Roosevelt Standard | 1945-03-01 | Page 2 | 'Bush Telegraph' of Africa Still Mystery to Whites

Bush Telegraph of Africa Still Mystery to Whites The famous "bush telegraph" of the African wilds, the native drums that beat out mysterious messages, has always been a problem prob-lem to the white man. A scientist scien-tist stated recently: "I do not believe be-lieve any white man will ever ba able to understand this drumming. The drum system is not a sort of; Morse code, but as natural as tha Negro's instinct. It is a rhythm like the black man's speech, wher one word has many meanings according ac-cording to pronunciation. "There is no thought which cannot can-not be expressed with the aid of the drums, no message so intricate that it cannot be beaten out by a skillful operator. "Warring tribes temporarily forget for-get their quarrels in order to relay important tidings across rivers and international frontiers. The 'Talking drums' are used to announce an-nounce native weddings and other important local events."