TINCONFOKMITY. 625 UNDERSTANDING. was followed by an upheaval, during which they were disturbed from their horizontal position or were eroded, and then by a depression beneath the water, where the upper scries was deposited. An unconformity, therefore, marl<s a hiatus in the geological record — a lapse of time unreconlcd by sedimentation — and it is only by examining the sequence of deposits in otlier regions that the missing series can be supplied. Similarly, un- conformities may exist in regions of igneous or metamorphic rocks. They are valuable to the geologist in fixing the limits of natural rock groups. UNCTION (Lat. nnctio, an anointing, from laujucic. to anoint; connected w'ith Skt. anj, to anoint, smear). The practice of anointing the body, or certain portions of the body, with oil, especially with the oil of olives. It was re- sorted to by the ancients from motives of health, of athletic development, or of luxury; but the practice now is chiefly a religious one. It was a rite in frequent use among the Egyptians, as well as the Greeks and Romans. Among the Hebrews priests and kings were anointed upon being set apart for their several offices, as were also sacred vessels. The oil employed in these religious unctions was prepared of the most precious per- fumes and balsams. In Christian use, anointing from a very early time possessed the same sacred significance. (See Extreme Uxctiox. ) Be- sides the anointing of the sick, however, there are many other sacred unctions traceable in ancient Christian practice; namely, in baptism, confirma- tion, ordination, consecration of churches, and the coronation of kings. UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. The name popularly applied before the Civil War to the system adopted by many persons in the North for aiding fugitive slaves to escape from their mas- ters and elude the pursuit of those sent to re- claim them. By furnishing food and shelter as well as advice to fugitives, they enabled thou- sands to escape to Canada beyond the reach of the Fugitive Slave Law. The most favored routes lay through Ohio and Pennsylvania. The houses along these routes where aid was given came to be known as 'stations;' tho.se who directly as- sisted the escaping fugitives were known as 'con- ductors;' and those who made contributions of mone}', clothing, etc., were known as 'stock- holders' in the enterprise. It was estimated that the number of negroes in Canada who made trips to the South to assist their friends in escaping from slavery amounted to 500 annualh' before the outbreak of the war. Large rewards were ofl'ered by Southern legislatures and individuals for the delivery of such persons south of Jlason and Dixon's line. Among the most active white per- sons in the 'underground railway' service were Levi Coffin, .Tosiah Grinnell, Gerrit Smith, Theo- dore Parker. Thomas Garrett, Rev. Charles Tor- rey, and Samuel .J. May. Coffin was commonly styled the president of the concern, and he claimed to have been actively engaged in the business for thirtj'-three years and to have received into his house an average of 100 fugitives annually. Pro- fessor Siebert in his exhaustive work on the sub- ject gives the names of .3211 'agents, station keepers, and conductors.' He credits Daniel Gib- bons, of Lancaster, Pa., with having aided 1000 fugitives to reach Canada; Dr. N. M. Thomas, of Slichigan, with having aided 1000 or 1500; Rev. Charles Farrer with having aided 400; Philo Carpenter, of Chicago, with liaving aided 200; whik; II. B. I,eper, of I'rinceton, 111., aided 31 runaways to reach Canada in six weeks. Thomas tiarrett (q.v.) claims to liave aided 2700 to make their escajie. Harriet Tubman, a negress, who escaped from Maryland, is reported to have made nineteen journeys to theSouth and to have brought away altogether 300 slaves. She suliseciuenlly c — ^A ^vith success during the Civil War as a scoi... Jfany of those concerned in this service were fined heavily for violating the Fugitive Slave L:.", Garrett alone paying a fine of .$8000. but the occasional punisliments that were inllicted did not break up tlie jiractice, and it continued to be one of the chief grievances of the South against the North. Consult Siebert, Tlir U iidcryruund Railroad ( Ni'W York. ISinit. UNDERGROUND RAILWAY. See Rail- w.w.s; Ti x.Mx; Subway. UN'DERHILL, John (?-l(i72). An Ameri- can colonist, born probably in Warwickshire, England. In his .youth he saw military service in the Low Countries and Spain, and in IG.'iO he accompanied the elder John Wintlirop to Boston as commander of the militia. Four years after his arrival he was elected to the Colonial Assem- bly, and in 1G37 he aided Capt. John Mason (q.v.) to exterminate the Pequot Indians. Of this expedition he wrote an account entitled Xeues from America, which was published in London the following year. In spite of the services he had thus rendered, he incurred the wrath of the colonists by espousing the Anti- nomianism of Wheelwright and by his immo- rality. Forced to flee from JIassachusetts, he took refuge at Dover in New Hampshire, and was there elected Governor. Later he removed to Connecticut and became a member of the Assem- bly. In 1(343 he entered the military service of the New Netherlands, but ten years later he wag expelled from that colony and went to Rhode Island, where he obtained a commission to make war on his late employers. In 1004 the New Netherlands were conquered by the English, and I'nderhill returned and settled at Oyster Bay, where, three years later, he obtained a grant of 150 acres of land from the Mantinenoc Indians. On this property, which he named Killingworth, he passed his later years. UNDER-LEASE. The creation of a new term by a lessee of lands, by alienation of a por- tion of or an interest in his own term, with a reversion in himself. Where a lease is silent on the question, a lessee may make a valid under- lease, so long as the conditions in the original lease are observed. See Le.se. UNDERSTANDING. A term which has been employed in various philosophical systems, from Plato to Hegel, as in some sort antithetical to reason. In general, the point of distinction has been that reason is the higher, understand- ing the lower faculty of cognition ; that reason apprehends intuitively and in wholes, under- standing discursively, on the ground of premises and hypotheses which it does not itself test ; that reason moves above the realm of sense, while understanding is indebted for its material to the empirical data of sensation. In the modern psy- chological system 'reason' and 'understanding'
