Grab the LedControl library Arduino Playground - HomePage if you don't already have it
and try the scrolling demo attached. It's written for a single 8x8 matrix running on an UNO but should work on upto a 24x8 matrix with little alteration. As it uses the LedControl library it bitbangs instead of using the SPI interface.
ScrollTest4MAX.ino (14.2 KB)