of battle, and contributed so largely by his gallantry and generalship to win the battle of Buena Vista, which placed him in the Presidential chair. Whereupon the legislature of Oregon passed resolutions expressive of their high sense of the energy, ability and success which characterized his administration as Governor of Oregon and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and their "sincere regret that the President of the United States has deprived the Territory of Oregon of the future services of one so eminently useful, and whose usefulness was enhanced by the unbounded confidence of the people over whom he was placed." The people whose representatives they were seconded those resolutions by selecting him by an almost unanimous vote their delegate to represent them in the Congress of the United States.
    Upon the eve of Gen. Lane's departure from Oregon to the National Capitol, as their Delegate to Congress, the people, without distinction of party, held a mass meeting to tender "him a public expression of opinion in regard to his distinguished talents and services." Among other things they resolved "that as friends of Jos. Lane, without distinction of party, we tender him our hearty and entire approbation of his acts as Governor of Oregon Territory," and that from "the ability, energy, fidelity and purity of purpose which have characterized all his public acts among us, it is but fitting that we express our approbation and admiration of his course," and "that Gen. Lane came to us covered with military glory, and leaves us, upon the business of the Territory, clothed with our confidence and attachment."
    That confidence and attachment the people of Oregon have ever since manifested towards him by continuing him as their Delegate in Congress until the Territory was admitted as one of the states into the Union last winter, when, in obedience to the unanimous vote of his party, he became one of the Senators from that state.
    All the responsible positions to which Gen. Lane had been called were unsolicited and unexpected by him, what but few public men can say, and he has filled them with signal ability and success. Endowed with a strong and practical mind, stored with the most useful knowledge acquired by extensive reading and accurate observation, sound, liberal and conservative in his views of the policy and principles of our government, he combines personal traits of character eminently calculated to win the popular heart with a warm, generous and manly spirit, with a kind, frank and social disposition, with a demeanor so modest and unpretending that he excites no one's envy; he has acquired an influence and popularity which few men attain.
    In Indiana, in the legislature, and with the people, he was universally popular and one of the leading men of the state, and styled "her favorite son." On the battlefields of Mexico the soldiers viewed him as invincible, and he was the pride of the officers of the army. In Oregon his name is a tower of strength. In the halls of Congress his popularity and influence are unsurpassed; indeed, it was chiefly owing to his influence and exertions that the bill to admit Oregon into the Union passed the House at the last session. The passage of that bill was attended by great excitement. It was violently opposed by the ultra men North and South--the abolitionists and fire-eaters.
    When the final vote was taken a breathless silence reigned through the hall and the crowded galleries, broken only by the emphatic answer of yes or nay, as the members answered to the call of the clerk for their vote; as the vote was being taken, members were to be seen in all parts of the hall keeping count of the vote, and when Felix K. Zollicoffer responded to the last call, parties from all parts of the hall surrounded Gen. Lane with their warm and hearty congratulations, which indicated the result, and when formally announced by the speaker from the chair, round after round of applause arose from the members in the hall, which was caught and repeated by the crowded galleries of anxious spectators, with waving of handkerchiefs by the ladies and clapping of hands by the sterner sex, which showed that "he lives in the hearts of his countrymen."
    When the news of the passage of the bill, and that a seat in the Senate was thereby secured to Gen. Lane, spread through the city, there was a general rejoicing by the citizens, and the demonstrations of honor paid to Gen. Lane at his lodgings that night were of the most enthusiastic character. A band of musicians serenaded him with the most delightful music, the people assembled in crowds, the strong men of the nation were there and made congratulatory speeches from the portico of Brown's Hotel, which were received with the enthusiastic cheers of the assembled masses, which made the welkin ring. Gen. Lane appeared and responded to the unexpected compliment in a chaste, appropriate and eloquent speech, then opened his rooms and his heart to receive his friends, and gave them the best cheer that could be provided at so short a notice.
    The past history of Gen. Lane is a guarantee that he will ably and faithfully represent the interests of his state in the Senate of the United States, and uphold and support, by his judicious counsels and effective aid, "the Constitution and the Union, the richest political blessings which Heaven has ever bestowed upon any nation."
    The life of Gen. Lane will stand out prominently in history as that of a remarkable man, illustrating the fact that the humblest individual may, under free and liberal institutions, attain the highest point of distinction by perseverance, zeal and industry, and will furnish an example to incite ardent and ambitious minds to the cultivation of their noblest faculties, with the confident assurance of the most triumphant success.
New Hampshire Patriot and State Gazette, Concord, New Hampshire, September 14, 1859, page 1

    We begin today the publication of a sketch of the life and services of the distinguished Senator from Oregon, for whom we have constantly expressed [for] about twelve months our preference as a candidate for the Presidency in 1860. The developments which have followed this announcement of our choice have strengthened the conviction that we were right, and the memoir which follows and the facts given, thorough hurriedly prepared for the press in the midst of the arduous duties incident to the position of an editor of a daily newspaper, will satisfy any unprejudiced mind that Gen. Lane, of Oregon, is the man for the times, and one who can be supported with equal ardor by all true Democrats both of the North and of the South. We may remark, incidentally, that though Mr. Buchanan was the nominee of the Northern Democracy, Mr. Pierce was the choice of the Southern Democracy, so with Mr. Polk, and with a sound national man like Gen. Lane presented to the Charleston Convention, the question will never be raised whether his home is on the lakes, amid the hills and valleys of New England, in the distant Northwest, or on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.
    Joseph Lane was born in North Carolina in 1801. His father, John Lane, and his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Street, were natives of North Carolina. No two names of private and unpretending citizens will be found longer enrolled and doing better duty among the patriots of the Revolution than those of Street and Lane.
    In 1804 the father of the subject of this sketch migrated to Kentucky and settled in Henderson County. There Joseph received the rudiments of an English education. At an early age he found employment in the office of Nathaniel Hart, clerk of the county court. He also sold goods some time in the store of the afterwards celebrated John J. Audubon, his time being divided, during this period of his life, between selling goods in the store of Mr. Audubon and writing in the clerk's office.
    In 1821 he married and settled on the banks of the Ohio, in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, where his family continued to reside until he moved them to Oregon in 1853. Robert Dale Owen, who resided in an adjoining county, and well knew his habits of life, says: "As a neighbor and a man of enlarged hospitality, Joseph Lane has had no superior. His position on the Ohio River put the last quality to the most trying tests. Near his dwelling the river has a bar which never fails at low water to collect a small fleet of boats detained by this obstruction. A general invitation was ever extended to one and all to come to his farm and help themselves to provisions and whatever else he had. Never would he consent to receive remuneration, though hundreds have partaken of his stores. Any boatman on the river felt himself at liberty to take away any of his boats for temporary use without asking. Such was Joseph Lane in his homestead." Acquaintance with river life and his hospitality to the "rivermen" made him a great favorite with that class of persons. On his farm he had a woodyard where wood was sold to the steamboats. It was a common remark among the captains that they always got the worth of their money at Jo. Lane's, and they usually regulated their purchases at the yards above and below so as to arrive at his empty. Hardly a boat made a trip without "wooding" at Jo. Lane's.
    In 1822 he was elected to the state legislature, in one or the other branch of which he continued, with an occasional intermission of a session, to represent his district until called to more important trusts.
