The evidence of Kishkumen was sufficient to condemn the entire band, and the attempt was made to round them up. They escape, and Gadianton is placed in firm control of the group, now that the founder is not there to provide any kind of challenge to his leadership. We do not know what kind of record Mormon would have had to let him know that it was indeed Gadianton who organized the effective escape, but Mormon clearly credits Gadianton as the leader at this point, and from then on.
Variant: The first occurrence of Gadianton has a single “d” in the original and printer’s manuscripts. At this point, the original had Gaddianton with the doubled “d.” This was corrected in the Printer’s manuscript. This single/double “d” variation continues through the original, and all instances were corrected to the single “d” in the printer’s manuscript.