Showing 30 results

SUMMARY:
The writer considers westward routes toward Weitsang without recrossing the Rudu La, noting options from Serdua or via Guru Rinpoche's place toward Bumthang, while describing severe insect troubles. On 9th May they start early, climb to the Sergung La (10,027'), reach Tin, then push on toward Tomtom over the difficult Timunggang pass in snow, where a laden coolie falls and injures his head.

CONTENT:
the path to Tashina anyway. There is a lot of bracken here, and any number of fleas in it. Horseflies and midges also very bad, especially midges. They are a particularly nasty little insect. When this trouble was reported this morning, I began to wonder what I had better do, if I could not get to Tomtom, and thought of going to the Me La to join the others. There is no other road to the east, and none to Singhi Dzong direct. Last night Ngudup was told that there were at least 2 roads going westward. Both go from Serdua, one more or less direct to Weitsang in 7 days or so. The other goes to Guru Rinpoche's place of some sort, where there is said to be a very big 'thang' or plain, and so on from there towards Bumthang, but to the north a bit. Neither is said now to be unduly difficult, unless there is very heavy rain. So it looks as if after all — if we can get the coolies — we may get through to Weitsang, without going back over the Rudu La, which I do not want to do.

9th May. Tin. But not just Tin like that — far from it. The coolies came alright, and we were off at 5.15, up the steepest path ever to the Sergung La at 10,027'. That is 2500' up. Then on, on an atrocious path, up and down through dense forest to Tin. Here we waited a bit, and some coolies suggested going on to Tomtom. As they suggested this, I agreed, and so off we went again, the same path, up and down logs and cliffs to another pass Timunggang, perhaps a mile on, but an hour's very hard work, and up to about 11,000'. Then on again into snow, always cold but not very much further. The path was almost impossible for laden coolies, and one fell down with his load and bashed his head.

SUMMARY:
Heavy traffic on the route is attributed to HH’s fair in Bumthang beginning on the 7th, alongside plans for reforms such as cash payment for work. At Sumitang, the party had fine weather but a delayed start (likely due to Ngudup); the writer prefers Changchuk managing transport, and with most seed still unripe, Pasang will return in a month to collect target species from beyond Sharitang and around Bumthang/Kyikyi La, after noting a jelly-coated aquatic plant and cooler conditions than Bumthang.

CONTENT:
Lot of coming and going on this route, perhaps especially just now as HH holds a fair in Bumthang on the 7th for seven days. People come from quite a long way away for it. He told me he expected 1,000 people at the fair, from every part of Bhutan and also some from Tibet. This is one of the innovations of late years. But it is nothing to what HH plans for the near future, like payment in cash for work done - "after seeing that the work is good" he added. It is a pity that this must be introduced, but I suppose it must. Inevitably it will lead to trouble; when that will be depends on the time money takes to govern everything, as it does elsewhere.

6th September. Sumitang. Fine most of the day, and fine most of last night too. Some difficulty in getting off this morning, due probably to Ngudup's dislike of leaving early. I must say Changchuk is a much pleasanter man to have running one's transport arrangements. We got a little seed, but nearly everything is just not quite ripe yet. Pasang will have to return here in a month's time, and make a hurried collection of the better things. For most of these we would have to come very far beyond Sharitang. We want seed of the following: "Lachasung", Deutzia, Philadelphus, "Kushim sung", "Rugosung", and from further up, the big white Clematis, but this can be had from Bumthang or the Kyikyi La. I took a queer plant out of a small 5' deep lake today. It is nothing to look at, but it is covered, 1/8" all over with a perfectly clear transparent jelly, which has made pressing rather difficult. The jelly at first is not sticky, but later on seems to become more and more so. It is much cooler up here than in Bumthang, and more like May when I came up first.

SUMMARY:
Notes on supplies being sent to Betty, followed by travel from Shimitang to Pangotang with excellent weather and a favorable campsite under Tsuga trees. The party observed a river gorge and collected several Primula species on the Pudo La.

CONTENT:
find it easy enough to send down for anything we want. Ngudup says
that H.H. also sent off 5 loads of food to Betty. The bears will begin to
curse us if this goes on much more. I think now we can't want
any more.

23rd May. Shimitang. 4.45 to 10.30. A perfect day with not a cloud till
we reached camp. The route too was pretty grand the whole way & was
always interesting, although we did not see much. And camp here is
the first camp that I have altogether liked. There are no more houses,
so we cannot camp near them. We are under huge Tsuga trees,
with rhodo & other shrubs around & a nice grassy sward. Ngudup
had sent on to have a place prepared. Whoever prepared it, cut
up all the nice turf, turned it, made it rough, & sprinkled over
the top juniper branches. I found my tent pitched there when I
arrived, but moved it at once. This is the first really first class
camping site we've had. I went out up the hill a good bit,
but found not a thing but ticks & a few rhodos which we
already have. The river all the way up today is in a fine
gorge, with often very imposing cliffs, & altogether it looked beautiful
with these huge Tsuga trees on either bank. Now Pasang & Nyundru
have disappeared. They are both keen to see more flowers. I hoped
for a primula today, on some of these cliffs, but we saw none
but P. denticulata & Smithiana. We are obviously still far too low.

