SUMMARY:
The diarist finds the Tomtom valley too narrow and snowbound for camping and decides to return to Dunkhar, weighing options between Singhi Dzong and Waitsang via Bumthang. On the morning of the 10th May, they decide to go to Waitang/Waitsang on the Bumthang Chu, noting advice from Ngudup and the prospect of Betty joining in July.

CONTENT:
Eventually we saw Tomtom, & it is far too tight a valley, besides being in deep snow yet. They said originally there would be snow, so I can't grouse there, but they said it was only a short way beyond Tin. The hills are so steep there is no possibility of camping other than in Tin or Tomtom. Tin has room for 2 tents, none can get up anywhere. It is a very real disappointment now I have to return to Dunkhar, & from there - when? I can go to a choice of two places I think - one to Singhi Dzong, the other back to Bumthang & so to the Menlarkarchung, to Waitsang where I intended to go in July. Betty pulls me to Singhi Dzong, as there I would see her in July. But perhaps Waitsang would be the best place of all. I must do some careful thinking these next two days. The decision must be made in Dunkhar, & that means by tomorrow evening. It is all a real disappointment to me. Ngudup has been in with various suggestions, but as no one knows anything about paths, passes or places, it does not help. I must just decide & stick to whatever I do decide. Bumthang seems to have more places to which one could go, but what a waste of time to go all round by the Rudola again.

10th May - morning. I have decided definitely to go to Waitang or Waitsang on the Bumthang Chu. It would be easier to go to Singhi Dzong, & lovely to think I had only a month & 3 quarters till Betty joined me. But from all I can hear, Waitsang will be an area in which I can get around more. Were I younger & fitter, I wouldn't mind trying this Tomtom so much. With very hard work, one might get good stuff. But after yesterday, I had a

SUMMARY:
The entry describes a steep descent from the Donga La, crossing the Lichi Chu and reaching the clearing at Sana, with notes on pine–fir forest and abundant fuel and water. Blood pheasants were encountered near the pass and two females collected, but mist obscured wider views. Letters and provisions arrived from Tobgye, Dorji, the Maharaja and Maharani, with H.H. apologizing for arrangements at Pinia; bamboo shelters for the men are noted at several camps.

CONTENT:
large number of Blood Pheasant

the descent is easy at first, becoming steeper to m. 10, where the path leaves the forest & emerges on to meadow land. After a steep descent over grassy hillside for ½ mile, it re-enters the forest & descends steeply to m. 11, where the LICHI CHU (map Tongdala Chu) is crossed by a bridge. A further easy descent of a mile over a muddy path, & SANA, a clearing in the jungle, is reached at m. 12½. Fuel & water ample, no leeches. The forest here is mainly pine & fir. // A good day. The road was pretty awful to the top of the pass, near which we were lucky to find blood pheasant, & to get two females, which have never been collected before. From the top of the pass we should have

B. 23.
Panorama from the Donga La to North west & North, with cloudy valleys.

had a magnificent view, but as we got there the mist came down, & only allowed us glimpses of the cloud-filled valleys on all sides. Sana is delightful & we should like to stay here a day or two, but must get on & let our coolies return to Lingitse. Last night letters arrived from Tobgye, Dorji, the Maharaja & Maharani. Each sent presents - ham, sausages, bread, cakes, vegetables & fruit, & with them came a welcome mail. H.H. apologized for bad arrangements at Pinia, the only place a campsite was not prepared & shelters built for the coolies & our men. Here, as at Donga, Pinia, Lhuentse, Shakhang, we have had good bamboo shelters for the men. They are quickly

SUMMARY:
The diarist describes mixed inhabitants from Dewangiri, Trongsa, and the Tawang area, focusing on the 'takpa' people's distinctive attire. They praise the strong bamboo huts built for the party and note fine weather. After requesting a photo of a 'takpa' and expressing interest in shooting a tragopan/monal, the Jongpen promptly summoned several takpas and sent a man to assist.

