Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 39.djvu/344

330 been extensively introduced, thereby making clean and dry streets possible; the sewer system has been extended upon scientific principles, and antiquated and defective sewers removed; new piers have been constructed upon an established line and uniform plan, though the number has hardly increased with the commercial demand; loss of life and accidents from fire have been materially decreased by an admirably organized and disciplined department; and ample provision has been made for extensive public parks; and one of them, which is unrivaled for its beauty and perfection, notably contributes to the health and pleasure of the people.

It must not be inferred or understood, from this brief and general sketch of sanitary reform in New York during the last quarter of a century, that perfection has been reached and the work entirely accomplished. Important steps have been taken in the right direction, and wonderful progress has been made, but the field is wide and open for future activity and effort. The results can hardly be so extraordinary and revolutionary in a similar period, but the work will continue eminently useful in decreasing human suffering and the rate of mortality. To make the metropolis of the country a healthful and desirable place of residence for the rich and the poor, and attractive as a resort and a temporary abode for people of this and other lands, is an object not unworthy the energy, ability, and ambition of any American citizen.



VEN the most thoroughgoing accounts of the customs of savages rarely give full descriptions of their attitudes and bearing. Yet these are the points that strike the stranger most forcibly, and are most distinctly remembered by him. A comparison of them with the behavior of more civilized races and of the lower animals might also afford an interesting anthropological study. In my observations among the Bantu negroes, extending from Bagamoyo into the Congo territory, I have found, except for the diversities in the forms of salutation, a great uniformity in the attitudes of the people. My present account will be confined to tribes which have remained free from foreign influence.

The most salient features of the negroes' movements are a general liveliness and a hasty, jerky execution. Their speech is loud and is continually emphasized by gestures, which are a real constituent of the speech, and are made all the same when the conversation is carried on in the dark; and they are so expressive