Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 23.djvu/897

Rh Justinger's Chronicle, 1420 (see ). On April 16, 1291, Rudolph the future emperor bought from Murbach all its estates in Uuterwaldenand thus ruled this district as the chief landowner, as count, and as emperor. On 1st August 1291 Nidwald formed the "Ever lasting League" with Uri and Schwyz (this being the first known case in which its common seal is used), Obwald joining a little later on. In 1304 the two valleys were joined together under the same imperial bailiff, and in 1309 Henry VII. confirmed to them all the liberties granted by his predecessor though none are known to have been granted. However, this placed Unterwalden on an equal political footing with Uri and Schwyz; and as such it took part in Morgarten fight (also driving back an invasion over the Brtinig Pass) and in the renewal of the Everlasting League at Brunnen (1315), as well as at Sempach (1386), and in driving back the Gugler or English freebooters (1375). For physical reasons, it was difficult for Unterwalden to enlarge its territories. Yet in 1368 it acquired Alpnach, and in 1378 Hergiswyl. So too Obwald shared with Uri in the conquest of the Val Leventina (1403), and in the purchase of Bellinzona (1419), as well as in the loss of both (1426). It was Nidwald that, with Schwyz and Uri, finally won (1500) and ruled (till 1798) Bellinzoua, Riviera, and Val Blegno; while both shared in conquests of Aargau (1415), Thurgau (1460), and Locarno, &c. (1512), and in the temporary occupation of the Val d Ossola (1410-14 to 1417-22). In the Burgundian war Uuterwalden, like the other Forest cantons, long hung back through jealousy of Bern, but came to the rescue in time of need. In 1481 it was at Stanz that the Confederates nearly broke up the League for various reasons, and it was only by the intervention then of the holy hermit Nicholas von der Fliie (of Sachseln in Obwald) that peace was restored, and the great federal agreement known as the compact of Stanz concluded. Like the other Forest cantons, Unterwalden clung to the old faith at the time of the Reformation, being a member of the " Christlicho Vereinigung " (1529) and of the Golden League (1586).

In 1798 Uuterwalden resisted the Helvetic republic, but, having formed part of the short-lived Tellgau, became a district of the canton of the Waldstatten. Obwald submitted at an early date, but Nidwald, refusing to accept the oath of fidelity to the con stitution mainly on religious grounds, rose in desperate revolt (September 1798), and was only put down by the arrival of 15,000 armed men and by the storming of Stanz. In 1803 its independ ence as a canton was restored, but in 1815 Nidwald refused to accept the new constitution, and federal troops had to be employed to put down its resistance, the punishment inflicted being the transfer to Obwald of the jurisdiction over the abbey lands of Engelberg (since 1421 "protected " by both valleys), which in 1798 had fallen to the lot of Nidwald. Since that time the history of Unterwalden has been like that of the other Forest cantons. It was a member of the League of Sarnen " (1832), to oppose the re forming wishes of other cantons, and of the "Sonderbund" (1843); it was defeated in the war of 1847; and it voted against the acceptance of the federal constitution both in 1848 and in 1874. It forms at present two half cantons, each sending one representative to the federal "assembly of states." In local matters the two valleys are independent. In each the supreme authority is the "landsgemeinde" (meeting on the last Sunday in April), composed of all male citizens of twenty (Obwald) or eighteen (Nid wald) years of age, while the cantonal council, which drafts measures and sanctions the expenditure of sums below certain fixed small amounts, is composed in Obwald of 80 members (including the executive council) elected by the people for 4 years, and in Nidwald of 48 (besides the executive council) chosen in the same way for 6 years. The executive council is in both cases elected by the "lands gemeinde"; in Obwald it consists of 3 officials and 4 ordinary mem bers, and in Nidwald of 6 officials and 5 ordinary members, the official members being chosen every year, the ordinary every 4 or 3 years respectively. The existing constitution of Obwald is that of 1867; that of Nidwald is dated 1850, and was amended in 1877–78.