CONTENT:
opened up by the present Jongpen's father or himself. The inhabitants are very mixed. Some are from Dewangiri, some from Trongsa and probably some from Tawang area. There are many 'takpas', the people who wear a hat shaped to the head made of thick felt and having tails hanging down in three or four places round the edge. They only wear a queer little felt patch hanging over their bottoms, presumably to sit on. The huts made for us yesterday and today are perfectly wonderful buildings. Nothing but bamboo is used in making them, and they are strong, airy and light. We had a heavy shower of rain last evening, but they proved pretty watertight after the first few minutes. Today was again a fine bright day, and we are certainly having most excellent weather. I told the Jongpen that I wanted to take a photo of a 'takpa' today, expecting one to be produced at once. But nothing happened for a couple of hours, then a dozen came in. He had sent for them from a village miles away. He orders anything that we mention we would like at once. We mentioned that we were anxious to shoot a tragopan monal. He sent a man at

SUMMARY:
Arrival by the 14th with rain and hail, then days at Dewangiri spent unpacking, sorting stores, bird collecting, and using the wireless. Lumsden began treating local people, and Tobgye visited bringing mail with the Trashigang Jongpen.

CONTENT:
3

there, and stayed an hour or two with them. Then up here at
about 2.30 pm on 14th - with no troubles since we left
Kashmir. It was fine to here, but we had some rain
and hail in the evening.

15th Feb. Dewangiri. Spent the day unpacking and sorting
stores. Rain and hail in afternoon. Tried the wireless in
the evening, but for little result.

16th Feb. Halt. There are no flowers out here at all, and
from my point of view, it is a poor place. But we want
some birds and collected 20 today. Lumsden is quite happy
I think and has started treating people already, though
few have come in. One man had an awful abscess
on his foot, but after one dressing went off down to the
Mela. The wireless was much better and after 8.0 pm
was really good, but there are storms all round which
spoil any music coming through.

17th Halt. Tobgye came up today. It is very nice to
see him again, just his usual cheery self. He brought
up some mail, and came with the Trashigang Jongpen.

SUMMARY:
Rain and an injured companion (Nyudup) force halts, while a man from H.H. delivers a large box of tinned supplies. Letters mention fishing in Ha and Richardson’s note that Ludlow should have little difficulty making a final visit to Tibet; little botanical progress is made despite searches with Pasang. Mail is sent to Kpong, Betty, H.H., and Wangmoo, and the party marches 7 miles to Dunkhar hoping for fine weather to reach Thu.

CONTENT:
there is another village close to. Rain again this evening.
5th May. Halt. A fine day, lovely morning, till 5.0 pm when the
rain came on again. No flowers, although we went high up
the hillside - open oak forest. But I must stay yet another
day as Nyudup has got a poisoned foot & can't walk. This
afternoon a man from H.H. arrived with a huge box (70 lbs)
of tinned things! I don't know how to stop him. We have all
we need here with us, & now he has sent nearly half as
much again. It is very very kind. Tobgye sent on a letter
from Ludlow to him, in which he describes the fishing in
Ha as quite wonderful. He also sends Richardson's latest
letter in which it seems there will be little difficulty in
Ludlow getting in his last visit to Tibet. That is a good thing
for Ludlow. With H.H.'s present came a mail from Kpong
13th April, but little news in my part of it. I hear H.H. has
sent on even more to Betty than to me. We must stop this
somehow.

6th May. Halt. Fine again up till 2.0 pm then clouded & some rain.
Pasang & I tried another direction this morning, but we failed
to find anything. The last week hasn't produced more than
15 specimens I believe. We must get on up. Mail to Kpong
& to Betty & H.H. & Wangmoo all go off tomorrow morning.

7th May. Dunkhar 7 miles. Another fine day. I just hope that we
will have three more fine days. It would make a lot of
difference could we but get into Thu or wherever it is we
are to stay on a fine day, when we can see where we
are going. From here we get some idea, but not much.

SUMMARY:
Notes a new rucksack carrier named Taphirk and heavy local demand for worm medicine and remedies for stomach and 'heart' complaints. On 12 May at Shamshering, after rain and mist, two messengers arrived (one from Wanguco and one from Lhumbe Dzongpen) while the writer awaited letters from Betty via Holt's man; strawberries and possibly raspberries were sought for dinner. On 13 May at Timyung Dzong, very short marches are described and Ngudup is blamed for misjudging distances.

CONTENT:
Taphirk, a rucksack carrier. He is a nice looking lad, and I think he will be useful. Here there is great demand for 'worm' medicine. Everyone has them, tape or round, usually the latter. Everyone also complains of 'heart' situated remarkably near the stomach, cured usually with stomach powder. A few have come for gonorrhoea, but not so many as one would have expected. How grand it will be eventually to get to a place we can expect food, flowers, and above all air. Here we have been shut in, in low, hot valleys. But there are only 5 more days of that now.

