Showing 32 results

SUMMARY:
At Yönpula the party marched through Pinus longifolia forest and noted Rhododendron arboreum in flower while searching near Yönpu La for a previously seen rhododendron, collecting seeds instead. Lumsden is mentioned, and several severe medical cases, including a badly burned elderly woman, were brought in for treatment at the 8000' camp.

CONTENT:
8

off, as we were a bit late - Lumsden taking too long
over his shave!

28th Feb. YÖNPULA. 8000' 7 miles. Yesterday & today the marches Pinus longifolia forest
have mostly been through forest of Pinus longifolia, with which the
southern hill faces are covered. The northern faces are mostly covered
with other evergreens, but have some pine too. There are still no Rhod arboreum
flowers to be seen except Rhododendron arboreum. Some of them were Yönpu La
lovely. I looked today to try & find the new rhod. seen on the 28 Feb
Yönpu La, but it was not in bloom. But we collected seeds Rhod maddenii 1141, 1142
of what may be it, taken from close to, if not the same Rhod arboreum 1143
bush. Lumsden's fame is spreading. In the evening Hemiphragma heterophylla 1144
yesterday the worst case of burning I've ever seen was brought Pieris filipes 1145
in on a stretcher from 8 miles away. She had had a fit
& fallen in the fire, both legs being horribly burnt. That
was 17 days ago so they are pretty fruity now. Poor old lady,
she was having an awful time. She will come on today
for more treatment. Several other awful cases were brought in
the last two days - all of a year or two's standing, & pretty
difficult to treat. It is very parky up here; there is no snow
but signs of it pretty close to. Yesterday's camp was a

SUMMARY:
Notes abundant Primula filipes along the path east from the chorten at the south end of the pass, and records a single primula (1147) likely P. Boothii found by the Tsongpen east of Yongpu La among waterfalls, though no more were located. Mentions a badly burned lady in poor condition and hopes Lumsden can help. Also reports shooting a barking deer for meat and enjoying views of the snows.

CONTENT:
10

Prim. filipes The specimens taken here were along the path which leads East from the Chorten at the S. end of the pass. Anywhere along that path where a small nala crosses the path, there is P. filipes. I went along a mile, and found it every few hundred yards. The lady had a very bad night with her burnt legs. I hope Lumsden will manage to do something for her. They were 17 days unattended, so are in an awful state, and the smell is really bad. I went out twice in the afternoon saw a barking deer, which I shot at 40 yards with a .410 lethal bullet. Its flesh will provide a very good change from the everlasting moonghi.

1st March Halt. Saw nothing in the morning, but Tsongpen
Yongpu La went up the hill E of the Yongpu La and came down a side
Prim. gracilipes 1147 nala where he found a beautiful primula (1147) which
Rho. grande 1148 I think must be P. Boothii. I immediately went there, but could find no more. It was only seen in a very small area among waterfalls, on mossy rocks in the shade on a south face. It is heliotrope with a greenish yellow centre and the best flowers were 1 inch across, or more. We have lovely views of the snows each morning awaits

SUMMARY:
A perfect day after earlier delays from missing yaks and money wrangles in Tsona; the party moved north over a pass to Tre with easy gradients. Lumsden attempted but missed a gazelle. Tre is noted as having 73 houses, and a visit toward Thang to look for blackbirds resulted in a difficult chase without success.

CONTENT:
morning. It cleared up gradually and midday has been lovely, but there are still clouds about, and more snow to come. Yaks did not turn up, so we had to stay the day here again.

Tsona to Tre
16th April. Tre B.P. 186.4 Temp. 44° Time 4.0pm. Approx ht. 14272 ft. An absolutely perfect day, without a cloud in the morning, then some wonderful cumulus clouds later on. Yaks of course turned up late, and there was the usual unpleasant wrangle about money and all sorts of little things for which Tsona is famous. We finally got all but 12 yaks off at 11.0 am, the last bunch leaving some hours later. Road leads north over the plain, then into a valley beyond that which leads to Mago. An easy ascent for 3 miles to the pass, and a very gentle descent of another three miles on the north side. Lumsden tried his hand again at gazelle, but missed. In at 3.0 pm.

Tre counts 73 houses
Thang, our last year first halt beyond Tsona was under a mile down the valley we camped in. So I went down to see if I could find any blackbirds which were there last year. I did, and was led a hell of a chase by them, missing one once, and failing to get near any others. But I found a

SUMMARY:
At Tso Burnag Lake Camp, the writer describes fir- and rhododendron-covered hillsides, notes deer sign, and mentions Gulla suffering severe pain after Lumsden treated his poisoned foot. The writer and Lumsden bathe in the cold lake at high altitude. On 16th August, they halt and search hillsides east of the lakes, find no new plants, and the writer briefly encounters a herd of burhel without success.

