Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/90

LEFT UMBRIA 72 UNCONFORMABLE when it is erected the shafts radiate on all sides from the top of the head, reaching in front beyond and below the beak, which is thus completely concealed from view. A long cylindrical plume hangs down from the middle of the neck; the feathers of the plume lap over each other like scales, and are bordered with metallic blue. Umbrella birds associate UMBRELLA BIRD in small flocks, and live almost entirely upon fruits. Their cry, which resembles the lowing of a cow, is most frequently heard just before sunrise and after sun- set. UMBRIA, one of the ancient divisions of Italy; lying E. of Etruria, and N. of the country of the Sabines. It is usually described as extending from the Tiber E. to the Adriatic; but when the Umbrians first came into history they were re- stricted to the ridges of the Apennines, the lowland region bordering on the Adri- atic from the .Esis (Esino) to the Rubi- con, being held by a race of Gallic inva- ders, known as the Senones. The Um- brians were subjugated along with the Etruscans, but joined the Samnites in their last gallant struggle against Rome, and were crushed at Sentinum (295 B. c.) UMLAUT, in philology, a kind of as- similation of sounds; the change of the vowel in one syllable through the influ- ence of one of the vowels, a, i, u in the syllable immediately following. It is a common feature in several of the Teu- tonic tongues. In German timlaut is seen in the frequent change of the vowels a, 0, u, to a, 0, il. In Anglo-Saxon it was also common. The change caused by a is called a-umlaut, and so of the other vowels. UNALASKA, a village in Alaska, on the island of Unalaska, the most W. of the group extending from the extremity of the Alaska peninsula. It contains a church, priest's residence, and stores. Unalaska is the most important settle- ment in western Alaska, and the com- mercial center of all the trade in that region. It is the natural outfitting sta- tion for vessels passing between the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. In the moun- tains back of the village is an active vol- cano. Pop. about 400. UNCAS, an Indian chief; born in 1600. He was on good terms with the whites, who constanty defended him and the Mohegans, of whom he was chief, against the Pequods and Narragansetts, In 1657 he is said to have presented the ground on which Norwich, Conn., stands to Ensign Leffingwell in return for his services. He died about 1682. UNCIAL LETTERS, characters of a large, round form, used in some ancient MSS. The earliest form of an alphabet is its capitals, and the oldest Greek and Latin MSS. are written entirely in capi- tals. Uncial letters, which began to take the place of capital letters in the middle of the 5th century, differ from them in being composed of rounded and not straight lines, and exhibiting a tendency toward greater expedition in style. Un- cial writing arose as writing on papyrus or vellum became common, the necessity for more rapid execution leading to the practice of curving the lines. It pre« vailed from the 6th to the 8th, or even to the 10th century. UNCLE SAM, the jocular name of the United States Government, used as John Bull is with respect to England. It is an extension of the letters U. S. (United States), printed or stamped on the Gov- ernment property. It was first used in Troy, N. Y., in 1812, when certain goods purchased for the Government and branded U. S., were officially inspected by Samuel Wilson, whose local nickname was "Uncle Sam." The coincidence of initials suggested the application of the nickname m full to the Government. UNCONFORMABLE, in geology, the term used when one series of beds is so placed over another that the superior beds repose more or less on the edges instead of on the planes of the inferior series. Thus on the borders of Wales and Shropshire the slaty beds of the Silu- rian system are curved or vertical, while those of the overlying carboniferous shale and limestone are horizontal. To produce unconformity, three series of events have generally occurred. First, the inferior beds, originally laid down horizontally, must at -lome subsequent time have been tilted ap by a force, probably igneous, from beneath. Sec- ondly, in most cases, the upturned ends