24th May. Pangotang. 5.0 to 9.30. About 6 miles. Another lovely day, clouding up pretty
soon, but clearing again, sun nearly all day. Good also for flowers of which we got
16, including the yellow primula elongata (18946) taken on the Pudo La, & also what may be P.
Barnardiana (18946). P. Calderiana purple (18947), P. Calderiana white (18954), P. atrodentata (18957). Funny
enough, P. sikkimensis doesn't even show leaf yet on the Pudo La the flowers

NB
Concerning
seeds

SUMMARY:
The diarist rebukes Ngudup for overeating and refusing to shoot a monal due to the 15th, deciding to shoot and donate Rs 1 to the Gompa. Seed is collected for Pasang, Lhakpa, and Yundru; Primula taxa are noted, a white-throated dipper nest is found by a waterfall, and a blood pheasant is filmed, with a prior nest recalled at Thampa Tso in 1937.

CONTENT:
freshened up. He is now lazy and eats too much, I believe. Hence he gets headaches. I told him today he was eating too much, which he didn't quite like, but he gets all the meat there is, too greedy too soon. As we got away, a huge and fine cock monal ran along the path in front of us, so I called up Ngudup with the gun. He asked me not to shoot, but I wasn't having that. He eats all the meat, and doesn't want any bird's meat. "It is the 15th of the month, don't shoot." However, I told him it was the 15th, he should eat no meat, but I would shoot, and he could give Rs 1/- to the Gompa.

So we got our seed, enough for Pasang, Lhakpa, Yundru, and myself. We found what would probably be called P. yargongensis (19096) and 500' higher up what will be called P. involucrata (19098). Even if the cytology is different, I cannot see how these two can be separated. In the Primula monograph, one is pink (but maybe white) while the other is white (but maybe pink). One P. pusilla was found in flower only. I walked up the local river, or climbed up it, where it came down in a 45° waterfall, got one or two things by the side. I also found the nest, with 3 eggs, of a white-throated dipper, at 14,000'. It was halfway down the waterfall, in turf on a rock in the middle of the fall, not far above the water level, about 1 foot perhaps. I have only seen one other nest, on the Thampa Tso, in 1937, a much calmer, quieter place than this one. On our way back, we rushed a pair of blood pheasant, secured 1 chick, and I managed to get a short cine (telep.) of the cock, but I fear it may be underexposed. The place was in dense rhodo and

SUMMARY:
List of seed collections with specimen numbers, taxa, collection localities, and dates from late August to early September. Sites include multiple passes and valleys; one Viburnum collection at Bumthang was brought by Ngudup.

CONTENT:
SEED COLLECTED (in addition to that mentioned in previous pages.)

18691 Prunus sp. white. Pangotang. 7.9.
18800 Clintonia alpina Chendebi 28.8
18972 (2) Sax. sp. cushion plant. Pangotang. 8.9. Toligang 10.9.
19052 Mec. sinuata. Pangotang. 9.9
19082 Rosa sp. red. Sharietang. 5.9.
19125 Salvia sp. d. blue Pangotang. 9.9
19151 (2) Corydalis or Fumaria sp. purplish. Pangotang. 7.9 + 9.9.
19270 Sax. stolonifera. Pangotang. 6.9
19280 (2) Streptopus simplex. Hinglai La 24.8 Yuto La 31.8.
19580 Dicentra yellow. Chendebi 28.8
19613 (4) Bryocarpum himalaicum. Chulai La 21.8. Shole La 27.8. Monle La 27.8. Chale La 28.8
19617 Mec. superba from press. Ha La 17.8
(2) 19632 Cotoneaster sp. Tsalimape. 23.8.
19642 (2) Iris (decora?) Hinglai La. 24.8.
19651 Raspberry red. Monle La. 26.8
19653 Berberis sp. Monle La. 27.8
19669 Gaultheria sp. Yuto La. 31.8
19693 Viburnum sp. "Pampashing" Bumthang 2.9. Brought by Ngudup.
19676 Schizandra sp.? Sharietang 5.9.
19677 Berberis sp. Sharietang 5.9.
19681 Bird Cherry. Sharietang 6.9.
19683 Berberis sp. red fruit. Shimitang 6.9
19687 Red Currant. Pangotang. 7.9
19691 Raspberry yellow. Pangotang. 7.9
19695 = 19126 Arabis small. Pangotang. 8.9
19697 = 19130 Arabis large pod. Pangotang. 8.9
19715 Polygonum fine spikes. Pangotang. 9.9.

