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SUMMARY:
Entries from camps east of Lo La describe rough roads, changing weather, and botanical collecting focused on rhododendrons and primulas. Ludlow shot two male monal while coolies snared a female, and the diarist explored with Tsongpen and Tsering before moving to Singo Samba.

CONTENT:
Lo La
27

13th May. Camp 4 m E of Lo La. 6 miles. Rained all night. Fine all day with a little sun now and then. Left at 5.45, in at 3.15. I went up the new road on the L bank (L bank = right bank), and for 2 miles it was not bad, the next mile bad and the 4th mile very bad indeed. It then joins the old road at the bridge. Flowers rather disappointing, or perhaps I expected too much from the cliff faces we passed. We climbed up one a long way, very much further than I felt capable of, but found little of interest. Rhododendron 3750 is a queer thing with a most unusual colour, and 3751 R. primuliflorum? is a very pretty little thing. Got a few more collections of previous primulas, but not much else.

14th May. Camp 2 m E of Lo La. At approx 12000' 2 miles. It cleared up last night, and today has been a lovely bright sunny day, a very pleasant change. A good day for both of us too, as Ludlow shot 2 monal, which are Sclateri as expected. Both were males. The coolies between them snared a female. Tsongpen, Tsering and I went up the waterfall nullah which comes in from the E 1 m below camp. Although there was very little there, we got one new primula 3762. This one is just barely fully out yet, and there is not a great deal of it to be had, but it is a most unusual one, and I have had doubts about it being a primula. However it is one, but to what section it belongs, I can't make out. The rhododendrons are most confusing. There seem to be so many Thomsonii Ser. which vary very little indeed, with larger or smaller calyces, or perhaps a few glands on the ovary or style.

15th May Halt. Fine night and a lovely bright day again. Went up at 5.30 keeping high - South - of the Lo La. Within an hour I had shot a male monal and seen two females. We saw seven in all, so they are pretty common. We also saw snow partridge. Quite a good day, as we found several interesting flowers, including P. tsariensis. Of this I have no doubt but it does make me doubt the ones which Wright Smith identified as P. bariensis from Bhutan - 3366 - 3367. This one, No 3779, is exactly as found at Tsari Chikchar in colour, size of flower and everything.

16th May. Singo Samba. 8 miles. Rained in the night and early in the morning. Cleared up about 10 am, and turned into a beautiful evening. We were surprised to find it raining this morning after a perfect evening yesterday. Tsongpen went NE from the Lo La, and Tsering and I went to the S West. But it is still too early to find much. P. tsariensis grows on the N of the Pass in...

SUMMARY:
Diary records travel from Lo La and Singo Samba to Molo, where Taylor arrives, followed by several halt days to reorganise. The party then moves to camps on the Langong Chu and above Singo Samba while Ludlow and Taylor explore down the Lilung Chu; mail and future rendezvous plans are noted. Botanical collecting is mentioned throughout, though limited by logistics and weather.

CONTENT:
Lo La
May 16. R. forrestii var. repens 3783, Primula 3784, Calostrotum 3785.
Singo Samba, Loda Chu near Molo. May 16. R. chaetomallum var. chamaephytum 3786. R. ponderosum 3792. 78.
P. calderiana 3788, locosa 3789. Paraquilegia anemonoides 3790. Lloydia tibetica 3791. R. laudum var. lucidum 3793.

masses, just coming into flower now. There is still a lot of snow on this side; Ludlow's Primula elizabethae has still a covering of 3ft over it. But I saw it on the south of the pass in masses yesterday on a small patch clear of snow. It was 1-1 1/2" up, so it won't be very long in coming away now. We hear here that there is no news of Taylor yet in Molo. They know of our coming. However, no news is good news, as had he had to turn back, I think our mail would have arrived with news of Taylor's return. We all crossed this fine bridge in style; Ludlow had no great difficulty this time. He could not have turned whether he wanted to or not.

Taylor arrives
17th May. To Molo. 10 miles. Fine road. Arrived in Molo 1:30 pm. Taylor walked in at about 3:00, before our kit had arrived. A wonderfully well-timed meeting, seeing he was last talked to by either of us in London by phone on 12th Feb.

Molo - Halt, reorganise kit and loads, buying bags of flour, developing photographs, planning future.
18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23rd May. Halt Molo. Dry sunny weather on the whole. Taylor is collecting masses of things, thoroughly happy. I have been too busy to get very much collecting done. Coolies were difficult. We should have been off on the 23rd, but no one turned up at all.