    His character as a legislator has been well described by the writer already quoted. He says: "In politics Gen. Lane is a Democrat of the Jefferson and Jackson school, and is thoroughly acquainted with the history and politics of his country. His retentive memory and quick, active intellect enable him to turn to immediate and effective use the more important facts and incidents connected with our institutions. Hence his argumentative illustrations are strong and forcible. He is, however, more a man of action than of words, more practical than theoretical, and presents himself to us with a mind formed rather by the study of things than of their mere names. While some may be more elegant in diction, he is more elegant in ratiocination, and eminently practical in life. He has written with his plow and his sword, and spoken by his deeds. Without the ornaments of rhetoric and literature, he is nevertheless a strong, nay a powerful, orator. His native powers of debate and his intimate acquaintance with facts and records have enabled him at all times, in political and Presidential conflicts on the "stump," to overwhelm the opponents of Democracy.
    The necessity for brevity, and the fact that this period of Gen. Lane's life presents few incidents worthy of note, precludes any further detail of his actions in the double capacity of farmer and member of the state legislature.
    In the year 1846 the Mexican War commenced, and a call was made upon Indiana for volunteers. Gen. Lane was at that time a member of the state senate. He immediately resigned his seat and entered as a private in Capt. Walker's company. He chose Walker's company on account of the high opinion he entertained of that officer's capacity and courage. This opinion was well justified by the gallant captain's conduct at Buena Vista, where he fell gloriously sustaining the stars and stripes.
    The companies of volunteers, having rendezvoused at New Albany, selected Joseph Lane from the ranks as their colonel. He soon after received from President Polk the appointment of brigadier general--an honor unsought and unexpected by him. Having accepted the appointment, we find him on the 24th of July, only two weeks after the receipt of his commission, at the Brazos, with his command (the three Indiana regiments) ready for active service. He immediately wrote to Gen. Taylor announcing his arrival, and asked that his troops might be permitted to engage at once in active service. This request not being complied with, he wrote on the 20th of August to Gen. Butler a communication in which he used these words: "I am certain you will do all in your power to place the whole of your command, of which this brigade is a part, in a position in which they can do honor to themselves and to render valuable services to the country. The apprehension among my troops is so great that the whole brigade will be left in the rear to garrison towns or to guard provisions and military stores, whilst the regular army and the volunteers already advanced on to Camargo will have the honor and the pleasure of being engaged in more active service, that I can do no less than to write to you in this urgent manner."
    From this and other letters of Gen. Lane, addressed to Generals Taylor and Butler, it will be seen how great was his anxiety for active service. He was, however, compelled to remain in a state of inactivity until the close of the year 1846, when he was ordered forward with his command to Monterey.
    Being appointed commandant at Saltillo, he established a vigilant police to protect life and property, and built a strong fortification to defend the place against the threatened attack of Santa Anna. He also, by constant drilling of his troops, sought to impart to them the great possible efficiency. Shrinking from no labor or hardship himself, he taught his troops by his example how to endure with patience the privations and toils of a soldier's life. It is well known to all who served under his command that, throughout his military career, he initiated the example of the great Frederick of Prussia, visiting each picket guard nightly, not retiring until a late hour, and sometimes, when the danger was imminent, not at all. At Saltillo he was the first to learn and to communicate intelligence of the capture of Maj. Gaines' command. This information he was able to give by the aid of confidential spies whose services he secured by liberal pay out of his own means. It may be here remarked that throughout his career Gen. Lane has been remarkable for refusing to receive from government any reimbursement of sums of money advanced by him to facilitate the public service. No man engaged in the public service ever cost the government so little. Throughout the Mexican War he subsisted his troops at less cost than any others engaged in the same service. He made large captures of public property belonging to the enemy and surrendered to the government every dollar thus captured. He paid his own outfit when sent by President Polk as Governor of Oregon, and defrayed the expenses of himself and his escort through the whole route to that distant region. He refused compensation for expenses incurred by him in negotiating treaties with the Indians in Oregon. Elected Senator from that new state, he refused constructive mileage, to which under the law he was entitled. To this self-denying, self-sacrificing spirit must be ascribed, in a great degree, that wonderful success which has attended all his enterprises, and the unbounded confidence which all feel in the ardor and patriotism and in his incorruptible integrity.
    On the 22nd and 23rd of February, 1847, was fought the great battle of Buena Vista, which in nothing save the number of the combatants falls short of the most famous of modern times. The disposition of the American troops by the commanding general was such that, during the engagement, the brigade of Gen. Lane was in the hottest of the fight from the beginning to the end. The hostile operations of the opposing armies, resulting in the great battle of the 23rd, commenced on the heights around Buena Vista on the 22nd. On the afternoon of that day, the Mexican lines being sufficiently advanced, a shell thrown from a howitzer, by order of Santa Anna, was the signal for the attack. Immediately a heavy fire, in continued rolling volleys, was opened by the Mexican light troops under Ampudia upon the American skirmishers on the opposite ridge of the mountain. The Americans replied with spirit, and the firing was kept up with much animation on both sides, but without any definite result, until darkness put an end to the combat, and both parties retired to await a renewal of the strife on a more extended scale on the following day.
    On the morning of the 23rd the battle was renewed and raged with the greatest fury throughout the day. The first movement of Santa Anna was to turn the left flank of the Americans. Four companies, under Major Gorman, were dispatched by Gen. Lane to intercept this movement. Soon after, three companies of the 2nd Illinois, and three of Marshall's Kentucky regiment, were sent to Gorman's assistance. While these troops were engaged with the enemy on the brow of the mountain, a large body of Mexicans, six thousand strong, advanced to the plain, towards the position held by Gen. Lane. He immediately formed his little band, now reduced to 400 men, into line to receive the onset of this immense force. Hardly was this movement completed when the Mexicans opened a tremendous fire from their entire line, which was returned by the Americans with promptness and good effect. "Nothing," says an eyewitness, "could exceed the imposing and fearful appearance of the torrent of assailants which at this moment swept along towards the little band of Lane. The long lines of infantry presented a continued and unbroken sheet of fire. But their opponents, though few in number, were undismayed, and defended their position with a gallantry worthy of the highest praise. Several times I observed the Mexican lines, galled by the American musketry and shattered by the fearful discharges from O'Brien's battery, break and fall back, but their successive formations beyond the ridge enabled them to force the men back to their position and quickly replace those who were slain."
    Thus commenced the battle on the plain of Buena Vista on the morning of the 23rd, and [it] continued to rage with unabated fury and varying success to the close of that memorable and eventful day. In proportion to the violence and impetuosity of the assaults of the Mexicans on the American lines was the steady and unshaken firmness with which those assaults were received. If at any time a regiment, overcome by superior numbers, was compelled to give way, another quickly advanced to the rescue, drove back the enemy, and enabled it to regain its former position. In this way the Mexican general was kept at bay, his strength defied, his most skillful combinations and maneuvers baffled and defeated by his vigilant and active foe. Late in the afternoon, finding stratagem and force alike unavailing, the day drawing to a close, and no chasm yet opened for his legions in the ranks of the enemy, Santa Anna determined, by assailing the weakest part of the American line with an overwhelming force, to make a last desperate effort to win the day. Collecting all his infantry, he ordered them to charge the Illinois and Kentucky regiments. These brave troops made a gallant resistance against the fearful odds opposed to them, but, seeing their leaders fall, and overpowered by vastly superior numbers, they gave way and began to fall back. Gen. Lane, at this critical moment, hastened forward with his brigade and, opening a destructive fire upon the Mexicans, checked their advance and enabled the retreating regiments to form and return to the contest. This was Santa Anna's last struggle on that hotly contested and bloody field. Night spread her mantle over the scene of conflict. The weary Americans sank to repose on a gory bed, expecting a renewal of the strife on the following day. Morning came--but no enemy appeared. Silently during the night, Santa Anna with his shattered legions had retired, leaving the victorious Americans masters of the field.
