mming about or drowning in the part of
the lake where the canoes were lying, which was of
considerable extent. Indeed, so excessive were the
sufferings of the people, that no one could imagine how they
were able to sustain them; and an immense multitude of men,
women, and children were compelled to seek refuge with us,
many of whom, in their eagerness to reach us, threw
themselves into the water, and were drowned among the mass
of dead bodies. It appeared that the number of persons who
had perished, either from drinking salt water, from famine
or pestilence, amounted altogether to more than fifty
thousand souls.

"In order to conceal their necessitous condition from our
knowledge, the bodies of the dead were not thrown into the
water, lest the brigantines should come in contact with
them, nor were they taken away from the places where they
had died, lest we should see them about the city; but in
those streets where they had perished we found heaps of dead
bodies so frequent, that a person passing could not avoid
stepping upon them; and when the people of the city flocked
toward us, I caused Spaniards to be stationed through all
the streets to prevent our allies from destroying the
wretched persons who came out in such multitudes. I also
charged the captains of our allies to forbid, by all means
in their power, the slaughter of these fugitives; yet all my
precautions were insufficient to prevent it, and that day
more than fifteen thousand lost their lives. At the same
time, the better classes and the warriors of the city were
pent up within narrow limits, confined to a few terraces and
houses, or sought refuge on the water; but no concealment
prevented our seeing their miserable condition and weakness
with sufficient clearness.

"As the evening approached and no sign of their surrender
appeared, I ordered the two pieces of ordnance to be leveled
toward the enemy, to try their effect in causing them to
yield; but they suffered greater injury when full license
was given to the allies to attack them than from the cannon,
although the latter did them some mischief. As this was of
little avail, I ordered the musketry to be fired. When a
certain angular space, where they were crowded together, was
gained, and some of the peop