Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/389

NEGRO. 33S NEGRO EDUCATION. disrej;ar<l the ncfirocs of tlu- two Aniprieas, who arc almost invariably of West African descent anil ditl'er from their parent stocks only in the modifications due to mi.Kture with Europeans and Indians. The Australians, who are regarded as negroes by some authorities, must be considered an in- deiieiidcnt race presenting physical characteris- tics which dill'erentiate them from the true negro, notwithstanding their dark skins. There are, however, in the East Indian Archi- pelago, in New Guinea and Melanesia, and in Jladagascar negroid tribes whose classification and relationships present difliculties at present insurmountable. Of these stocks the Papuans of New Guinea and the Melanesians are the most numerous and important. They are a dark- skinned, tall, dolichocephalic race, and differ physically from the African negro chiefly in the hair, which is longer and mop-like, and in facial features, which latter, however, are variable. There are no safe grounds for considering them as a branch of the true negro stock other than the striking resemblance in skin color. At different points in the northern jjortion of this regioti are found scattered groups of an undersized negroid stock commonly called Negritos. They are usually compared with the dwarf races of Africa and nndonljtedly do offer striking similarities in physical characters, but in other respects seem to correspond rather to the Australian and Papuan. The parentage of the negroids of Madagascar is also in dispute. The proximity of Africa would indicate an origin from that continent, and there are botli physical and cultural facts to support the view, but there are also imniistakable signs of Melanesian traits which suggest immi- gration from both regions. JIuch has been written as to the mental capa- city of the negro, but trustworthy information is scanty. Such few careful observations as have been made upon negro brains indicate a slightly lower type than that of Europeans ; but the variability is so high as to forbid drawing any conclusions regarding the accompanying intel- lectual powers — a statement which holds true of the natives of Melanesia as well as of Africa. In culture the negro presents almost as many degrees and varieties as there are stocks. A relatively low grade represented by certain of the Sudanese, Bantu, and dwarf tribes is found side by side with a relatively high civilization. as, for example, that of the Ilausa : but it nuist be admitted that the sporadic examjiles of marked cultural progress in .frica can almost invariably be traced to Arabic or other foreign influence. Environment has. of course, produced specific types of culture in different parts of the continent, such as the cattle-breeding, pa.storal life of the south and west, and the strictly hunting life of the dwarfs of the equatorial for- ests, and this diversity makes general statements dangerous or imjiossiblc. With regard to religion, we find an extensive animism which has developed remarkably at dif- ferent points. For cxnTiijile. the ancestor wor- ship of the Zulus has been carried to a logical extreme, which is unique among savages, and the complex fetishism of West Africa is every- where regarded as the type of that phase of belief. Political organization is equally diverse, rang- ing from hereditary kingship to such loose tribal systems that no chieftainship is ascertainable. in comparison with otlu^- great groups of man- kin<l, the negro seems to possess certain tempera- mental qualities which are uuire or less cliarac- terislic, being lively, excitable, and f(md of social life and discussion; and this trait has undoubt- edly played an important role in the development of certain ))hases of -African culture. Our knowl- edge of the nuijority of the negro tribes of Africa is still lamentably slight, but, with the extension of European interests in that continent, much valualile inforuuxtion is coming to light. See NiiURO Eulc.tion. HiHLiOGH.Piiv. Keane, "Africa," in Stanford's ComprndUim of Oeography and Travel (London, 1S05) ; id., Man, Past and Present (Cambridge, l.Sit!)) ; Bleek, The Lanr/naqes of Western and lioiitJirrn Africa (London. 18.56) ; id., A Compara- tive Orammar of South African Lanyuanes (ib., 1802) ; Cust, A f^lcetch of the Modern Lanr/uages of Africa (ib., 188.3); Schweinfurth, The' Heart of Africa (New York, 1874) ; Nachtigal. Sahara iind Sudan. (Berlin, 1877); Johnston. The Rirer Coni/o (London. 1884) ; id.. The Ui/anda I'rotec- lorate (ib., 1<)02) ; Ellis, The Tshi-S peaking Peo- ples (ib., 1887) ; id., The Ewe-Speaking I'coples (ib., 1890) : id.. The Yoruba-Speaking Peoples (ib., 1894) ; .Junker, Travels in Africa (ib., 1890- 92). NEGRO, na'gro, Rio. A tributary of the Amazon. See Eio Negro. NEGRO BUG. A plant-bug of the family Corimel;cnid:p. These bugs are usually of very small size and are intensely black in color, some- times having a bluish or greenish tinge. They are convex in form, the scutellum covering nearly the whole upper side of the body, and are often mistaken for small beetles. They are fond of laying their eggs on small fruits, like blackberry and raspberry, giving them a very disagreeable taste. A common species in the United States, the (lea-like negro bug {Coriniclwna puticaria) , is frequently mistaken for the chinch bug. NEGRO EDUCATION. Much of the negro advancement in the Llnited States since the Civil War is to be credited to the regular habits of industry, and to the knowledge of the white man's religion, language, and ways of life gained in slavery days. To one connected with negro schools nothing is clearer than the value of the inlluence of good .'^outhern white families upon their slaves. Some of the plantations were really large trade schools where habits of industry w'ere formed. Carpenters, coopers, sawyers, blacksmiths, tanners, curriers, shoemakers, spinners, weavers, knitters, and dis- tillers were all to be found among ))lantatinn slaves; and the negro nu'chanic was an important man in the community. Thus the race was being gradually trained in the ways of civilization, was contracting the habit of labor, acquiring a su- perior language and religion, and developing a character capable of further advancement. Credit shoiild also be given to the training which the colored man received during the Civil War. In the Xorthern armies there were thou- sands of colored troops who received discipline of the most valuable sort. In the South, the homes and farms of the white Confederate sol- diers were largely in the hands of negro men and women. Most valuable to the slaves was the