WATERLOO 



6217 



WATERMELON 



with his allies had been frustrated by Marshal 

 Ney. He therefore retired and drew up hi.s 

 forces near Waterloo. The British position was 

 in the shape of a curve, with the center near- 

 est the enemy. On the 18th the French were 

 seen to occupy a series of heights opposite, 

 across a shallow valley from 500 to 800 yards 

 in breadth. Wellington desired simply to hold 

 his position until the arrival of Bliicher, who 

 had concentrated his troops at Wavre, some 

 ten miles distant. 



The opposing armies had not far from 70,- 

 000 men each. Napoleon's forces were com- 

 posed of war-worn veterans, who added to sim- 

 ple loyalty motives of profound self-interest, 

 for they were distrusted by the French party 

 opposed to the emperor and many of them 

 were practically dispossessed. Wellington had a 

 mixed command composed of Belgians, Bruns- 

 \\ukers, Hanoverians and English, many of 

 them fresh levies. 



The French opened the attack and main- 

 tained it during the entire afternoon, the action 

 consisting of a series of brilliant but costly cav- 

 alry charges. Exhaustion had overtaken both 

 armies by nightfall, when the arrival of reen- 

 forcements under Bliicher heartened the allies. 

 The battle then turned against the French, and 

 Napoleon, in a last desperate effort to retrieve 

 the day, launched the flower of his army, the 

 famous Old Guard, against the enemy's posi- 

 tion. This supreme effort failed, the allied 

 army advanced in a bayonet charge, and the 

 French were soon in full retreat, dispersed, ut- 

 terly demoralized. Their loss amounted to 

 about 35,000 in killed and wounded, while the 

 allies lost about 23,000. The battle had the ef- 

 fect of removing forever from Europe the men- 

 ace of Napoleon's great military genius and In- 

 boundless ambition. 



Because of its part in deciding tin- ; 

 nations and because of its spectacular f< atures, 



Battle of Waterloo has found a large j 

 in literature. Byron has a famous poem deal- 

 ing with the subject, and Thackeray made use 

 of it in fris Vanity Fair; but the most famous 

 lit'-rary treatment of it is in Hugo's Lea Mis- 

 crablca. O.BJ>. 



Consult Bcke's Napoleon and Wn 

 Creasy'* Fifteen Decisive Battle* of the World. 



RHnt i *Mi.i.-.-is. The following article* In 

 these volumes may be consulted In this connec- 

 tion : 



BlUcher, Gerhard 



Lebrecht von 

 Napoleon I 



Ney, Michel 

 Wellington, Duke of 



WATERLOO, IOWA, the county seat of 

 Blackhawk County, is situated in the north- 

 eastern part of the state, fifty-three miles 

 northwest of Cedar Rapids and 106 miles north- 

 east of Des Moines. It is a rapidly-developing 

 industrial city, whose population more than 

 doubled between 1900 and 1910, in the latter 

 year reaching 26,692; in 1916 it was 35,559 

 (Federal estimate). Railroad service is pro- 

 vided by the Chicagp Great Western, the Chi- 

 cago, Rock Island & Pacific, the Illinois Central, 

 and electric interurban lines. 



Waterloo is on the Cedar River, a wide stream 

 at this point and spanned by several concrete 

 bridges. Some of the most attractive parks of 

 the city are along the river; these include Ce- 

 dar River Park, which has a bathing beach and 

 bathhouse, and Chautauqua Park, with a great 

 coliseum. It is a popular convention city and 

 has a number of fine hotels to accommodate 

 convention guests. Other prominent public 

 buildings are a Federal building, a courthouse, 

 two Carnegie libraries and the Presbyterian 

 and Saint Francis hospitals. Manufacture is 

 the leading industry; among the leading arti- 

 cles made are gasoline engines, cream separa- 

 tors, farm implements and furniture, 

 surrounding country is agricultural and has ex- 

 tensive dairy interests. c.v.v. 



WATERMELON, a fruit known for its cool 

 and refreshing pulp before the Christian Era, 

 was originally from tropical and Southern At : 

 but is now grown as far north as Canada, and 

 in every state of the American Union but 



Indiana 

 291 



North Carolina 

 179 



Figures Represent Thousands of Dollars 



AVI A CROP 



Maine and New Hampshire. From ancient 

 times it has been cultivated in Egypt and 

 Orient. Watermelons are grown from seed. 

 They thrive in Mil. sandy loam, well drained 

 and unshaded. A melon usually weighs from 

 twenty to fifty pounds. Because of its tough 

 rind it can be shipped in carloads without be- 

 mir Texas, Georgia, Florida and Indi- 