24th May. To Camp on Langong Chu, 5 miles south of Molo. Rained all night. Heavy rain 7:00 to 9:00 then a fine day. Coolies and ponies all turned up and we were off at 7:00. As we had had so much trouble last time, I did not try to go far, and kit was all in by 2:00 pm. Ludlow and Taylor went off down the Lilung Chu, starting at the same time. They have Pinso, Tenduk, Dawd, Ramzana and Tsering. I have Cutha, Kusho and Tsourpon. I fancy they are off to a very good area, though there will be some trouble in getting there. But this area also will be good, and also will be difficult. Nothing of interest to me was found today. The mail went off at 6:30, and then we were glad to get on the move again. We hope to see our next mail when we all meet at Tsala Dz. on 31st July. They will not come via Molo, but direct down the river, and should take 21 days or so.

25th May. To Camp 3 miles above Singo Samba. 7 miles. Height approx. 11,500'. Rained during the night. Fine today except for showers. Nothing much seen along the river bank. The path is in fine forest most of the way, with a few small clearings every now and then. Primula prenantha 3848.

SUMMARY:
Tsering and Yundra left with two coolies after HH arranged provisions and permits, with a plan to meet again at Ribang. On 11 Oct a halt day included visits from Tasho and HH, who brought presents and ice from the Thunlarharchung to keep a blood sample cool for transport to Kalimpong. On 12 Oct, during rainy weather, the party hosted Tasho, Kapo, Phup Gyeltsen, and Nyercheu Tropa and spent time firing .22 ammunition.

CONTENT:
more at all, doubled up with rheumatoid arthritis, but who now has no pain. We have in between times packed up organized pretty well, are ready to move off at any time. Tsering and Yundra left on 9 morning with 2 coolies, and were all quite happy. HH made all arrangements for them - food then rations, a permit and all they could want for their little trip. We next see them on 17 at Ribang.

11th Oct. Halt. Tasho came at 9.0 am and left at 5.0. HH came at 1.0. So we have not had much of the day to ourselves. HH brought presents to us, and also brought a good deal of snow. This was for us to keep a blood sample of his cool on the way to Kalimpong. It leaves today, and will get to K'pong in 8 days! The ice came all the way from the Thunlarharchung, and the men who brought it were somewhat told off for taking 3 days on their way there and back. It is about 100 miles.

12th Oct Halt. Our last day here. Rain at night and in the morning. All day still clouded and rainy. Today we had Tasho, Kapo, Phup Gyeltsen, and Nyercheu Tropa to 'lunch' at 9.0 and they stayed till 3.0 pm. We filled in some of that time by firing off 150 rds of .22 ammo.

SUMMARY:
The diary notes arrival at Sanga Chöling after severe cold, the first fine day in some time, active seed collecting and drying of specimens, and a letter from Ludlow with specimen numbers. It records news of Tarka’s party (with Tendrup and Tsering), plans to proceed via Tsona toward Trashigang, kindness from Ashi Gyelmo, and missing photo enlargements likely held by the Kharpon Dzongpon. The party then marches to Charme with transport arranged, while men sent with rice by the HH of Bhutan fail to locate them.

CONTENT:
be glad to reach Sanga Chöling tomorrow. I purposely took no riding ponies today, as it was far too cold to ride, and would be dangerous, but Simba got on a spare pony till I spotted him, by which time he was almost too cold to walk. Everyone laughed at him, which certainly did him good.

29th October. Sanga Chöling. Fine at last. Our first day without rain or snow since leaving the Loka, we are all very glad to have it. It is reasonably warm down here too, though a strong wind blows all day. Got seed of Gentiana waltonii; Primula jaffreyana var. hyacinthina, & 2 Dracocephalums. Found a letter from Ludlow & R. vellereum 6645, Dracocephalum hemsleyanum 6646, Frac. 6647.
Tarka here: they left on 21st & seemed in good form, & have got a fine lot of seeds, more probably than I have since we last saw each other. But of course Tarka has both Tendrup & Tsering with him, & although rainy in Tsari, they had no snow. Tarka sent off Tendrup for seed & seedlings of Meconopsis sherriffii, to the Drichung La, so I will not have to go up there either. We will stop here two days & then go on without a halt to Tsona if possible, reaching there I hope on the 11th Nov. If Pemba is there, I hope I may then be able to send off Tarka's mail so as to catch him still in India. Ashi Gyelmo has been very kind, & provided a hot lunch of gyathuk on our arrival, & has sent potatoes & other things down already. She is a kind soul. The peach, Ludlow said, looked awful, covered in kutch. But she must have been taken unawares, as she has now a clean face & is as much a peach as ever. The enlargements I took of her have never turned up. The Kharpon Dzongpon must have them still.

30th & 31st October. Halt Sanga Chöling. Fine: clouded at night. Bright sun & strong wind during the day. Spent these days in camp, repacked roots of primulas, got out the dry specimens & got seeds all dried. The air is very dry indeed, & everything was soon dry.

