Showing 59 results

SUMMARY:
The diarist records plant collections and observations, noting poor weather but good flowers, and a promising valley toward the Chachu La with yak shelters and a large lake. While halted in camp, they receive mail from Betty via Wangmo’s servant to Bumthang and send replies; they also collect the first seeds of the year. On 3rd July they make a long day trip to Tolegang, pressing 18 specimens including Primula waddellii.

CONTENT:
1st July: Saxifraga brunoniana 19270.
Rhod. calderianum 19277.
Streptopus simplex 19280.
Cardiocrinum giganteum 19284.

...for a few nice things, the best being what I think is a Buddleia, but if so, it's a much bigger flower than B. colvilei (19272) which it somewhat resembles. Lil. giganteum is also common down the valley, and Briggsia (B. muscicola 19266), on a tree, is rather nice. A miserable day for weather, but a good day for flowers.

2nd July. Halt. In camp, and fine in the morning after a night of very heavy rain indeed. From what I saw of the valley towards the Chachu La, it is good. But one would have to spend a night or two up there. There are two yak herds' shelters, one at 13500, and one above 14500 just near the biggest lake I have seen in Bhutan. That would be a good place. There are magnificent cliffs all around, and I did get two nice saxs from the only cliffs I visited. But primulas, other than calderiana and umbratilis were scarce. P. umbratilis is common at 14500 and rather paler. I saw one white one, and hope it may mean that real white ones are close. If we can't get good places in Haubung, we must return there. A mail from Betty came in on 30th night, very surprisingly, sent by Wangmo's servant to Bumthang. So I have written letters to Betty and Wangmo, to go off today if possible — or at any rate tomorrow. We collected the first of this year's seed — P. atrodentata. This is always the first to seed, and unless one takes it soon, it is likely to be eaten by yaks.

3rd July. Halt. Went to Tolegang, and had a day with hardly any rain, but a long one. Left at 6.0 am and back at 5.0 pm rather tired, but with 18 flowers (19330) in the press, some good ones amongst them, including Primula waddellii, which I had forgotten was so very pink and different in colour from P. tenuiloba. There can be no mistaking the two. After reaching the lake, we turned up right...

SUMMARY:
Relentless monsoon rain at Haeth leads to a day of packing flowers and preparing to return to Pangotang, with a brief outing to collect mulch and attempt monal photography/hunting in poor conditions. The party then marches back to Pangotang in continuous rain, finds dwarf rhododendrons in bloom, and notes frustration that Pasang hesitates to press specimens.

CONTENT:
12th June - Haeth. This is undoubtedly monsoon. It still has not stopped raining, the rain has been very hard indeed. At any rate it must bring out the flowers, that is the best way of looking at it. I'm not going out today, but packing up all my flowers there are, & getting ready to leave tomorrow, back to Pangotang by the same way as we came. I fear we will have about the same view as when we came too - in the mist the whole way. I wonder how Betty will manage this weather, though Lloyd said she has a big comfortable tent.

Later. Still no let up even by tonight, it looks like going on for a month. I did go out eventually, & picked up some mixed mulch. Then after that I took out Tundra - P. & took my gun camera with telephoto lens in. We were after monal, & I should have got 2 quite nice pictures of cock monal provided the light was good enough, & my focus correct; both were difficult to judge & the rain very hard. I have never been near monal so long before. I had a shot but missed unfortunately, as P particularly wanted some meat. I think I eat less than anyone in that line here, though I have had a couple of tins of bully beef.

13th June. Pangotang. Back again to our old camp, but on a soaking wet day; rain without pause again all the day. And although the dwarf rhodos were out now, still the march never seemed interesting, & we got nothing. I sometimes wonder how what I have missed, just because Pasang has no idea of what he sees, & is afraid of putting something in the press which may not be wanted. I've told him many times not to think of that, but put in the press anyway. The worst that can...

SUMMARY:
After a 10-mile march to Menjisi in windy weather, the writer receives letters from Betty via Trinley and notes serious delays to H.H.'s stores sent from Lhuntse, affecting travel plans to Bumthang. Kapo is treating many syphilis patients with limited drugs, while reports mention Tshering doing well, Hicks being tired, the finding of P. Normaniana, a planned route via Ungar and Pimi, concerns from Tobgye about the Treaty and the Maharaj Kumar, and news from Norman regarding a problematic sale to Mintri.