    Gen. Lane remained encamped near the battlefield till June, when he was ordered to New Orleans with his brigade, which was there disbanded, their term of service having expired. After a short visit to his family he returned to the theater of war, and with a new brigade was dispatched by Gen. Taylor to Gen. Scott's line of operations. On the 13th of September 1847, he sailed from Brazos Santiago with his command for Vera Cruz, where he arrived on the 16th.
    On the 20th of that month he set out towards the City of Mexico with a force of about two thousand five hundred men, consisting of one regiment of Indiana and one of Ohio volunteers, two battalions of recruits, five small companies of volunteer horse, and two pieces of artillery. This force was subsequently augmented at Jalapa by a junction with Maj. Lally's column of one thousand men, and at Perote its strength was further increased by a company of mounted riflemen and two of volunteer infantry, besides two pieces of artillery. Several small guerrilla parties appeared at different times on the route and attacked the advance and rear guards, but were quickly repulsed, and the column continued its advance unmolested along the great road leading through Puebla to the City of Mexico.
    At this time Col. Childs, of the regular army, with a garrison of five hundred effective troops and one thousand eight hundred invalids, was besieged in Puebla by a large force of Mexicans commanded by Santa Anna in person. This general, notwithstanding his many defeats, with a spirit unbroken by misfortune and an energy that deserves our highest admiration, however much we may reprobate the cause in which he was engaged, had collected the remnant of his beaten army, determined if possible to wrest Puebla from the grasp of the American general, Scott, and thus cut off his communications with the seacoast. The gallant Childs well understood that the maintenance of this post was of the utmost importance to the success of the campaign. Every officer and soldier under his command seemed also to comprehend the immensity of the stake, and both officers and soldiers exhibited the loftiest heroism and the most unyielding fortitude in meeting the dangers and enduring the fatigues and privations of a protracted siege. Aware that a strong column under Gen. Lane was marching from Vera Cruz to their relief, the great object to be gained by the garrison was time. Santa Anna, also aware of Gen. Lane's approach, redoubled his exertions to carry the place by storm, superintending the operations of the troops in person, directing the guns to such parts of the defenses as appeared most vulnerable, and watching with intense anxiety the effect of every shot. Convinced at length by the obstinate resistance of the besieged, and the lessening distance between him and his advancing dreaded foe, that he must abandon his position and encounter the "Marion of the War" in an open field, he silently and cautiously withdrew, and with the main body of his troops moved in the direction of Huamantla, intending when Gen. Lane had passed that point to make attack upon his rear, while another strong force should assail him at the same time from the direction of Puebla. Gen. Lane, being informed of Santa Anna's movements, at once penetrated his designs. With the promptness of decision displayed in all his military operations, he divided his force, leaving the Ohio volunteers and a battalion of recruits, with two field guns to guard the wagon trains. With the remainder of his column he marched, by a route diverging from the main road, directly towards Huamantla.
    On the morning of the 9th of October the people of Huamantla were startled and dismayed to behold the formidable and glittering array spread out over the neighboring hills. White flags were immediately hung out in token of submission, and the place seemed to have surrendered without a blow from its panic-stricken inhabitants. But suddenly the advance guard, under Capt. Walker, having entered the town, was assailed on every side by volleys of musketry. He immediately ordered a charge upon a body of 500 lancers, stationed with two pieces of artillery in the plaza. A furious and deadly combat ensued. Gen. Lane, advancing at the head of his column, encountered the heavy reinforcement ordered up by Santa Anna, who had now arrived.*

    *For many paragraphs in this sketch we are indebted to Jere Clemens, whose facile pen and glowing fancy have adorned every subject they have touched. He places this language in the mouth of a Texas Ranger who addresses himself to a Mexican prisoner on the way to Gen. Lane's camp:
    "Make yourself easy, lieutenant, 'Old Lane' is as clever a fellow as ever trod shoe leather, and though I don't know what he wants with you, I'm dead sure he'll treat you according to Gunter. A fellow that's tied and gagged must feel mighty uncomfortable, I know, but you ain't the first one that ever was fixed that way, when no great harm was meant to him. The old general has got a soft heart in that rough carcass of his, and it's seldom he's hard on anything but a thief or a coward."
    If any evidence were wanting as to Gen. Lane's genius, skill and daring as a soldier, it would be found in the fact that the most accomplished scholar and writer of our day, Jere Clemens, has made the hero of his splendid story, Bernard Lile, a friend and follower of Gen. Lane throughout the Mexican War. The conduct and career of no other general officer furnished facts on which to rest so delightful a fabric of fancy and fiction.

    When the Mexican general drew out his force into the plain before Huamantla, he found himself suddenly confronted by the American troops. Confessedly unable to cope with his enemy on an equal field, he labored under the additional advantage of being forced into a battle under circumstances amounting to a complete surprise. In such a contest victory could not be a moment doubtful. He was quickly beaten at all points and forced to take refuge in the mountains. Now came the hour of retribution for the treacherous city. The sacred emblem of peace [the white flag] had been stained with blood, and the usages of all wars gave up the offenders as "prey to the spoiler." It is fearful to see a soldiery fevered with victory turned loose to pillage and to slay. Then, and then only, the red demon of war is clothed in all its horrors. Vengeance, lust, hate and rapine walk abroad unrestrained, and the air is tortured with a mingled discord of horrible sounds that might shame the builders of Babel into silence. The dull grating noise of the sharp steel, as it bites through skull and brain--the vengeful shout of the slayer--the despairing shriek of the agonized victim--the clatter of muskets and pickaxes--the crash of falling doors and windows--the ringing shot and muttered curse, are fit accompaniments to deeds the furies might look upon and envy.
    All day, through that fair city, the work went on. All day the fierce license of the soldiery was unrestrained, and yell and groan and prayer and curse--the death shot--the shriek of the virgin and the wail of the infant rose mingling up to heaven. The sun went down, and now the wild notes of a solitary bugle pealed shrill and clear upon the air. Then from each regiment, battalion and corps the hoarse drum sent forth its summons. The blood hounds were called from their prey. The lawless passions of the hour before were stilled at the stern mandates of an iron discipline. The feast of death was at an end. The last mellow tints of the golden sunset melted from the sky; star after star came forth, and it was night at Huamantla. A night of strange and fearful contrasts; of beauty, and of desolation. Without the walls, thousands of homeless wretches--old men, women and children--were shivering in the night air, while near at hand a horde of hungry wolves were feasting on the dead bodies of the slain. The savage growl of the ferocious animals mingled horribly with the low groans of the wounded. At intervals a sharp cry of agony would rise above all other sounds as a ravenous beast fastened its fangs upon some unfortunate being in whom the vital spark was not yet entirely extinct. Within the walls whole streets were literally macadamized with broken glass, china and gilded porcelain. The costliest furniture, shivered to pieces, was scattered everywhere around, and groups of soldiers were cooking their suppers or washing off the stains of carnage by the light of fires fed with mahogany and rosewood which had adorned palaces that morning. Here and there a smoldering mass of ashes, a blackened wall, or a smoking rafter marked where a stately mansion once stood, and a happy family gathered about the hearthstone. In other quarters, the red glare of still-burning houses revealed, with horrid distinctness, the mangled bodies of the dead and shed a sickening light upon the dark pools of blood that dotted the ground. Occasionally a faithful dog would crawl out from his hiding place and, smelling around the dead carcass of his dead master, send up a long and mournful howl, but beyond this, no living thing was moving in Huamantla, save the fierce soldiers who had made it a desert.