SUMMARY:
The writer reports heavy rain and a reconnaissance up the valley toward Waitang, finding the route likely passable despite earlier warnings that yaks could not traverse it. They plan to leave via Pangstang and criticize Ngudup for not negotiating effectively with locals. Botanical collections include Primula pusilla, P. bellidifolia, P. reticulata, Mec. paniculata, and observations comparing P. alpicola var. luna and P. reticulata.

CONTENT:
thorn scrub, it was very difficult indeed to move, or to get a clear shot at the bird. I hope something may come out. We have decided to leave here on 12th, and to go via Pangstang. I am sure if Ngudup had guts now, he could fix up the other route.

11th June Halt. I decided to go as far as I could up the valley where we had been told we could not go - yaks would be unable to take us to Waitang this way. It has always seemed odd to me that we could not go, when one man came back and said it was alright. But Ngudup is a poor fish with these people, and never asks enough questions, and never tries to persuade them. Anyway we went as far as I was able to walk - probably 3 miles from Garmotangha, there was no difficulty at all the whole way. Where we stopped we might have had to carry loads about 50 yds. We had quite a good day - got P. pusilla, P. bellidifolia and P. reticulata, the latter uncommon, but plentiful and beautiful where found. We also got Mec. paniculata in flower. The local form of P. alpicola var. luna is very like P. reticulata. In fact I was leaving reticulata today after having started to take it, when I noticed the absence of the very large bracts, which should have been obvious. Then later I saw that reticulata has no farina ring in the eye like alpicola. P. pusilla and P. bellidifolia are only just in flower. A very wet day indeed - the wettest by far that we've had so far, a sign of the monsoon at last surely. I got soaked through bottom half, but don't mind that, and remember now that I always used to. Without waterproof trousers, one must get soaked, and they are difficult to walk in. Started to rain about 8.0 and has not stopped by 5.0 pm.

SUMMARY:
At Pangtang, the diarist reports improved weather after night rain, limited seed readiness, and observations of several plants in flower or seed, while Ngudup arranged a new zareba to shield the tent from strong winds. The following day was a halt with morning sun and afternoon rain; seed collecting yielded mixed results due to grazing and insect damage, and the diarist photographed an ibis bill at a nearby spring.

CONTENT:
7th September. Pangtang. Heavy rain in the night, but fine all day today, with much more of a feeling of dryness. We got a few seed on the way up, but again found most things were not ready. In fact we got Primula umbratilis in perfect flower on a cliff where no sun reaches. Here I have not yet looked round, except to see Mec. simplicifolia, seed of which has mostly been thrown. My zareba here had been disposed of, but Ngudup ordered another, and it really is rather nice because it keeps the very strong wind off the tent. It blows very strongly all day long here.

8th Sept. Halt. Fine all morning. Rain all afternoon. We only went up the hillside opposite camp to look for seed. Some were over - like the nice little Daphne; but we got about 60 seed in the end. The nice Aster that was everywhere is not to be found - all eaten by yaks. On the other hand we got two Arabis in very ripe seed, and the cushion saxifrage, whose seed were nearly all thrown. I could not find a single Anemone rupicola. Mec. horridula seed is ripe, but the plant here is so poor that it is not worth taking. P. umbratilis is not yet ready, but should not take more than 10 days or so in places. As usual the worst enemy to seed collecting is caterpillars or little bugs of some kind. There was not a ripe seed of Salvia to be found, though lots of unripe ones. As soon as they showed any colour at all, a bug got into them. The prettiest flower we got was a fine annual Gentian, with a minute root, but sometimes as many as 25 flowers on the plant, each about 5/8" across. It is worth trying to get seed of, and a white Sax still in full flower is also worth while. We have a nice ibis bill at the spring beside us. He seems quite happy, and I took a cute picture of him last evening. I hope permanent residents at his spring won't frighten him away.

SUMMARY:
Diary notes from Pangotang describe ongoing rains, plans to visit Marlung before turning back, and requests regarding taking Yundru and Ngudup to Kalimpong, with preference for Yundru. The writer develops Hicks’ photos, comments on Thompson’s image of P. eburnea, sends Dorji with airmail to Hicks and HH, and packs a ‘tsang’ of rooted plants for shipment to London, hoping to add more from Marlung and Ritang.

CONTENT:
147

Air mail plants
more specimens and also some roots. I have now so many roots to send home by air, that I wonder how many loads there will be, also how much it will all cost!

