﻿NO. II SMITHSONIAN EXPEDITIONS, I9IO-I9I I 3 



MR. CHILDS FRICK'S EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA AND BRITISH 



EAST AFRICA 



While Mr. Rainey's party was still in the field, another African 

 expedition was organized by Mr. Childs Frick of New York. Mr. 

 Frick's object was to make as complete a collection as possible of the 

 animals of certain parts of Abyssinia and the adjacent territory, 

 including the northern portion of British East Africa, somewhat north 

 of the region traversed by Colonel Roosevelt in 1909-10, and Mr. 

 Rainey's expedition. It is his intention also to visit the neighborhood 

 of Lake Rudolf and to work along the shores of the lake itself, as this 

 region has been but little explored since Count Teleki first visited it 

 in 1888. 



Mr. Frick took with him Dr. E. A. Mearns, who had been with 

 the earlier Smithsonian Expedition ; also a friend, Mr. Blick, and a 

 physician. From a recent letter written by Dr. Mearns it has been 

 learned that the party proceeded to Aden, and then crossed to Jibuti 

 on the coast of French Somali-Land, whence they proceeded by rail 

 to Dire Daoua in Abyssinia. At this point they left the railroad 

 and followed the road by Herer (or Herrer) to Adis Abeba, the 

 capital of Abyssinia. 



Mr. Frick very generously offered to present half the birds col- 

 lected to the National Museum, and a first consignment comprising 

 several hundred specimens has already been reported by Dr. Mearns 

 as ready for shipment. 



SMITHSONIAN ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATIONS IN ALGERIA 



An African expedition of quite different character was sent out 

 from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in July, 191 1, to 

 Algeria. This was for the purpose of making observations on the 

 radiation of the sun. The party consisted of Mr. C. G. Abbot, Director 

 of the Observatory and Prof. F. P. Brackett of Pomona College. 

 They sailed from New York, taking with them 32 cases of equipment, 

 and on July 25, landed at Algiers where great aid was rendered by 

 Monsieur Rene L. J. Boisson, Vice-Consul of the L T nited States. 

 Free entry of the equipment was granted by the French government. 

 By the advice of Director Gonnessiat, of the Observatory of Algiers, 

 it was decided to locate on the plateau some 50 to 100 miles directly 

 south of Algiers. Mr. Abbot had the good fortune to meet Director 

 Mestral of the Ecole Roudil, near Ben Chicao, to obtain from him 

 permission to observe from a hill situated about Y /\ mile east of a little 

 hamlet called Bassour, and to live in a 4-room stone farm-house in 



