Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-09
SCIENTIST ENDS
THREE-YEAR TRIP
Romance and Adventure Are
Found in South Africa by
w. H. Hoover and Family.

W. lie IIOOVCl dIIu I dlllllys
Romance and adventure were mingled
in the three-year vigil of sun-blistered
South African mountain of w. H
Hoover of the Smithsonian Institution,
field leader of the Smithsonian and
National Geographic Society solar ra-
diation expedition.
When Mr. Hoover left Washington for
Mount Brukkaros three years ago he
was accompanied by his motherless
baby daughter with his sister-in-laW to
care for her in the desolate country OF
their destination.
In South Africa the scientist and his
wife's sister were married, it was re-
vealed at the Smithsonian today The
Hoover family has just returned to
Washington. together with Fred A
Greelv, a fellow scientist.
Betty Mr.. and Mrs. Hoover'S daugh-
ter, was l p years old when they went
out to establish the observatory. Now
she is Az. A flock of chickens and a
cow were her only playmates for three
years.
The Hoovers and Mr.. Greedy were re-
lieved by Louis o. Sordahl and Mrs:
Sordahl and A. G. Froiland, who arrived
at Mount BrukkaroS to carry on the
work of shooting the sun" six times a
day.
Observatory AS Object.
The work of the expedition was to set
up an observatory which would make
reports similar to those made by Smith
Sonian Institution solar obSerVaJorleS IN
Chile and at Table Mountain, Calf.
The three observatorieS on three con-
| tinents are reporting daily variations IN
the heat of the sun that reaches the
earth Every activity on the face OF
the earth is dependent on the suns
radiation, the variation of which Is the
subject Of this study.
While individuals are only conscious
of such variations in radiation as earth
itself brings about through the process
sion of the seasons, evidence OF The va
ration in the strength of the sun itself
! is not far to seek Smithsonian author
tiles think there is a definite connection
| between variation in solar radiation and
| changes of weather. The observatory
Mr.. Hoover established on Mount Bruk-
karos, Southwest Africa, may some day
! help warn Chicago of a coming drop III
! temperature.
At Brukkaros the Hoover party lived
| 200 feet up a mountainSide and 81
miles from a grocery store. The neai-
est white man, a German missionary
lived 8 miles away. Their nearest
neighbors were Hottentots, whose bee
hive houses dotted the plain. Because
| the observatory stands within Hot
| tentot reservation, Mr.. Hoover had &c
get permission to hunt springook from
the local chief of the HottentotS, who
is known as captain.
| Isolated on dry mountain, sur
rounded by African natives, the expe-
! ,,ovortho1occ in constant
| touch with civilization. The govern
ment of Southwest Africa, which built
| the three-room corrugated iron home
! on the rocky mountain top, ran tele-
! phone line connecting Keetmanshoop
| the nearest town. A radio, Christ
mas gift from the National Geographic
| Society, brought them cable news OF
| the United States and the rest of the
world via the station at Cape Town
| although static interfered in warm
i weather.
The second year the observatory staff
received the mechanical parts OF an
| electric refrigerator. They built a re-
| frigerator around this unit. Thereafter
ice cream was served on the volcano
| top. The refrigerator also preserved
vegetables, fruit and meat so that the
| l22-mile journey to the grocery store
and back might be made less fire.
quently. A gasoline engine, which was
brought up the mountainside, piece
meal on donkey back. and a generator
supplied current for the refrigerator.
Many Duties to Perform.
"a man setting up a solar radiation
observatory has to be a jack-of-all'
| trades" says Mr.. Hoover. "Greely and
were carpenters, plumbers, mechanics
electricians and farmers, alternately
"One night we heard noises thai
sounded like lion" he said, telling
about the leopard, land next morning
three of our chickens were missing
Then we suspected our visitor to have
been a leopard and the following night
set big trap. The leopard got into the
trap, but went off, trap and all.
Next morning we trailed him and
finally located him in crevice. I fired
wounding the leopard, which at once
leaped toward us. We were on ledge
The animal just barely missed the ledge
and. as it tumbled down the rock
Greedy fired and killed it. Although
neither of us was injured, the experience
taught us never to go after leopards
with a 30 rifle"
The ringhals cobra, a snake that
grows to feet in length, was fire.
quent visitor at the Mount Brukkaros
Observatory More than half dozen
were killed near the house. Snake-bite
serum is kept in the icebox at all times
Once a cobra coiJed itself on the front
porch. Another time, as Mr.. Hoover
entered the storehouse he felt moisture
on his cheek and looked up to see a
ringhals cobra lying above the door
The snake had a spat its poison at him.
He ran out, got his gun and killed the
snake.
The ringhals cobra shoots its venom
as well as injecting it with the fangs
The poison shot through the air is not
dangerous to humans unless it gets into
the eyes.
The expedition kept an auto truck in
garage" half way up the mountain.