CONTENT:
neither so big nor so interesting. Hillsides well covered with fir for 500 ft. then rhododendron. Many crenophilum about, and much deer, and there are said to be kuling also. Gulla had a rotten day today. His foot is poisoned, Lumsden cut it 2 days ago, putting in a local anaesthetic in a septic wound. The result is awful pain to poor old Gulla. L. has made a mess of everything he has done in that way, and can only give iodine with safety. This afternoon, as it was sunny, Lumsden and I had a bathe in the lake, which shelves down pretty quickly just 10 yards in front of our camp. It was cold of course, though not as bad as I would have thought. The temp of the water was 51°. Swimming at 13000' is hard work, and I only went out 10 yards or so. It was lovely, especially when out!

Tso Burnag Lake Camp.
16th August. Halt. Tried the hillside to the E of the lakes. But they held nothing new, and the only gentian in any numbers was G. stictantha (?? Przewalskii), which was not yet out. I walked almost into a herd of 20 burhel, but had my eyes on a cliff. They were off at once, though I just had time to change ammunition and have two snapshots at them without doing any damage.

SUMMARY:
A 5-mile march to Trimo is recorded with weather, elevation, and route notes along the river bank and a bridge to the village. Ahmad Sheikh develops a hard cough and fever; the writer administers aspirin and quinine despite Lumsden. Botanical collecting includes rhododendrons and primulas (specimens 1296–1299) near a side valley and marshy fields.

CONTENT:
also huge flocks of snow pigeon, out of which we have shot over 30, which does not seem to make any difference.

Trimo 9th April. Trimo. 5 miles. B.P. 192.6° Temp. 45° Time 4:30 pm Approx ht. 10722' Path up the R. bank for 2 1/2 miles quite good, then over a bridge and a pretty steep ascent, easing off the last mile to the village - consisting of a few scattered houses, and some cultivation. It rained hard all night but cleared up and only drizzled during the day till 3:00 pm, when rain came on hard again. Ahmad Sheikh has developed the same cough and fever as L. and I have had. Ignoring Lumsden, I have given him 2 aspirin and quinine 3 times a day. The cough is awfully hard and painful. Took one new rhododendron on the

Rhod. wallichii 1296, fulgens 1297 way up, pinkish with rather a rounded leaf, and found a very nice one up here just in flower (1297). It also has a rounded leaf with heavy tomentum on the under surface.

P. atrodentata 1298, P. denticulata 1299 Here primula 1298 is growing in masses up the little side valley. ? Erythrocarpa is also in masses in open marshy fields. But so far I have found nothing more.

SUMMARY:
At Trimo, excursions towards the Po La yielded Primula obliqua and several rhododendrons; delays with kit led to a decision to wait until the 12th before moving on. Lumsden shot a serow at close range and later attempted to bag a barking deer, while otherwise little of interest was found.

CONTENT:
Trimo, 10th April Halt. Trimo. A fine day at last. I went up towards
the Po La with Sherriff, but found nothing more than 1278
[P. atrodentata] Primula which is in profusion, till we turned back. Then
[Prin. strumosa 1300] found P. obliqua (1300) yellow form, coming up beside the snow.

Dansey found nothing also, but Ludlow found some
rhododendrons, some of which are very nice, especially a small
[Rho. tsariense 1303] orange-flowered one (1303). The sun shone the whole day till the
[R. wallichii 1302, 1306; R. argipeplum 1304; R. arboreum 1305, 1307, 1308; R. pendulum 1309] evening. Our kit has not yet all arrived, but the last of
it is promised by this evening. Two men went to Tsoma
today over a ridge. I was all for starting tomorrow
morning, but Ludlow wants to wait, so do the coolies,
so we have decided to wait till the 12th & hope for the
best in the way of weather. The monsoon can't be here
yet, & there should be a break soon. There are some serow
here which feed in the fields, & we got news of one yesterday. Lumsden
walked down to 40 yds of it & shot it with a .22 - just like that. We
tell him it won't always be as easy as that.

Trimo 11th April Halt. Another grand day. But we got nothing of interest
[Prim. wallichiana] from flowers or birds. Lumsden was told of a barking deer in
the crops this morning & tried to bag it too. But it went

SUMMARY:
Entry dated 15 February 1936 records logistics for the expedition: Lumsden joined in January, suffered bouts of illness after dinners, and brought numerous stores including medical supplies. Kit and stores were dispatched via Bombay and Pindi to Ranguja; the party left Srinagar on 9 February by car and lorry, reaching Tret and then Pindi before catching a train.