24th Sept. Pangotang. Fine morning, and a bit of rain after midday. There really is precious little sign of the end of the rains, although I keep on hoping there is. We are, in a way, on our way back home now. But still there is one place, Marlung, to visit, before we can say we have turned round and started back. But everyone obviously feels that things are winding up. I had a request today from Pasang, from Ngudup and Yundru that I should take both to Kalimpong. I don't mind taking Yundru, who is a good and cheery lad and a good worker, but I hope I won't have to take Ngudup one day beyond Bumthang. I do not like him, and except to arrange transport, he is useless. I am writing to HH tomorrow to ask for Changchuk, and to give him our final dates. Today I developed Hicks' photos. If only he had taken my advice at first, all his photos would have been like these which are good. But he would not, and considered he knew better. Thompson's photo of P. eburnea is quite good, much better than Hicks' first efforts. It is a real disappointment to me that in 6 months he has only taken 48 photos altogether, in spite of having lots of film packs available. There were so many photos he could have taken.

25th September. Sent off Dorji and with airmail to Hicks, HH and Kalimpong and paid him Rs 24/-. We then packed up a 'tsang' with rooted plants, each rooted plant in its own little basket inside the big one. The whole thing now is ready to go to London, except that I hope there will be a few more plants added from Marlung, and then more again at Ritang.
roots

SUMMARY:
A hot spring called Nye Chachhu lies below Dunkhar, and the village where the party is staying belongs to Dopala, the Trashigang Dzongpon; a few butterflies were seen. On 8 May at Mashina, in very hot weather with afternoon thunder and rain, they refused Ngudup’s request to stay and marched about six miles via the Panyong Chu to Phumpe, crossed a cane bridge, passed Chaksum and Chusa, and climbed steeply toward the Sergon Chu, walking without ponies while Ngudup’s foot improved with M&B 760 pills.

CONTENT:
a mile or two up a side valley below Dunkhar are hot springs, called Nye Chachhu. The actual village we are at ourselves, belongs to Dopala, Trashigang Dzongpon. It is very hot here, and it will be nice to be over the river on our way up tomorrow. Mashina is obviously not at all high, but nearly high enough for us to stay at. Caught a few butterflies today, almost the first we've seen since Kunga Rapden.

8th May. Mashina. 6 miles. Ht 7675 A fine, very hot morning, up till 2.0 pm when we had thunder and heavy rain. When I was just setting up at 4.30 Ngudup came and asked if I would stay a day! I said certainly not, unless absolutely essential. There is some trouble with the locals, which I have not got hold of completely. Anyway we came on here. 5.15 to 10.0. The path goes up the L bank and into the Panyong Chu, a big side valley at m 1, then on to Phumpe at m 2, where Tashigang Dzongpon has another house, and there is a picturesque little lhakang on an isolated hillock. Then straight down 500' to the river and across by a cane bridge. And so up the R bank, through Chaksum and Chusa, 2 small villages of a couple of houses each. Then straight up the hillside, as only a Bhutanese path can go, for 2000' or so. There are no houses here, and just a small clearing in the forest. The slope is very steep, and continues so to the Sergon Chu, just ahead of us. Ngudup's foot has improved in a wonderful way with copious M&B 760 pills. He has had to walk, as I have too, as there are no ponies this side, and no pony could get up.

SUMMARY:
The diarist notes magpies and quail, sends mail to H.H., Kalimpong, and Betty, and dispatches a box of dried flowers to Byakar Dz. On 20th May they march about five miles to Takhung via the Tang chu and Takhung chu, note altitude observations, collect Primula geraniifolia, and describe a well-made camp near Bumthang. The entry opens the next day's move toward Shabejetang.

CONTENT:
There are still a number of magpies about here, so they certainly breed. Also since we were here in April, there are many quail in the standing crops. One can hear them all day. I send off a mail from here to H.H., Kalimpong and Betty via H.H.. Also tomorrow morning Lundrup will take in a box of dried flowers to go to Byakar Dz. into our other boxes.

20th May Takhung About 5 miles. Heavy rain last night, fine this morning till 11.0. This was a nice march, up the Tang chu for a mile or so then cross to the R bank and up a side valley, called the Takhung chu. The path is half over open grassland and half through easy forest. The whole country here is very open and pleasant looking. Crops look very good this year. Here they are barley and wheat almost entirely. We have come up quite a lot, so I was surprised to see the alt. is only just over 10000'. I have always called Tang the same height as Bumthang which it obviously is not. It cannot be above 9000 at the outside. Today we found one more primula to add to the total, now 13. This is P. geraniifolia 18913, common in the forest beside streams. This seems rather low for it. I have always found it mostly above 12000'. This is a grand camp, but could do with being 1000 ft. higher. The forest is mostly tsuga and picea. Near Bumthang as we are, the locals make very good camps for us. I allowed Ngudup to persuade me to say we still wanted them. Here, in a lovely open place, the servants have a fine hut, while I have a very fine latrine - as if one could want such a thing here. However, if I don't use it, I see that a cow at any rate, has gone in and used it much more fully than I ever could have.

21st May Shabejetang Very wet last night, rain until we were