CONTENT:
15th May Menjisi. 10 miles. Wet in the night, but fine today locally and with a very strong wind. I had a long talk with Kapo yesterday, who came in the morning and again for dinner. He gave me a letter from Betty, brought by Wangmo's Trinley. Incidentally H.H.'s large box of stores, sent off from Lhuntse on 4th to Betty, had only got 1 day's march from Lhuntse by May 11th. I don't know what had happened. That has held up other things too, as H.H.'s man cannot return to Bumthang till he has an answer from Betty. Kapo seems to be busy with his syphilis patients, who are a great many. But he finds difficulty in keeping them in Lhuntse. Also he cannot get other drugs for H.H. for other diseases. I gave him what I could spare. It was grand to hear again from Betty, though her letter was written some time ago. They seem to have done fairly well, and have also found P. Normaniana. Tshering doing well, and Hicks seemingly tired. I hope he can stand it all. We left at 5:15 this morning and got in about 10:30. This is a much better division of the marches - Lhuntse, Menjisi - Ungar - Pimi, and I must tell Betty to do the same. We passed another dak today and took ours out on Betty's unopened. This was a bigger one and was sent from K'pong on 29th April. I had several letters from Tobgye, worried about the Treaty and also the Maharaj Kumar's behaviour to him. He has not been at all kind, and his behaviour towards Tobgye is disgusting and disgraceful. I hope now that he will not get Kaysang, who is far too good for him. Norman's letter says that he is off, and he also thinks there may be difficulty about selling Crocket to Mintri, who is a slimy individual. Among other things sent to me is a will which I witnessed many years ago. It is sent in original, and I have to

SUMMARY:
The writer treats a yakherd's child who broke his arm after falling from a sheep, applying a splint and dressing blisters. On 15 July they halt in thick mist and rain; Pasang and Gyundon also stay, men arrive from Pangstang with mules, there is no letter from Betty, and Ngudup cannot obtain information on the route. On 16 July they march to Namdating in persistent mist and rain via the Kyikyi Tsom La, descending between lakes at the head of the Chachuka valley towards the Tsangpo valley.

CONTENT:
to the Drolma Shöki La. It is much colder now than a month ago, and they will be pretty chilly when they come in. A woman came down from the yakherds upstream, with her child aged about 6. The poor kid had been riding a sheep (!) and had fallen off and broken his arm - about 3 days ago. It had been tied up with some moss, very tightly, which made things worse by strangling the arm and causing large blisters. I don't know what they had put on. I doubt if I did much good, but I put a splint on and dressed the blisters.

15th July. Halt. Thick mist and rain. Stayed in camp again, so did Pasang and Gyundon. We are all tired of this place, and will be glad to move tomorrow morning over the pass leading to the Tsangpo valley. Several men have come up from Pangstang, with I think the Druk Locha's mules, to graze above here. I hoped anyone coming up now might have brought a letter from Betty, but there is none. All coolies have turned up this evening. I still can't get any information about where we are going to. Someone must know, but Ngudup either won't or can't extract any useful information - the same difficulty as one always has on first going to a place.

16th July. Namdating. From 5:45 to 1:30 pm. Mist all day, rain on top. This was a queer march, and I'm not quite sure yet where we are. First we went up the valley opposite camp; over the side to the south to the next valley, down into that and steep up again to the Kyikyi Tsom La. The first pass would be about 15,000' and the Kyikyi Tsom La about 15,500. Then down rock scree and grass hillside to between two fine lakes at the head of what I had previously seen was the Chachuka valley. This is the one I went up on 1st July; the lower lake was the one I just

SUMMARY:
The diarist notes many migratory birds from Tibet and poor seed results except likely from Marlung or passes to the west. On 21 Sept., they remain in camp while Yundon and Pasang collect Primula caveana and a fine woolly Phandra from Tamagorra Nala, returning late and exhausted, with Yundon suffering a bad headache. On 22 Sept., amid cold wind and intermittent rain and sun, letters arrive from H.H. and mail from Hicks and Ludlow, but none from Betty.

CONTENT:
This, in the same way as I did with Mec. simplicifolia. Hope it turns out well. The whole scene is too big for a cine-camera. There are a good many birds now on migration from Tibet. I saw hundreds of wagtails and two Afghan redstarts today. And I must have seen 20 Ibisbills, but they aren't on migration though. We did not do well with seed again, and certainly most of our seed this year will come from Marlung or over the passes to the West.

21st Sept. Halt. Rain at night, but a lovely day of sun and cumulus clouds. I stayed in camp to deal with yesterday's seeds, while Yundon and Pasang went up Tamagorra Nala to the NE to get P. caveana and the 8 plants of white caveana marked by Yundon when we were here before. They have just returned at 6:00 pm when I was beginning to be a bit anxious about them. Boulder scree is dangerous: one can very easily make a false step and have a nasty fall. It was too late for me to examine any seed brought, but they have got all the white P. caveana, and another basket of the usual caveana as no seed is ripe. They also found the very fine Phandra which is woolly all over, and which we took twice at Marlung, but never saw in very good flower. Today they have brought both seed and fine flower. It is a beautiful thing. I have not been able to see if the seed is good or not. Otherwise just a Sax or a Saussurea, and a few odd very small primula roots - perhaps P. cervicina or P. walshii, which I may take too. As they have had such a long day, we will not go out tomorrow, but I will do the seed and get the roots properly packed. Yundon returned with a very bad head, which he said he had most of the day.