    So passed the first hours of the night. Again that solitary bugle sounds its piercing signal, and from each separate command the beat of the "tattoo" proclaims that it is the hour of silence and of rest. Strange power of discipline! There was not one coward in all that host. Not one, who, under the eyes of his comrades, would not have moved on certain destruction with an unfaltering step. Not one who would have obeyed the order of a monarch on his throne. Not one who had not that day done deeds at the bare recital of which the blood run cold. Yet there was a spell in the mandates of that stirring music that bent every feeling to instant obedience. Its last notes had scarcely died away before every sound was hushed and every soldier had thrown himself upon the soft couch the day's plunder had procured. With his hands dyed red with blood--among the homes he had desolated--in the very midst of the ruins he had wrought, he laid himself down to dream of his own peaceful home. He who had that day made widows and orphans by the score murmured a blessing upon his own wife and little ones far away in his native land, and his last waking thoughts were the joy and gladness his return would impart.
    Slumber spread its mantle over the conquerors. The armed tread of the sentry, ringing on the stone pavement or crashing sharply as it crushed to atoms some costly article of luxury, alone broke the stillness of the night. And now from the garret and cellar, and secret hiding place, stole forth the frightened citizens who had escaped the day's violence, vainly hoping, under cover of darkness, to escape beyond the walls and join their countrymen in the mountains. Along the dark alleys, close in the shadows of the houses, over the dead bodies of their kindred, through puddles of blood, slowly and painfully they crawled along. At each opening the clear starlight revealed the form of a sentry on his post, and the startled fugitives shrank back to try another, and another avenue, and be again and again disappointed. Poor fools! You cannot pass that Argus line, nor would it profit you to do so. You would only escape from the company of the dead, whose own woes leave no room for sympathy with yours. Be still and you are safe. No one will harm you now. The fever in the blood of the victors has subsided, and the most pitiless of that host would share with you the contents of his haversack, or cover you with his blanket. With the first light of the morning, the American general was on his march.
    This was the last field on which Santa Anna appeared in arms against the United States. This remarkable man, universally acknowledged to be an able and active, was never a successful commander. Whether this want of success is to be ascribed to the superior generalship of the leaders, and prowess of the troops opposed to him, or to his own instability of purpose in the very crisis of battle, when vigor and decision are most required, we will not stop to inquire. Having, during the progress of the war, collected several large armies and led them to defeat, he had determined with that which remained to him to make a last effort to retrieve his fortunes, and Huamantla was selected as the Waterloo where his waning star should shine out in cloudless effulgence or sink to rise no more. If he did not encounter a Wellington on that field, he encountered one who, with Wellington's courage, united many of the higher qualities of a military commander. Perhaps he relied upon Gen. Lane's want of experience, but the courage and conduct of the latter at Buena Vista should have admonished him of the hopelessness of a contest in an open and equal field with such an officer, at the head of troops comparatively fresh, in high spirits, with full confidence in the skill and courage of their leader, and burning to rival the heroic deeds of their countrymen at Chapultepec and Cerro Gordo. Although Santa Anna from this time withdrew from an active participation in the contest between the belligerent nations, the bloody drama in which he had played so conspicuous a part was not yet closed. Much remained to be done to complete the conquest so auspiciously begun on the banks of the Rio Grande, and prosecuted with such vigor by Scott in the valley of Mexico. Many bloody fields were yet to be won; many desperate bands of guerrillas yet to be defeated and dispersed, to render the subjugation of the country complete.
    An anecdote is related of Gen. Lane, at the City of Mexico, which strikingly illustrates his republican simplicity. The rich merchants of Mexico live in a style of princely magnificence to which there is no parallel in the United States. Gen. Lane had his quarters assigned him at the home of one of these "merchant princes." The suite of apartments to which he was introduced was gorgeously furnished. The General, on taking possession, looked around, and turning to his interpreter said that all these articles must be removed. The Mexican proprietor inquired if he wished them replaced by others more costly. "No," said Gen. Lane, "they are already too fine. Remove your mirrors, couches, ottomans and damask curtains and silk coverlets; let me have my own camp bed and covering, and I can rest as becomes an American soldier." His host, surprised at the contrast between Mexican and American generals, obeyed his orders and had his rooms more plainly furnished. With his family he remained during his stay in the city, and became much endeared to them. The lionhearted soldier was often seen in his hours of leisure lying at length on the carpet with the then-little daughter of his host in playful sport about him. In connection with this incident it may be mentioned, as the experience of those about him, that throughout his campaigns Gen. Lane was noted for the republican simplicity of his mode of life and purity of morals.
    While awaiting orders at the City of Mexico, Gen. Lane asked and obtained leave to take some mounted men and scour the country from the city to Vera Cruz, to put an end, if possible, to the depredations of guerrillas who had succeeded in capturing a large amount of property. The great object of his expedition was the capture of Santa Anna, who was at that time at Tehuacan with five hundred men as a guard. The expedition was well conceived and admirably executed. Traveling at night, so as to elude observation, Lane, with his command, consisting of three hundred men, rapidly traversed two hundred miles and arrived within forty miles of Tehuacan at a hacienda near Santa Clara, where all the Mexicans were seized to prevent their giving the alarm. Unfortunately, Gen. Smith had given a passport to a Mexican, a paper which Gen. Lane was bound to respect, and this Mexican, being permitted to pass, doubtless conveyed intelligence to Santa Anna of the impending danger. Lane hastened forward to Tehuacan, but the bird had flown. He, however, seized all Santa Anna's military property. Among other trophies was that chieftain's wooden leg. So closely pressed had the Mexican general been that he was compelled to leave behind him this important adjunct of his person. The rich plate and furniture, and a great variety of the most costly clothing which fell into the American general's hands, were turned over by him to the alcalde of the place. While he replenished the coffers of his country by the capture of public property to an extent unparalleled, he never failed to respect the private property of individuals, and by example and precept he inspired the troops under his command with the same feeling. The only exception to this rule was in not including the wooden leg of Santa Anna among the articles surrendered to the alcalde. This being a part of Santa Anna's person, he treated [it] not as private property, but rather in the light of a dismembered prisoner of war.
    The Mexican army, beaten before Huamantla, was too much disorganized to be again reassembled. It was scattered to the four winds of heaven. A considerable detachment having taken refuge in Atlixco, General Lane resolved, if possible, to surprise it, or failing in that, at least to capture the munitions and supplies there collected. It was near sunset when, after a long and fatiguing march, his column appeared in sight of the town. The hurried ringing of bells, and other notes of preparations, indicated that a desperate resistance was contemplated. Ignorant of the nature of the defenses, and willing moreover to give his wearied army the repose they so much needed, the American general determined to delay the assault till the following day. Disposing his little force in such a manner as to command the approaches by the main roads, the men were ordered to lie down upon their arms and await the reappearance of daylight. In the meantime the citizens were in a state of the most dreadful apprehension. Believing from the disposition of the American army, and the known character of its commander, that a night assault was intended, sleep fled from their eyelids, and hurrying feet and moaning cries gave token of the wild disorder within. The garrison exhibited a weakness almost as abject. Afraid even to trust a patrolling party beyond the walls, they resorted to the expedient of throwing out fireballs at brief intervals to light up the space around them and enable them to detect an approaching foe. The invaders did not fail to notice these evidences of unmanly fear, and augured rightly that the morrow's work would be a light one.
