Parties of soldiers were busy taking away the bodies,
and removing what few valuables had been saved. We turned up into the
town, for no one accosted us or even noticed us; and here the scene was
even more dreadful. In some streets they were digging out those who were
still alive, and whose cries were heard among the ruins; in others they
were carrying away the dead bodies. The lamentations of the relatives--
the howling of the negroes--the cries of the wounded--the cursing and
swearing of the French soldiers, and the orders delivered continually by
officers on horseback, with all the confusion arising from crowds of
spectators, mingling their voices together, formed a scene as dreadful
as it was novel. After surveying it for a few minutes, I went up to an
officer on horseback, and told him in French, that I wished to surrender
myself as a prisoner.
"We have no time to take prisoners now," replied he; "hundreds are
buried in the ruins, and we must try to save them. We must now attend to
the claims of humanity."
"Will you allow my men to assist you, sir?" replied I. "They are active
and strong fellows."
"Sir," said he, taking off his hat, "I thank you in the name of my
unfortunate countrymen."
"Show us, then, where we may be most useful."
He turned and pointed to a house higher up, the offices of which were
blown down. "There are living beings under those ruins."
"Come, my lads," said I; and sore as they were, my men hastened with
alacrity to perform their task.
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