It is very remarkable that in both valleys the old "common lands " are still in the hands of the old guilds, and " gemeinden " consist of natives, not merely residents, though in Obwald these contribute to the expenses of the new "political communes" of residents, while in Nidwald the latter have to raise special taxes. In Engelberg (which still retains some independence) the poor are greatly favoured in the division of the common lands and their proceeds, and unmarried persons (or widowers and widows) receive only half the share of those who are married.

See J. Businger, Die Geschichten des Volkes von Unterwalden, 2 vols., 1827–28.

 UNYORO, a kingdom of Central Africa, bounded on the N. and E. by the Nile, on the W. by the Albert Nyanza, and on the S.E. by the kingdom of Uganda. Its area is about 1600 square miles. The country is very fertile, well-watered, and thickly wooded; for the most part it is hilly in character, especially on the borders of the Albert Lake and in the neighbourhood of Massindi and Kiroto, where the mountains have an altitude of from 5000 to 6000 feet. The population is about 1,500,000. The Wanyoro are of a dark reddish-brown colour, and are fully clothed, but are not so fine in physique, nor so high in intellectual development as their neighbours the AVaganda, to whom, however, they appear to be very nearly related. The reigning family in Unyoro belongs to the Wahuma tribe, and is probably the oldest reigning Wahuma family in this part of Africa. The country is governed on the feudal system. Numerous tribes to the east and north of the Nile, and also on the western side of the Albert Nyanza, pay a small tribute to the Wanyoro. The latter possess large herds of cattle, and are very good herdsmen. The land, too, is cultivated to a considerable extent, bananas, sweet potatoes, and dhurra being grown in large quantities. Coffee and tobacco are cultivated to a small extent. The people are very superstitious, and the numerous medicine men and women reap a rich harvest from their credulity. The Wanyoro huts are dome-shaped, small, and extremely filthy and full of vermin, although the people themselves are cleanly. Polygamy is universal, even the poorest man possessing two or three wives. Not withstanding this, the people are fairly moral; but Unyoro is remarkable amongst Central African tribes for the exist ence of a definite class of courtesans. The Wanyoro are moderately skilful workmen, and their iron-work, pottery, and wood-work are both neat and tasteful. The only article they export is salt, which is obtained in considerable quantities at Kibiro on the shores of Lake Albert.

See Baker's Albert Nyanza, Felkin and Wilson's Uganda and the Egyptian Soudan, and various papers in Petermann's Mittheilungen by Emin Pasha.

 UPANISHADS. See,, and.  UPAS, a Javanese word meaning poison, and specially applied by the Malays and people of western Java to the poison derived from the gum of the anchar tree (Antiaris toxicaria), one of the Artocarpeæ, which was commonly used in Celebes to envenom the bamboo darts of the natives. The name of the upas tree has become famous from the mendacious account (professedly by one Foersch, who was a surgeon at Samarang in 1773) published in the London Magazine, December 1783, and popularized by Erasmus Darwin in " Loves of the Plants " (Botanic Garden, pt. ii.). The tree was said to destroy all animal life within a radius of 15 miles or more. The poison was fetched by condemned malefactors, of whom scarcely two out of twenty returned. All this is pure fable, and in good part not even traditional fable, but mere invention.

For a scientific account of the Antiaris, see Horsfield's Plantæ Javanicæ Rariores (1838–52) and Blume's Rumphia (Brussels, 1836), and for the legend Yule, Anglo-Indian Glossary, p. 726 sq.

 UPPER SIND FRONTIER, a district of British India, forming the northernmost portion of the province of Sind, in the Bombay presidency. It comprises an area of 2139 square miles, and lies between 27° 56′ and 28° 27′ N. lat. and between 68° and 69° 44′ E. long. It is bounded on the N. and W. by the Derajat districts of the Punjab and the territory of Khelat, on the S. by Shikarpur district, and on the E. by the Indus. In the north-east the country is hilly; the remainder consists of a narrow strip of level plain, one half being covered with jungle and subject to inundation, from which it is protected by artificial embankments. The land is watered by canals from the Indus, of which the chief is the Begári (85 miles in length), navigable throughout by large boats, and the Desert Canal, which irrigates the country west of Kashmor. The district contains several thriving timber plantations. The wild animals comprise an occasional tiger and hyænas; wild hogs and jackals abound; foxes are occasionally met