12th May. Shamshering. Last night rain, mist all today. Our fine weather is over for the winter, but it was lovely while it lasted, and made everything look very pretty. Back again in this place. The march only takes 4 1/2 hours, which means one is in by 9:30, and there are no flowers to collect or look for here. Two messengers have arrived - one from Wanguco, and another from Lhumbe Dzongpen. I hope for a third, the only one I want, which would be with letters from Betty, sent back by Holt's man who took her the box of stores. He should be back by now. As a change of diet, I am having strawberries for dinner, with raspberries if they can be found. The latter are really good, but we haven't seen any bushes near camp yet.

13th May. Timyung Dzong. 4 miles. Ngudup slipped up about these two marches. He told me that from Dumahan to Lhumbe was for Bhutanese more than 2 days march. So I thought 3 for us would be just right. Yesterday we were in at 9:30, today at 7:15! And tomorrow we should be in by 7:15 too I think, as we can see the Dzong. What a waste of good time in the foulest of

SUMMARY:
Notes on Codonopsis subsimplex and several Primula species, correcting earlier identifications to P. bracteosa, with collecting of P. Boothii seed and roots and observations on leech altitude. Messages arrived from Domkhar and Bumthang, and the party proceeded 5 miles to Dhomkhar where they received an army reception with bands.

CONTENT:
88

Codonopsis subsimplex 3469
ridge to the north to a hill called on the map Kampojohn 13800'.

P. bhutanica 3468
Close to the pass there is lots of P. Boothii 3468, & I took some seed, & roots. I now see that I was mistaken in thinking the Mara Chu one & the Lamse La one P. Boothii. They must both be P. bracteosa. Further on, we came across a great deal

P. obliqua 3470
of P. obliqua, the yellow form, & also of really magnificent

P. sikkimensis 3471
P. sikkimensis, with very fine flowers, well over 40 in a head. Barring these, there was nothing of much interest. Leeches, I am sorry to say, go up to 13500 in this area, but there were very few.

22nd July. A lovely day, with a strong E wind & big cumulus clouds gradually coming up. We were rather lazy, & only collected & packed roots of P. Boothii today. More people came
presents
up with presents & messages from Domkhar & Bumthang.

To
23rd July. Dhomkhar. 5 miles. BP. 204.8° Temp. 64° Time 5.0pm. Ht. 4000ft
Picea likiangensis 3473
A fine day, with only a little rain in the evening. We started off late, about 6.30 & walked down the first 2 miles, where we were met by a pony & tea. Then on till we were met by the
reception
Army, all dressed up in very smart khaki drill. They played us in with their three bands, a pipe band, fifes & bugles. All were

SUMMARY:
The diarist travels from Lenda toward Lhapso Dzong amid transport difficulties and an uncooperative headman, but later receives help from a lama deputy at Lhapso Dzong. Mules arrive tired, Tamchen returns to Ludlow with Yusum mules, and an unusual halo phenomenon is observed and noted. Weather shifts from rain to fine conditions with some storms and hail.

CONTENT:
4th May Lenda. There was a good deal of rain last night, but it cleared up in the morning, though storms are all round now in the evening. I had sent Mond out here to arrange transport & found him waiting ½ m out of Lenda with a tale of woe. The headman said he would do nothing without the lama Dzongpen's permission, & the latter demanded 15 sang a pony, otherwise he would produce nothing at all. He refused everything. However I'm glad to say that the muleteers agreed to come on to Lhapso Dz, but said 2 days would be necessary. There is an unpleasant feeling of noncooperation here, & obviously some chalaki going on somewhere. There is no dzing here at all, & someone has been getting at Mond. But the headman is not helpful at all. He won't provide grain. Eggs are produced at 5 sho each soon. I'll be glad to get on tomorrow & to get to Lhapso.

5th May. Lhapso Dzong. A fine day & very beautiful, with cumulus clouds above. In the evening we had some rain storms round about. There was a little hail. Mond went to see the Dzongpen, who is not here however. He has left a lama 'tsap', who has given us all we wanted — given or promised to give. He seems a good man & very helpful. The mules were obviously tired & had rather a struggle to get in here at all. Some were not in till 6.5pm.