    The Mexicans had kept up the amusement of throwing out fireballs upon the plain until near midnight; by that time the little courage they possessed had completely oozed out. First, one or two at a time, then larger groups slunk off along the narrow sheep paths and made their way into the country. At daybreak not a soldier remained in the town. Without firing a gun, General Lane marched in and took possession of the public property they were too much terrified to destroy. Affairs had by this time assumed such a shape in the valley of Mexico as to remove all immediate necessity for additional troops, and Gen. Scott ordered Gen. Lane to assume the governorship of the department of Puebla and establish his headquarters in that city of mobs and pronunciamentos.
    The seventeenth of February, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, was a stirring day in the City of Mexico. For some time rumors had been afloat that the general-in-chief was about sending an expedition upon some secret service, the nature of which none knew, but the character of the officer to whom the command was assigned gave assurance of new dangers to be encountered and new honors to be won. In a large army, a report of the kind never fails to excite the liveliest emotions. Situated as the American forces then were, these emotions acquired a degree of intensity seldom equalled. The hardy veterans, who had waded through fire and blood to the capital of Mexico, wearied with a "dull repose," were burning for new opportunities to wear the laurels of war, while their less fortunate countrymen, who had been denied participation in the great battles of the preceding campaign, were hurrying from the Sociedad to Paoli's and from Paoli's to Laurent's, vainly endeavoring to ascertain if at last there was "a chance" for them.
    On the morning of the 17th, it was made known that the detachment was to consist of the Rangers, under Col. Hays, part of the Third Dragoons, and one company of mounted rifles, under Maj. Polk, and a few officers from different corps, who had obtained leave to join the expedition as volunteers, Gen. Lane having the chief command. There is less of selfishness in the character of the American soldier than in that of any other living thing. Those who expected to be detailed for the service, and were disappointed, naturally gave vent to their feelings in a few deep and bitter curses, but the next impulse was to hurry up and congratulate their fellow soldiers. In giving and receiving these congratulations, together with the cordial interchange of friendly sentiments, the time passed gaily enough till the hour of parting arrived. Then came clustering memories of hardships and perils encountered together, of kind words spoken, and of good deeds performed through all the changeful drama of a soldier's life. Hands, joined they might be for the last time, lingered in each other's clasp. Bold hearts felt an inward sinking, and cheeks were blanched that had never paled at the cannon's flash, as injunction after injunction was laid upon those who remained, to send this or that article to a mother, or a sister, or a wife, if the chances of battle should cut off its owners, and his body be left to moulder beneath a foreign soil.
    The parting cup was pledged, and many a fervent "God bless you" mingled with the bugle notes that sounded the "advance." The gallant troops filed into the street leading into the "great causeway" through the garita of El Piñon, and were soon lost to view. For the purpose of deceiving the Mexican spies, or at least leaving them in total uncertainty as to his intended route, Gen. Lane moved steadily along the road to Vera Cruz as far as the hacienda of San Felipe. Returning upon his footsteps during the night, he made a dash to the right, hoping by forced marches to surprise the town of Tulancingo, at which place Paredes, Almente and Padre Jarauta were then understood to be arranging some plan of operations against the American forces. Early on the morning of the 22nd he entered the town without resistance, the enemy having by some means obtained information of his approach, and hurriedly evacuated the place. The bed in which Paredes had slept was still warm, but the bird had flown. Allowing a brief rest to recruit his men and horses, the indefatigable partisan was in the saddle on the night of the 23rd moving with his accustomed celerity on Zacualtiplan, a town to the northward of Tulancingo, whither Padre Jarauta with his force of lancers had retired. A night march over a mountainous country is decidedly the most distasteful duty in a soldier's career. The light laugh and the free jest, or the gay notes of a joyous song, which rob the day of a portion of its fatigues, are all wanting now. Everything catches from the night its somber hues, and the muttered imprecation, as a clumsy horse tumbles to his knees, or a hanging branch scratches unexpectedly across the face, is almost the only sound that breaks the stern silence of the riders. Darkly through that wild region toiled on the warriors of the States, now clambering the rough sides of a lofty mountain, now skirting the edge of a dark chasm, where one misstep would plunge horse and rider into an abyss of unknown depth, now recoiling from the brink of a deep barranca which the darkness had hidden from view, and painfully searching for a crossing place among stones, brush and thorny cactus; now sliding down a sharp descent and anon moving at a quick trot along a level space, the curses of the troops and the snorting of the frightened horses giving place to the jingling noise of the steel scabbard striking against spur and stirrup. In the midst of such impediments and discomforts slowly wore away the night. At daybreak the General seized upon a mountain hacienda and, placing strict guard over every inmate of the establishment to prevent them from spreading a report of his movements, gave the order for rest and refreshment. With the night the toilsome march was resumed, over a country even more wild and rugged than that they had already crossed with so much labor and peril, but obstacles to men like them are only incentives to greater exertion, and when the light streaks of dawn began to appear in the east on the morning of the 25th, they were in full view of the town. It had never entered the head of Jarauta that so small a force would venture so far in the interior, over roads impracticable for artillery. His lancers were for the most part unarmed and watering their horses in the little stream near the town when Gen. Lane came in sight. The alarm soon spread, and preparations were rapidly made to receive the adventurous Americans. Entering at a gallop at the head of his command the General was saluted by a heavy fire from a cuartel on the right, which proclaimed that the famous guerrilla chief, though surprised and taken at advantage, was determined to dispute the ground with his usual desperate courage. Detaching a company of Rangers to engage and destroy this outpost, the General passed on, side by side with the daring Hays, into the heart of the town. From the housetops, from the doors and windows on each side of the street, a storm of bullets was poured upon them. Returning the fire of the Mexicans only by an occasional shot when some eager assailant incautiously exposed his person, the Americans pushed forward with unabated rapidity for the main plaza. Here they were encountered by a body of lancers under Jarauta in person, but as well might a feeble barrier of sand be expected to stay the mighty Mississippi. On went the Rangers, neither sword nor lance in the right hand, but lieu thereof the terrible revolver, ready poised for its bloody work. A little nearer, and without a word of command, without a signal save the example of their leader, they poured in their deadly fire and, with a wild shout, burst with irresistible fury on the Mexican ranks. Down went horse and rider--down went lance and guidon. Like a tempest, the men of the States swept over them, and the gay uniforms of the lancers, their red bonnets and gaudy plumes, carpeted the stone pavements of the plaza. For the success of this charge Gen. Lane and Col. Hays had relied on the bone and muscle of their horses even more than the dauntless intrepidity of their men. The enemy once broken and scattered, the battle became a succession of single combats in which man after man went down before the fire of the revolvers with appalling rapidity. Not a single lancer was unharmed. Jarauta himself was twice wounded and, finally, after doing all that courage and conduct could effect, made his escape almost by a miracle.