22nd Sept. Halt. Stayed in camp. Rain and sun very cold indeed, with a strong wind. Letters came in from H.H. with food etc and a mail from Hicks, Ludlow and Kalimpong, but in some strange way no letters from Betty. Hers must have

SUMMARY:
A local messenger is sent over the Sebri La to Charkakora to arrange a meeting at Pangkar. After heavy rain, the Kuomo Chu bridge is washed away; two Tibetans visit from Tsari Chikchar, Pasang departs for Julu to collect mice, and Ngudup recounts a recent landslip that killed 11 people. The following day brings more rain, little of botanical interest, and hopes for a letter from Betty.

CONTENT:
by sending a local over the Sebri La to Charkakora. I said then back in four days, so as to meet me at Pangkar. A man agreed at the great cost of Rs 7/- + the chance of a tip! So off he goes early tomorrow.

28th April. Halt. We had an absolute deluge of rain last night till a late hour, & that finished the rain for a little, as today has been perfect. But the bridge over the Kuomo Chu was washed away early this morning. It is as well we did our tour on the other side yesterday. The bridge even then was very shaky, & I knew it would soon go. Got nothing of interest today. Two Tibetans came into camp, & one recognized me. They had come from Tsari Chikchar, & one had been a coolie with me round the "Kingkor". They remembered our last visit quite well. Pasang goes off tomorrow to Julu, for the mice there, & back on 30th. We tried up a very steep side valley to the west today. I thought Ngudup was nervous all the time, & he told me this afternoon that that valley had come down in a landslip only 5 or 6 years ago, smashed all the houses & killed 11 people. After last night's rain he expected a repetition it seems.

29th April. Halt. A fine morning, suddenly clouding over, & raining by 1.0 pm. Pasang went off at 6.0 & I went up more than half way with him. There was hardly anything to be seen, certainly other than we had already collected. Rhod. Lindleyi very common everywhere, as is Magnolia Campbellii. I fear Pasang will get very little. Betty should by now have got my letter, & I hope will send one back tomorrow. It will be interesting to hear how they got on. While

SUMMARY:
The author reports rapid wear of shoes, sends mail, and has Pasang and Mundra go to Shasjebang, expecting their return on 1 July; letters from Betty include Chuni’s quip about B.J.’s impending child. On 29 June a halt is kept with some rain; photos are developed, stores rearranged ahead of moving toward Bumthang, Lhakpa washes clothes, fleas are dealt with using DDT, and observations are made on late flowering and snow conditions near Me La.

CONTENT:
shoes, I calculated on a life of 6 weeks easy. Actually they are through in 3 weeks or even less, and better than the cheap Bata muck costing Rs 2/- each. Before the war Dunlop tennis shoes lasted 2 months or more on these trips. Mail went off early in the morning, Pasang & Mundra go down to Shasjebang to get what they can, return on 1st July. Among the letters Betty sent me was one from Chuni. She had heard that B.J.'s new wife was to have a baby, B.J. being I suppose 70 now. Chuni's remark was "Is there a Lost Horizon in the Isle of Wight?"

29th June Halt. A fine day right up till 2.0pm, after which a good deal of rain. Stayed in camp again, to the great showing up of our collection. In two days we have got 2 specimens only! Pasang & Mundra went off to Shasjebang. I developed photos, which are good, re-arranged stores, as we won't come back here till just before going to Bumthang, & Lhakpa washed some clothes. Since we've been away, other people have used our hut, so it seems to me it is full of fleas. At any rate I have collected a great many today, & have had to cover myself with DDT. I still cannot think why this place - indeed Bhutan generally - is so late flowering. The Lola Smith side was free of snow except for a very small bit at the top, in April. Betty talks of walking over 1 1/2 miles of snow to the Me La on June 10th. The Me La is higher, but not all that. One is 13500 & the other about 14500'. Here we have not come across much snow, but there is no doubt that flowers on

SUMMARY:
In heavy rain at Yonpu La, the party travels and, at Yusu’s request, writes to Neoli Basu to arrange bullock carts if vehicles cannot reach Darang Mela; they are lent mules to Darang and find lodging near a new lhakang built by Dopala. Local requests for medical aid are noted, and Betty falls ill with stomach trouble, likely food-related.