1st Nov. To Charme. We got a letter sent on about transport, so had no difficulties with changes today, & got to Charme by noon. Dry & sunny with a very strong cold wind up the valley. Clouds over the main range, & a lot of snow on the hills south of Kaprang, but we don't see any up towards the La. I hope now to go through to Trashigang without a stop, eleven days to Tsona, & another 6 or 7 from there on to Trashigang. HH of Bhutan sent four men with rice to meet us, but did not know where we were, these poor people spent a long time wandering

SUMMARY:
The diarist reports poor flowering at Temo La and collects seeds of several Meconopsis and Primula species. Between halts at Dzeng and trips to Sang ha, the party travels by small boats, with Tendruk arranging transport and Chuka and Tsering accompanying, despite poor, windy, misty weather; some target species were not yet ripe.

CONTENT:
Temo La - not good for flowers - 6234
Stopped for half an hour to chat, then I went on. Taylor not too good. Got seed of Mec. impedita, 6235 Mec. speciosa, ? horridula 6236 Mec. integrifolia & a Prim. aff. macrophylla 6237. The Temo La is not good for flowers.

8th - 9th September. Halt Dzeng. Fine with showers.

10th - 14th September. To Sang ha & back to Dzeng, Temo. To collect seed. I went off on the 10th to collect seeds on the Sang ha. Tendruk went ahead to Sang the evening before to arrange transport, & Chuka, Tsering & I went down in two small kowahs the next morning, taking all necessary kit. It only took 2 1/2 hours to reach Sang, so we went on up the valley, to camp about 5 miles up. Next day up to a droppa just short of the Pass. We had rotten weather, no sun the whole time, but a strong wind, driving mist & rain, & of course no views. Bar Meconopsis, all of which were ripe, seed were hardly ready. I found three Ivory Poppy plants, Mec. integrifolia the brevistyla var, also M. simplicifolia, speciosa & impedita. M. Prainiana was not ripe. We collected various other seed too, but P. Cawdoriana was barely ready

SUMMARY:
Entries describe marches and halts from Trimo to Le, Pangchen, Shakti and Karteng with snow, rain and heat, while collecting seeds and specimens including rhododendrons. Notes include Ludlow’s rapid travel from S. Chöling, recovery of Pintso and Tsungpen, efficient Monba coolies, Tawang people wishing to come under Assam while taxed by Tsona, and Guha going missing after taking a wrong path.

CONTENT:
85

Trimo
11th November. Halt. Clouded all day: no sun: snow falling on hills & slight rain here. Much colder than I expected. Pintso & Tsungpen both recovered, Pintso not fully yet. Collected odd rhododendron & other seed. Ludlow moved quickly here from S. Chöling, the same marches as I did, & apparently quite easily because he was able to use dzong-dzong transport, which I could not.
I hear the Tawang people are all anxious to come under Assam, but are still paying large taxes to Tsona in the form of wooden planks.

To
12th November. Le. Clouded all day till 4.0pm. Snowed all night right down to Trimo village, & rained all day till we reached here at 3.0pm. As Tsering has taken 150 specimens between Trimo & Shakti, I am not likely to find anything that he has not got. Got a few seeds & about 15 specimens. Clothed for snow as I was, found it very hot marching down here. But the evening is cool enough. These Monba coolies are very good & fast, waste no time on the road.
R. crassum 6676.

To
13th November. Pangchen. Fine all day. First clear sky in morning. Clouds low in evening. Nice & warm down here at 7000 ft. Found Rhod. rhabdotum (Dalhousie 6694) at the same place just above Pangchen that we took R. lindleyi from in 1936, but seeds not begun yet to turn brown.
P. prunifer

To
14th November. Shakti. Heavy rain last night. Fine today: clouded in evening. It was very hot coming up from the bridge over the Nyam Jang Chu — a long steep climb. I sent Guha on from the bridge at 11.30, he must have taken the wrong path, as he has not turned up at 5.0pm. Poor old Guha, he will be sorry for himself. Got a few more seeds today & took about 15 specimens.
Codonopsis ovata 6702, Crawfurdia Campanulaceae 6703, Prunus cerasoides 6708, Wightia gigantea 6700

To
15th November. Karteng (Kapleng). Clouded nearly all day, with rain in the evening. Rather nice having rain now as it keeps it cool. Changed transport twice, & should have changed a third time too. Karteng is directly opposite the bridge leading across the river. The people here — & from below Pangchen are all Takpas; only Monbas are above Pangchen. Both seem a good crowd. Took seed of what I think is Albizzia Sherriffii & saw near here a good deal of Luculia gratissima, which always strikes me as a most beautiful shrub. It is a pity it is not hardy.
Kapleng & Jy-iper. Sarcococca hookeriana 6716, Luculia gratissima 6720, Lindenbergia grandiflora 6721