    In the meantime Major Polk was not idle. Dismounting his rifles, he entrusted to them the duty of storming a cuartel where a party of the enemy were quartered, and charging himself with the remainder of his command along the street beyond the plaza, encountered and cut to pieces a body of the enemy in that direction. Here the sharp saber did its silent work, and the track of the dragoons could be distinctly traced by the mangled bodies that lined the way. At one place a lancer, cloven through bonnet and skull, cumbered into the street--close by him was stretched a comrade with his head nearly severed from his body, and the blood gushing in dark torrents from the veins and artery through which the keen blade had glided. A little further on, a horse cut down by a saber stroke was gasping his life away, while his master was groaning in concert from a ghastly wound passing through breast to back. Along the whole street the fierce horsemen had left blood tokens of their presence. In another part of the town four or five others were slowly driving before them a Mexican force of more than ten times their number. These were old Rangers of the prairie and mountain, to whom a deadly conflict was an everyday occurrence, and whose perfect coolness enabled them to take advantage of every post, stone and door facing. Armed with revolvers they had a fearful advantage in the narrow street over the escopetas of the foe, and fearfully did they use it. Thirty-one Mexicans, killed or wounded, attested the fatal accuracy and efficiency of their weapons. Pressing the enemy into a yard surrounded by a high stone wall, and entering with them, with the daring confidence of men who had tried each other in a thousand scenes of carnage, steadily and coolly they gathered in the harvest of death. The enclosure proved to be the stable yard of a posada in which were piled up large stacks of straw for the use of the muleteers of that mountain region. Both parties sought to avail themselves of the protection these stacks afforded, and the consequence was that the combustible material was soon ignited by the flashes of the firearms. In the midst of the fierce conflict a posada took fire. Rapidly the flames were communicated to the thatched roofs of the adjoining buildings. The most dreaded of the elements had come to the aid of man in his work of destruction, and vast volumes of flame leaping over alleys and streets rolled on from house to house. Women and children lost their terror of the Americans before this new and remorseless enemy, and throwing open their doors and windows rushed wildly into the streets. The mother with her babe clasped to her breast, the young girl with her long hair floating over neck and shoulders, the little child bareheaded and its feet dabbled in blood, it might be that of a father--with shrieks and tears and prayers for mercy fled before the devouring element. Silently the stern warriors to whom death was a plaything gave way before the distracted throng. Silently they let the helpless human tide pass on to seek shelter in the neighboring haciendas. All felt that any offer of protection, or any effort at consolation, would be a mockery, but many a heart unused to pity swelled to the very throat, and many a bloody hand instinctively put away the weapons of war as the piteous crowd swept by.
    The business of the day was over--Jarauta's band were dead or captive, and Zacualtiplan fast crumbling into ashes. Collecting his scattered troops in the main plaza, around which the stone buildings with their tiled roofs were impervious to fire, Gen. Lane made his dispositions for a day of repose. The town burned on--heavy mases of smoke hung in dark clouds above--the dying and the dead were around, but amid all the soldier threw his tired limbs upon his bed of blankets, and slumber, sweeter than an infant's in its cradle, chased away all memory of the carnage and the strife--all thought of the living wretches whose homes were ashes.
    The combat at Tehualtaplan was the last scene in the bloody drama known in our history as the "Mexican War." Peace was soon after declared, and the American soldiers retired from the land of the Aztec, which for three years had been the theater of an unbroken series of the most brilliant triumphs and achievements, unmarked by an act of cruelty [!], and yet more brilliant than those of Cortez and Pizarro. No one had repaired to the theater of war with greater alacrity than Gen. Lane, and none returned with greater joy to the bosom of his family. "I left my plow," said he, "to take the sword with a thrill of pleasure, for my country called me. I now go home to resume the plow with as sincere joy." This sentiment, spoken with the sincerity of an honest heart, is the language of one who, having participated in the triumphs of his country's arms, returned like the Roman Cincinnatus and our own Washington to share with his comrades in arms the glory, and together enjoy the peace their valor had won.
    A very brief repose was granted Gen. Lane after his return from Mexico. On the 1st of August he arrived at home; on the 28th he received from President Polk the appointment of Governor of Oregon.
    His journey to that distant region, performed mostly in the severest part of winter, is perhaps the most remarkable portion of his remarkable career. Probably no other man would have undertaken or could have accomplished an enterprise attended with so many perils under circumstances so unfavorable to his success. But President Polk had requested that he would proceed to his destination without delay, and he determined to brave every obstacle and danger in executing the President's wishes. A great object with the President was to put the Territorial government of Oregon in operation before the expiration of his term of office. This could not be effected if the Governor delayed his departure till the following spring.
    Arriving at St. Louis, General Lane applied to Gen. Kearny for an escort of troops, ordered by the President. Gen. Kearny represented to him the impossibility of performing the journey across the plains and mountains at that advanced season of the year. He, however, finding all remonstrance and persuasion in vain, gave him an order on the officer in command at Fort Leavenworth for the required escort. Arriving at Fort Leavenworth he found the officers and men of the detachment ordered to accompany him very unwilling to engage in an enterprise so hazardous, if not impracticable. He succeeded, however, in finding twenty-two men willing to go. With these he set out on the 10th September, 1848, from Fort Leavenworth on his perilous journey.
    The trip across the plains and mountains to the Pacific, though comparatively easily and safely performed in summer, is attended with much hazard and privation in winter, so great indeed that some of the most daring and skillful explorers and hunters, known as "old mountaineers," have perished in snowstorms or died of hunger and exhaustion. All remember the thrilling narrative of the suffering and death of most of Fremont's party during the same winter that Gen. Lane performed the journey to Oregon.
    On reaching the Rio Grande, Gov. Lane and his guide differed in regard to the route to be taken, the guide insisting on keeping the old route, while Lane urged the propriety of turning southward. The guide adhering tenaciously to his opinion and Lane with equal tenacity to his, they separated, the former returning to Fort Leavenworth, while the Governor set forward to pilot himself to Oregon! He accomplished this undertaking, which could never have been done if he had followed the advice of his guide. Following the old route he and his party would inevitably have perished. On the route selected by him, though better than the other, the hardships were almost beyond human endurance. At the Gila River some of his men, completely discouraged, deserted and killed two others--the most active and efficient of his party--who were sent to bring them back. Soon after six more deserted. With the remainder he made his way to San Francisco, whence he was conveyed in a government transport to Oregon.
    From a sketch of his administration of the affairs of Oregon, as Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, published in 1852, we select the following passages:
    "On his arrival in Oregon Lane found no organized government; the provisional one had ceased its functions; Indian affairs were in a troubled condition--our troops having been disbanded without effecting anything; the missionary Whitman and his family had been murdered by the Cayuses, and the murderers not yet punished; on the whole, it was apparent that Gov. Lane's arrival was most opportune here, as it had been at Vera Cruz.
    "His first care was to set the government in motion. He immediately ordered the census, preparatory to the election of a legislature. He quickly perceived the necessity of quieting the Indian tribes, in order to secure the prosperity of Oregon. Accordingly, in the middle of April, he left Oregon City to proceed to the Cayuse country, four hundred miles distant, to arrest the murderers of Whitman. Not being able to procure the assistance of troops, he went on this mission accompanied only by an interpreter and Dr. Newell. Arrived there, he represented to the chief that he came alone, for the purpose of showing his friendship, for he wished to owe the surrender of the murderers to the chief's sense of justice, and not to his fears; that the murderers must be given up if the Cayuse nation wished peace; that he had the kindest feelings for the nation and desired to live in peace with them and benefit them, but this would be impossible while the murderers lived; that retaining them showed that the Cayuses defended the act of those lawless men and would be so construed by the whites. A great impression was made on the chief, who asked time to consider. The Governor left him with the assurance that he had only the alternative of war with its utmost penalties, or the surrender of the criminals. On his route he had taken occasion to visit the Walla Wallas, the Yakimas, the Dalles and Columbia Indians, with all of whom he made peace, besides stopping a bloody war then raging between the first two nations, by such representations as would operate on the minds of the untutored wild man of the wood."
