A horrible slaughter followed and the troops of Balmaceda fled in all directions. The casualties on both sides were heavy. Although the fighting only lasted four hours the government loss in killed and wounded was three thousand, three hundred and sixty-three, and the victors lost eighteen hundred. That same night Valparaiso was occupied, and a night of carousal and lawlessness and bloodshed ensued. Houses were set on fire, and ruffians shot at the firemen as they attempted to put out the flames. The soldiers and mob seem to have been entirely beyond control. The next morning four or five hundred dead bodies were found on the streets. [Illustration: CHILEAN SOLDIERS.] This battle was the deciding point of the civil war. When the news reached Valparaiso, Balmaceda realized it was useless to continue the struggle. He decided to resign and turn his office over to General Baquedano, a friend of the revolutionists. He issued a proclamation beseeching the citizens to preserve order during the crisis, in order to prevent bloodshed and plunder. On the 29th he turned the office over to General Baquedano in a short and dignified speech. That day being his wife’s saint day, the President had invited in several of his friends to dine. Notwithstanding the changed conditions Balmaceda did not recall the invitations, but acted during the whole evening as a generous host. As soon as his visitors had left, he walked over to the Argentine legation and took shelter. For several days the revolutionists believed that he had escaped the country and fled in disguise. No one suspected that the defeated President was at the house of the Argentine Minister, Mr. Uriburu, afterwards president of Argentina. On the 18th of September, the day upon which his legal term as president expired, the country was shocked to hear that Balmaceda had shot himself that morning at the home of his friend.