Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/784

764 The prisoners and students were not the only ones sacrificed on that 11th of April. Some children were speared to death. Several peaceable citizens were brought from neighboring towns and murdered. The bodies of the victims were thrown together into one or more ditches. And on that day the clergy were blessing the authors of these atrocities.

The nation became horrified, and the leaders of the government at the capital were from that day looked upon as a band of merciless assassins. Degollado then established the system of retaliation, and every reactionary commander or officer taken prisoner was shot. The reactionists pursued the same course, and henceforth the war was carried on with greater animosity than ever before.

The public reception of the victorious army in the capital on the 12th was enthusiastic on the part of its supporters, whose houses were embellished with bright curtains. In the steeples of the cathedral were demonstrations of joy. Every device was used to express the satisfaction of the reactionists. Marquez and Mejía traversed the streets in an open carriage, amid the cheers of the populace.