    The chief of the Cayuses manifested great reluctance to give up the murderers of Whitman. By superior address, however, the Governor, having secured the friendship of the Nez Perces, brought their influence to bear on the Cayuses. At length, without war or bloodshed, his object was attained; the criminals were arrested and confined and a message was sent to Gov. Lane to come or send for them. With an escort of only ten men he again went among the Cayuses and brought the murderers (five in number) to Oregon City. There being no suitable jail, they were confined in a house on Governor's Island. The citizens, being greatly exasperated against these Indians and fearing they might escape, demanded that they should be given up for immediate punishment. Lane peremptorily refused; they were his prisoners, he said. He had pledged his word to the tribe that they should have a fair trial. Finding expostulation with the exasperated people useless, he at last told them that they could take the Indians only by passing over his lifeless body. This firm stand stopped further proceedings, and the Indians were left in the hands of the law.
    In negotiating treaties and holding "talks" with the Indians Gov. Lane usually went unaccompanied by any military escort. He thus acquired, in a brief period, an almost unbounded influence over them. While he inspired them with the most profound admiration of his courage, he impressed them with a deep sense of his justice. He was as prompt to repress the aggressions of the whites as to punish offenses committed by the Indians. On one occasion, when some lawless whites had robbed the Columbia Indians of several horses, he left Oregon City alone, overtook the plunderers, brought back the booty and restored it to the Indians.
    There is on the files of the Department of the Interior at Washington a long communication from Gen. Lane, giving in detail his operations as Governor [and] ex-officio Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and containing a full account of the Indian tribes in Oregon, their number, character and mode of life. It affords abundant proof of his energy, activity and research. He describes no less than fifty different tribes. Prof. Schoolcraft said of this report that it was the only accurate account of the Oregon Indians, and he should use it among the materials of his work on the Indians of North America.
    Among the most fierce, warlike and predatory tribes in Oregon are the Shastas, or Rogue River Indians. By his courage and prudence, Gov. Lane had restored friendly relations between the whites and all the tribes in Oregon except this. In the early part of the year 1850 they had committed depredations which called for decided action on his part. Accordingly, on the 27th of July he set out with fifteen men to visit the tribe. So great was their animosity against the whites that he succeeded with difficulty in assembling them for a "talk." This, however, he at last effected. They met on the banks of a river--the whites, fifteen in number, the Indians, four or five hundred, all warriors. During the "talk," one of the white men recognized two horses which had been stolen from him, in possession of the Indians, and two pistols, then in the belts of the chiefs. The fact being made known to the Governor, he demanded restitution of the stolen property, telling them they now had an opportunity of evincing a friendly disposition to the whites by restoring to them their property; that he would regard a restitution of this property an evidence on their part of a willingness to treat and preserve peace. The head chief ordered the possessors of the stolen goods to make restitution, but they demurred; the Governor stepped forward, took one of the pistols from the Indian's belt and restored it to the owner, and was about to take the other when the Indian having it in possession presented his gun and raised the war-whoop. Instantly, five hundred guns and arrows were pointed at the small party of whites. A single false step would have led to bloodshed then and afterwards. But Lane's cool decision and promptness did not forsake him at this critical moment. He has often said, in reference to this affair, that small as was his party, such was their superiority of weapons and skill in the use of them [that] they might have made a successful defense. But his object was to make a peace, not to fight. Promptly stepping to the side of the principal chief, pistol in hand, he told them if a drop of the blood of any of the whites should be shed, it would be avenged by the destruction of the whole tribe. The cool determination of his manner, the fierce emphasis with which he spoke, caused the chief to quail. He was conquered. He was under the spell of that bright burning eye under whose lightning flashes others as fierce and brave as he had quailed before. He ordered his warriors to retire across the river. The Governor advanced among them, took the arrows from the bows and returned them to the quivers, and uncocked their guns and knocked the priming from the pans. The Indians retired as they were ordered by the chief, he himself remaining with the Governor during the night. A few days afterwards the tribe was reassembled, a "big talk" was held, a treaty of peace concluded, and presents distributed. So great was the admiration formed by the head chief for the "great tyee," as he called Lane, that from that day he would allow himself to be called by no other name than "Joe." He also requested the Governor to take his eldest son as a hostage and educate him to be a "great tyee" among the Indians, as he, Lane, was among the whites. Lane took the boy, as requested, and placed him at school at his own expense.
    As long as Lane remained Governor of Oregon that infant Territory made unprecedented progress in wealth and population. At first a few sparse settlements, surrounded on all sides by hostile tribes of Indians, they had increased rapidly in number and in a much greater degree in the means of defending themselves against the inroads of their dangerous neighbors. They were inspired with confidence by the example and conduct of their Governor; they felt that his name was a tower of strength. Already, by his firmness and prudence, had peace been restored in all parts of the Territory. The most warlike and dangerous tribes had been won by the wisdom of his diplomacy, or awed into submission by the terror of his name. There can be no doubt that if he had remained Governor the peaceable relations between the two races would have continued uninterruptedly to exist. But this boon was denied the people of Oregon. In 1849 Gen. Taylor became President of the United States, and he saw fit to replace Lane and appoint Maj. Gaines Governor. The latter, though appointed October 2, 1849, did not reach Oregon till August, 1850, at which time he assumed the reins of government.
    The people of Oregon, indignant at the removal of Lane, at once manifested their feelings and opinions and rebuked the Administration which had perpetrated against them so great a wrong. They chose Lane their delegate to Congress and, to their honor be it spoken, continued him in that position until, by the admission of Oregon as a state, they had an opportunity of elevating him to a still higher post.
    The deep impression made upon the Indians by the administration of Lane, during the time he filled the office of Governor, remained uneffaced for years. But for some cause which they could not be made to comprehend, he was no longer the "big chief"; that he had gone to the East, and though he would return at intervals, he would be "big chief" no more. Gradually the impression made upon their minds wore away; the treaties negotiated by him were not held in the same respect as when he was at the head of affairs. Other men were in power whom they neither admired nor feared. The seeds of dissension were sowed by mischievous persons between the two races; acts of aggression and retaliation were committed, until in 1853 the Rogue River tribe rose upon the whites and commenced an indiscriminate slaughter. This happened during the recess of Congress, and Gen. Lane was at that time at home, within eighty miles of the scene of the outbreak. The news was brought him at midnight. In an hour he was in his saddle, and before the morning sun arose he was several miles on his way to meet the enemy. Collecting, as he went, a small body of settlers, miners and a few regular troops stationed at a fort near Jacksonville, he came up with the enemy, several hundred strong, near Table Rock. As in all former conflicts in which he had been engaged, in this also he led the assault and commanded his men to "follow." They were received with a murderous fire, which might have appalled hearts less brave than theirs. Capt. Alden, of the regulars, was shot through the head [his wound was lower than that]; Capt. Armstrong, a gallant soldier, a Tennessean by birth and long a resident of Oregon, was shot dead, exclaiming as he put his hand to his heart "a center shot." Gen. Lane himself was severely wounded in the arm. Tying his handkerchief tightly around his arm to stop the flow of blood, he urged his men forward to a final and desperate charge. Animated by the example and inspired with the courage of their leader, they rushed forward with irresistible impetuosity. The Indians slowly gave way, and then fled in the wildest confusion and dismay.
