The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-12-28
DRUMS MADE TO TALK.
4 Singular Method of. communication Used
 by Natives In Africa.

Africa are something which puzzle the traveller who sees what can be dohe with them." said Professor Garner. whose name has become universally known on account of his investigations into the speech of the monkey family. q first came across talking drums when was on my way up the Gamer oon river in a territory about { degrees north of the equator. While we were sailing up the river I noticed a peeu- liar beating of a drum which seem 10 be answered by another some little dis tance on. I asked one of the natives with me what the meaning of the drum ming was. He listened moment, then satd: That's fisherman down at the river shore In front of the town of Cam eroon,' which was then not In sight. He Is calling the natives to come down to the shore to buy his fish. He Is tel ling them by beating his drum: Come down and buy my fish. have three large ones and two smaller ones ana many others smaller. All fish caught to-day."' Then he explained that the other drum heard was rival fisher man who was beating on his drum to the inhabitants of the town. He lies. His fish are not fresh. They were caught yesterday. But come buy my fish; have seven large ones and just caught them.'
 q thought my native follower a clev- CT romancer, but he insisted that was the significance of the drum beats, and told me he would prove 1t to me when we got to town. When we arrived op- posite the town, to satisfy my curiosity asked the native to show me the fish erman. We took boat and were soon at the landing of the town. There, sure enough, was the fisherman still beat ing his drum, and in his boat q took the trouble to count them) lay three large fish and two small ones, besides nunier- ous very small ones, just as had been described to me from the drum beats by my man. The fish did not look very in viting and must surely have been a day old. We padded to another point where the rival fisherman was beating his ad- vertisement to the townsfolk.
 "He had seven large fish in the bot tom of his boat, and he explained to my man that the other fisherman had been fishing up in the brackish waters above the town and had been unsuc- cessful, whereupon he tried to dispose of some stock he had left over from the day before. This was my first exper- fence with talking drums, and 1t pug zled me to account for this method of communication, inasmuch as the na- lives had not the least idea of an al- phabet. Some little time after this was at town and desired to get boat and several men to take me further up the river. When told the natives what I wanted they told me that they would have boat come down the river from a town some twelve miles above, as this was the only boat which they knew of that would be suited for. my, pur- pose # ' 'Ss'
 "When they asked me how many men I wanted and had gotten the particu- lars, one of the natives took a drum to the shore of the river and began to beat 1t in a strange manner, sound- ing in rhythm something like the tick of the telegraph instrument. The drum was unlike those they use for dancing, being more cylindrical in form. It was about three feet long and six inches in diameter. The shell was made of wood, burned out, and 1t looked like bamboo. There were holes in the sides and in the end, through which the sound pass ed The head was covered with skin. The native sat down and placed the drum before him. Then he beat with his fingers this strange tattoo. which he kept up continually until, far in the distance, away up the river, I heard the faint noise of another drummer beating the same thing. The drummer as soon as he found that his fellow up at the next town was repeating the message correctly, stopped. then lis- tened, and soon the drumming above ceased, and away off, so faint that only occasional beats could be distinguished, I heard another drummer. I was then told that my message would be repeat ed from town to town until it arrived at it's destination. %
 @sI asked If would know whether the boat would come, and they told me I would receive an answer. Some time after this again heard drum beats and q native told me that they had re- ceiyed word that the boat would leave and arrive here at such time. The boat arrived just when the drum mes- senger said 1t would, and this proved : tome that the natives of Africa have a sure means of communication by drum beats. : They told me that all kinds q messages were repeated from town to town by. drum beats. The towns are from one to two miles apart and the drumming can be heard distinctly ats that distance. They can call names ofsan individual, represent nouns and verbs and some few adjectives. Even after having this strange system of connmunication demonstrated to me. doubted. So when I was spending my time with Captain Buchan, who had lived in Africa for years and was well acquainted with the characteristics of the various tribes. I asked him con cerning the matter. He verified what I told him and, to demonstrate more fuI- ly, called his boy and told him to drum R- -