CONTENT:
we may be able to send paludrine later on. They also want injections for syphilis. Tobgye sent someone to Darang Mela once that was very popular & they say did a great deal of good. I doubt if it did permanent good, but it was much appreciated. We are being lent 3 mules to Darang, & everything else we suggest is done at once.

3rd June Yonpu La Heavy rain all night again & rain most of the day today. Left 7.30: in at 10.30. Yusu apparently thinks the rains have started, as he asked us to write another letter to Neoli Basu asking for arrangements to be made for bullock carts if the lorry or cars cannot get through to Darang Mela. This we have done. We were surprised to find up here a big new Hlakang, built by Dopala 3 years ago. We are housed in a small but clean quarter inside the compound, with another as cookhouse. It is very convenient. Betty has fallen sick with some pretty bad tummy trouble, worse than she has had since we started the trip. I hope it was only caused by some hot chang regg - a special dish made for us - which she had last night. I hope it is not any kind of infection from the millions of flies of the last week. Here there are few flies anyway, & we have got rid of good many bugs, fleas & ticks. If she gets better quickly we should not have much trouble till we leave Dmanjin now.

SUMMARY:
Diary entries describe uncertainty about coolies, plans to reach Bumthang before Betty departs Denchung, and subsequent marches from Amhlungnang over Jü La and Goktang La to Gorzam Camp above Dhur. Noted were heavy rains, a halt day, and rich alpine flora including Meconopsis species, Primula hopeana, a high-altitude iris, and the discovery of a new lily during a fine day interrupted by a storm.

CONTENT:
stuff. We are not now sure if our coolies will come tonight or not. It will be bad if we can't get off tomorrow, but we still can reach Bumthang before Betty, who leaves Denchung on tomorrow. Quite a fine day for such a soaking place as the Bhomali is.

20th July. Amhlungnang. 4 m S of Jü La. A fine day. A long march from 5.45 to 2.30, over two high passes, 14,500 + 15,500 about, and rain very heavy all day. Danong had been over the whole place ten days before, so we were not likely to find much again. Mec. bella very common and growing on open grassy slopes as well as cliffs. Mec. horridula also very common, and a fine colour, often favouring marshy very wet places, in a queer way. M. sinuata also common. P. Hopeana with a red tube, either white or yellow, in great numbers. Down here, there is an Iris, the first high altitude iris I've seen yet. I should think the area is good for a pretty thorough examination, but we will have no time for that. The passes are called the GOKTANG LA and the JÜ LA, the latter being the higher.

21st July. Halt. Stayed in camp. Very wet day.

22nd July. GORZAM Camp 4 m above Dhur. This was a very fine day altogether. It was misty and damp when we left at 6.0 am, but cleared up and we saw blue sky and sun for some hours. It was fine till 3.30 when a terrific storm of rain came on, half an hour before we reached camp. I don't know how long the march was: it was a good long way, but there were plenty of flowers, and good ones, and we did not notice how far it was. I started with a yellow iris, but the pick of the bunch came about halfway, with the finding of a new lily. How lucky this was can be guessed when one thinks that only one flower was seen, and that that happened to be almost exactly where I stopped to put flowers in the press. We would almost...

SUMMARY:
After an early start the party reached Weitang, noting Primula bellidifolia in bud, P. crispata, and particularly P. calderiana in white, yellow, and hybrid forms, while other expected species were absent, possibly due to heavy yak grazing. News arrived that the Druk Locha (Bumthang Representative) from Lhasa is en route to Bumthang and expected shortly; the diarist recalls meeting him previously in Lhasa with Betty.

CONTENT:
Signs of clearing and we left at 5:30 for Weitang. Weitang at last! The day turned out to be lovely, but again we saw nothing of interest. I did at last see P. bellidifolia in bud, and P. crispata was there too. But no gracilipes, no whitei, no macrophylla, or macrocarpa, glabra or puella. Either none of them exist here, or yaks eat them all. Perhaps there are so many yaks that we will find this area very poor indeed. It almost looks like it. The only interesting thing was to find P. Calderiana becoming more common in a white or yellow form than in its true violet purple form. I took a good many variations, and called them P. Calderiana, hybrid white, hybrid powder blue violet, hybrid yellow, and P. strumosa. I am sure that is what it is, and had the same times in central Bhutan in 1937 at a later date and more profuse. The great news today is that the Druk Locha (Bumthang Representative) in Lhasa, is on his way to Bumthang, will be here tomorrow or next day. He has 8 mounted people, 11 in all and 120 animals of kit, stores etc. It is the same Locha as was there when Betty and I were in Lhasa, so I must meet him and talk to him I suppose. He was always very pleasant to us in Lhasa. His son—the spoilt brat as we called