    Disheartened by their severe loss in this engagement, but more so by the indomitable courage and fierce energy of the whites, the Indian chief sent to ascertain who was in command. They were told it was Jo. Lane. They replied they had not come there to fight him; he was "big chief"; they "come to fight little chiefs." They asked that he would visit their camp and have a "talk" with them. To this he assented, and in spite of the remonstrance of his men, went alone to their camp. They told him they had been wronged by the whites, but now that he was "big chief" again he would redress their wrongs; that if they had known he had returned they would have appealed to him and not taken up arms. He showed them wherein they had committed wrongs and aggressions upon the whites, but promised to pardon their offenses if they would move upon a reservation assigned them by government and not disturb the whites again. They acceded to the terms proposed, and a treaty was made which secured peace to the Territory, until the inhabitants of Oregon and of Washington Territories also became involved in a general war with the savages in 1855 and 1856--a war, it is believed, which would never have occurred had Gen. Lane remained Governor four consecutive years from the date of his appointment.
    It impossible, within the limited space allotted to this sketch, to present a detailed account of all Gen. Lane's military operations at this period. In authentic histories of the war and official documents filed in the archives of government, the reader will find the record of his achievements--his long and toilsome marches by night and by day over a wild and rugged country, full of narrow defiles and dangerous passes; his sudden incursions far away into remote valley and plain; his fierce combats and glorious victories. At Tlaxcala, Matamoros, Galaxa, Tulancingo, as at Huamantla and Atlixco, Mexican valor yielded to the force of his impetuous and well-directed assaults. On every field the ranks of the enemy went down before the thundering charge of his cavalry, the fierce onset of his resistless infantry. The fame of his achievements soon spread through Mexico, and the terror with which the enemy was inspired by his death-dealing blows and almost ubiquitous presence was equaled only by the unbounded confidence and enthusiasm infused into his followers by his gallant bearing, and the prestige of a name ever relied on by them as a sure guarantee of victory. For one quality as much as any other, perhaps more than even his dauntless courage, General Lane was distinguished throughout the war--humanity to the vanquished. His bright fame was unsullied, his escutcheon untarnished by a single act of wanton outrage or cruelty during the whole time he bore a commission in the American army. When the fight was over, and the victory won, the field of carnage, where a short time before foeman had met foeman in deadly conflict, presented the spectacle of stern and swarthy warriors, imbued with the humane spirit of their leader, bending over the heaps of the dying and the dead, selecting now a friend, and now a foe, from whom the vital spark had not yet fled, staunching his wounds, and if the sufferer had not yet passed beyond the power of human aid to save, restoring him by their kind ministrations to life and health, family, home and friends. An officer thus distinguished for courage and humanity; unyielding fortitude under the severest privations, an originality and promptness in the formation of his plans, surpassed only by the boldness and rapidity of their execution; a celerity of movement which annihilated time and distance; with a power of endurance that defied hunger and thirst, heat and cold--such an officer, never for a moment relaxing his exertions, and daily adding some new name to the list of his conquests, could not fail to attract the attention and excite the admiration of the army, and win the approbation and applause of his countrymen in all parts of the United States. There was a tinge of romance in his exploits which possessed an irresistible attraction and captivated the imagination of all classes of admirers. But imagination has had little to do with the final judgment which his countrymen have pronounced upon his conduct. The parallel traced at the time between his deeds and character, and those of an illustrious hero of the Revolution, suggested to his countrymen a suitable way of testifying their appreciation of his services and admiration of his character, and they have, with a unanimity which shows that the parallel is not altogether imaginary, bestowed upon him a title prouder than any ever conferred by a patent of nobility from prince or potentate--the title of "The Marion of the Mexican War."
Memphis Daily Avalanche, Memphis, Tennessee, December 5, 1859, pages 1-2

    The following letter from Governor Swain, written during last year, will be of interest at this particular time, especially as Gen. Lane is now a guest at the capitol of our state:
    Dear Sir: Your letter of the 14th, owing to my absence in the discharge of my official duties, did not reach me until a day or two since, and I avail myself of their earliest practicable opportunity to reply.
    There is probably no family whose authentic history can [be] more clearly traced through every period of the annals of North Carolina than that of General Lane's. In proportion to numbers, comparatively few of its members have aspired to or obtained political distinction, or indeed distinction of any kind. On the other hand there are probably few that have enjoyed greater average respectability.
    General Lane's great-grandfather, Joseph (who signed his name Joseph Lane, Jr., in 1727), died at his residence near Halifax, on the Roanoke, in 1776. His three sons, Joel, Joseph and Jessee, were pioneer settlers, in the neighborhood of Raleigh, in 1741. Of these, Col. Joel was the wealthiest and most conspicuous. He conveyed to the state the 640 acres of land, the site of the present city of Raleigh. His dwelling house, at the period of its erection the best within a hundred miles, is the present residence of William Boylan, Esq. All three were Whigs during the Revolution, and Col. Joel and Jessee did service in the army, the latter as a private.
    Jessee was the grandfather of General Joseph Lane and of myself. He was born in Halifax, July 4th, 1722, and married Winnifred Acock. They had sixteen children, eight sons and eight daughters, all of whom lived to rear families. In 1779 my grandfather emigrated to Wilkes, now Oglethorpe County, Ga., where he resided until 1800, when he removed to St. Louis, where he died in 1804, in the 82nd year of his age. General Lane is the son of John Lane, the eighth child and fourth son of our grandfather Jessee. At the time of the removal of the family to Georgia (1779) Wilkes was a frontier county, and during a series of years subject to frequent inclusions from the Creeks and Cherokees. There were no members of the family able to bear arms, whose services were not put into requisition, and no one, male or female, who was not familiar with the horror of savage warfare. My mother beguiled many an hour during my infancy, in the recital of hair-breadth escapes, which, delicate woman as she was, rendered her personal history one of remarkable suffering and adventure.
    I have no recollection of my grandfather or Uncle John. The former visited my father on his way to Missouri, and the latter was an inmate of our family for some time previous to and subsequent to my birth. I heard much of him in my boyhood, and suppose that in all respects the son is a counterpart of the father, brave, enterprising and generous. He was a universal favorite in the midst of the men who fought at the Cowpens and King's Mountain, and who considered a foray among the Indians as little less than a pastime.
    Gen. Lane's mother was Betsy, daughter of Jas. Street, the first sheriff of my native county (Buncombe). The descendants of the sixteen children of Jessee are dispersed through all of the western and southern states.
    I enter into these particulars simply to satisfy you that whilst the family of Gen. Lane have no just pretensions to the pride of heraldry, there is no cause, on the other hand, why they should blush for his ancestry or his connections.
    I write in unavoidable haste, but will be ready at any time to communicate more specific information if it shall be called for.
Newbern Weekly Progress, Newbern, North Carolina, July 31, 1860, page 4

    General Lane, the nominee of the National Democratic Convention at Baltimore for Vice President of the United States, is one of the most remarkable men of the age. His history is a fine illustration of the genius of our institutions, and demonstrates that the high places of honor and distinction are accessible to all who possess ability, energy and perseverance.
    General Lane descended from Revolutionary ancestors; was born in the state of North Carolina, on the 14th of December 1801. In 1804 his father emigrated with his family to Kentucky, where the hero and statesman was reared and educated. Having received a substantial education he removed to Indiana and settled on the banks of the Ohio, in the county of Vanderburgh, where, without the adventitious aid of fame, family or fortune, he worked his way from a humble plowboy and flatboatman on the Mississippi to his present distinguished position.