CONTENT:
15th Feb. 1936. This year we have a much bigger bandobast
than before. Lumsden came out on 16th Jan. to join us, &
came to Srinagar till we were ready to be off. He gave us
rather a fright several times by getting ill. After any
dinner party almost, he had a bad attack of sickness &
diarrhoea, but seems to have got over that now. He brought
out with him 14 cases of stores from Harrods - a trial
this year. They were all beautifully packed in 5-ply boxes
weighing between 50 - 70 lbs each. He also brought 8 boxes
of medical stores, valued at £70 odd. This was much more
than we had expected, maybe far too much. Most of
our kit was sent ahead, all home stores direct from
Bombay to Ranguja. Other stores from Spencers & our tents
from Pindi. All reached Ranguja about the 1st Feb. We
left Srinagar on 9th morning in a hired car, with
kit & servants in a lorry. Reached Tret the first night, &
Pindi early next morning, catching the express at 11.40.
Our 2nd class compartment had not been reserved, as there
was only one on the train. The result was that we had

SUMMARY:
A previously collected Sikkimensis form proved to be nivalis with only a few doubtful capsules, and Pinto obtained 150 sheets of paper to allow packing. At Sanga Choling on the 25th and 26th of September, the diarist visited a jovial head official who provided lunch, hosted lunch and tea gatherings with local officials and ladies (including an old lama), and noted Lumsden's sulking likely due to prolonged high altitude.

CONTENT:
165

Sikkimensis form which I had taken before seed were ripe near Shirab camp, turned out to be a nivalis, of which he got a few doubtful capsules. Pinto in some way of his own got 150 sheets of paper, so I can now pack everything up.

Sanga Choling
25th Sept. Halt. A good deal of rain at night & through the day. Called on the head official here, a jovial man who gave us a large enough excellent lunch. He ate little, but drank copious draughts of chang.

Sanga Choling
26th Sept. Halt. Fine most of the day, some thunder. Had a lunch party for three officials, followed by a tea party for three ladies. Both were quite successful I think, an old lama being the guest who enjoyed himself most. I produced some darts, they got quite excited throwing them. The old lady, mother of the two girls, was in good form, & although she ate little, she was thoroughly happy. She has been awfully kind to us, always sending along small things, providing a man for our mail & doing everything she could to make us comfortable. Her daughters too, especially this Incarnation, the unmarried one. In the evening Lumsden rather flew off the handle: he had hardly uttered a word all day & was obviously sulking, & at dinner let go. The cause was probably chiefly prolonged high altitude, mixed with

SUMMARY:
After descending in snowy conditions, the writer reached Sakden and collected Gentiana amoena and other material, preparing seeds to send via Trashigong. The following day they halted at Sakden to process seeds and flowers; Lumsden treated patients and cut the writer’s hair, while Ludlow improved the camp with a fireplace in the dining room amid cold nighttime temperatures.

CONTENT:
Sakden 13th March.
Prim. white 1215. P. gracilipes 1216

... in flower down to about 12,500, when it gave out, was replaced by 1166 again. I collected a bit of ground which had a lot of Gentiana amoena on it. No seeds were left in the capsules, but they must be in the ground with the living sprouting roots. I will send them by air if the post leaves Trashigong on our arrival there. I have put it in a tin with a hundred or more holes. Similarly I have tinned some of 1166. There was a lot of snow on the way down. I reached Sakden at 2:00 pm, to find Ludlow and Lumsden very fit. Ludlow had some food birds again, and flowers much the same as I collected.

14th March. Halted Sakden. I only went out for three or four hours this morning, and have been doing up seeds and flowers since. Lumsden has been very busy with patients. However he helped to cut my hair with clippers, and made a good job of his first effort. Here there is the usual village built for us, but Ludlow has added a fireplace in the dining room. It is very fine and a great boon. It is cold at night here. The temp. inside my room 3 ft from the ground was 23° last night. The days are

[Margin notes: Gentiana amoena, Sakden, Juniperus recurva, Tsuga dumosa 1180, Rhod. cavaleriei-florum 1181 1183, Rhod. arboreum 1182]

SUMMARY:
Describes a short, very hot march up the Gamri Chu from Rungzyung, noting plentiful Pinus longifolia and flowering Bauhinia variegata below Trashigong, along with Desmodium tiliaefolium, Woodfordia fruticosa, violets, and a spiraea. Mentions a notably well-built village of about ten houses, and records Lumsden’s view that the sores seen on locals last year were due to the Damdim fly (Simulium damnosum).

CONTENT:
7th March. Rungzyung. A short but very hot march
[Pinus longifolia] up the Gamri Chu. Pinus longifolia still plentiful particularly
north of the river. A beautiful Bauhinia tree was in
[Bauhinia variegata 1154] full bloom below Trashigong some of the way up here,
where side nalas with water come in. Also a pretty
[Desmodium tiliaefolium 1155] leguminous shrub with purple flowers with a green
patch in the centre of the keel, (1155). A queer red
[Woodfordia fruticosa 1150] flowered bush too was quite numerous, some in flower
with no leaves, some with flowers over & leaves out.
[Viola 1158, 1159] (1150). Here violets, 1158 & 1159, a spiraea 1157, &
the big tree "flower of the forest" are about the only
things in flower. The locals have built a most
magnificent 'village' here of about 10 houses all close
together, really the finest effort I have ever seen in
Bhutan, & that is saying a good deal. Lumsden thinks
that the awful sores we saw on so many people
here last year are due to the Damdim fly. That fly is
numerous even now, but does not seem to have so
much vim in its sting as in the wet weather. The
fly rejoices in the name 'Simulium damnosum'.