6th May. Halt. Tamchen went off back to Ludlow today with our Yusum mules. At 10.0 am I noticed the extraordinary system of halos as drawn on the opposite page. The biggest halo is, I imagine, another of those which I noticed in 1925 or 1926 & reported to the R. Met. Society, who told me what it was & what caused it. It is apparently very unusual & as far as I remember, they said it had only been reported 38 times. At that time the curious ovate shaped halo was absent. It was a clear bright morning, but soon very thin & very high cloud appeared almost as a veil in the blue sky and then the halos were seen. It remained fine, but clouded over after 12.0 midday. Everyone here very helpful, & we hope to be off tomorrow without trouble.

SUMMARY:
The diarist reports improved weather, collects many Lilium nepalense bulbs and seeds, and notes earlier seed loss of Morina on the Pelela. Pasang and Yundru return with valuable Primula and Lychnis collections, are paid, and depart for Bumthang; the party travels from Ritang to Samtegang and then to Wangdipotrang, noting road conditions and fine weather.

CONTENT:
17th Oct. Ritang. A perfect morning at last, but even so the clouds soon came up, and we are on the edge of very heavy rain this evening, but not in it. No sign up till 4.0 pm of Pasang and Yundru, which is a little worrying. We got good bulbs of Lilium nepalense this morning, taking about 75 big size and 50 small, besides lots of seed. Nearly all the seed of the fine Morina on the Pelela had been eaten. Have everything very well arranged this time — unlike when Betty and I were here last.

18th Oct. Samtegang. Three things happened all at once last night, and only a short time before dark. First a mail came in, with letters up to 27 Sept from home. Then Pasang and Yundru came in with their seeds and plants to be written up and packed. At the same time heavy rain came on and the roof was hopelessly full of holes. So we had a lively hour straightening things out. Pasang got all that was wanted — plants of Primula umbratilis var. alba, P. uniflora, P. baronesii alba and P. baronesii. Besides these he got seed of Lychnis wardii, P. umbratilis var. alba and a few other good things. Their trip was certainly worth while. I paid Yundru Rs 175/- and they were off to Bumthang this morning. We left at 6.0 and got in at 1.30, but the mule was not in till after 3.0. I don't think the new road is bad at all, and it seems rather shorter than the old road. We had no seed to collect today, and saw no flowers. This was the first day when there was no rain and there didn't look as if there would be rain, at any rate anywhere down here. Away to the north there were some big clouds, but I think even there it would be fine, and we have now got to the fine weather — as usual, on October 18th.

19th October Wangdipotrang. Fine again of course and very hot on the 3000 ft drop down here. There is a lot of Luculia gratissima out among

SUMMARY:
Travel from Tongsa to Tashiling and Chendebi in misty, unsettled weather; brief collecting of Thalictrum and generally poor seed. Met the Dzongpon of Tongsa, received mail from Bumthang with letters from Betty and Taylor, and noted Maté’s arrival with a letter from Tongue and responsibility for the subsidy. Mentions Ludlow’s plant not ripe and that Pasang may have taken a hanging creeper.

CONTENT:
14th October. Tongsa. Rainy night & morning, very little sun today, but just no rain. Very unsettled yet. Left 6.30 arr 11.30. Met here the jovial Dzongpon of Tongsa, all arrangements excellent. We had nothing special to collect today, only took some more Thalictrum 19544. Yesterday Maté arrived in camp somewhat surprisingly, with a letter from Tongue. He was in charge of this year's subsidy, which means I suppose he was responsible for carrying a couple of lakhs of rupees. I would like now to see a few really nice clear days for a change. We used to say the 18 Oct was the first really good day, but that was further east. It looks as if it might be the same here this year.

15th Oct. Tashiling. Still thick mist, except for 2 very hot hours in the morning, when the sun was out. We got rather poor seed this morning. Ludlow's tree or shrub was not at all ripe, & we missed the hanging creeper with scarlet flowers. Perhaps Pasang has taken that. Early this morning a mail came back from Bumthang for us, with some of Betty's letters of 13-15 September & one from Taylor.

16th Oct. Chendebi. Rain at night & thick mist, once left in Tashiling this morning. Cleared up by 1.0 pm & may now remain fine I think. No excitement. We got quite good