Showing 58 results

SUMMARY:
The diarist left Tsongpen at a drogpa above Chorken Namo with two boys and kit, dealt with a troublesome man who led them beyond Karpo, and aided transport people lacking tents during snow. Tsongpen plans a trip via Karpo and the Trakan La. Botanical notes include abundant gentians (Gentiana ampherata 2592, G. stictantra on the Chaha, G. ornata) and collections of G. detonsa seed and P. parra.

CONTENT:
Gen. ampherata 2592

hard again in the evening. I left Tsongpen at a drogpa above Chorken Namo, with two boys with his kit. One man with us caused a lot of trouble by taking the boys where they were not to go beyond Karpo, which had been arranged with the head men the day before. I'm afraid I was very angry, & gave him a good hearty kick up the backside, which made him furious. However it changed the subject, & I think the boys will go alright. A pretty beastly day. The transport people came with no tents or covering at all, must have had a miserable night, though we gave them some sarakis when it started to snow. It looks as if Tsongpen would have a pretty rotten time of it on his trip round by Karpo & the Trakan La, but he seems cheerful enough. There is a new gentian growing on the swampy ground by camp, & G. stictantra is growing on the Chaha, especially the North side, where there were masses of G. ornata. It is very common here too.

Zimsaki
20th Sept. Halt. A lovely day, with some storms round about. Sky perfectly clear in the evening. Collected some G. detonsa seed & P. parra. There is a fine gentian here 2592, which I have Gentiana ampherata 2592.

SUMMARY:
The Tsongpen leaves for Karpo, traveling over the Trakan-La pass.

CONTENT:
Tsongpen leaves
to Karpo over the
Trakan-La.

SUMMARY:
The diarist describes violent winds near Tre that wrecked tents, forcing a camp beside a house, and a difficult march with wildlife sightings before nearing Tsona. On 9 November they reached Tsona amid snow, found Pinbo ill with malaria, settled arrangements for ponies, paid off Kusho and Kesang, and noted correspondence from Ludlow at Shakti.

CONTENT:
8th Nov, Tre. Very strong wind all night, which nearly ruined the tents and gave us no sleep at all. The wind continued today, I should think about 40-50 mph. On the Nyalaha Malwat, Jill was after it at once. But she never had a chance. In 100s it was 50 yards ahead of her, 1000 in fact. So I have no hat now. The wind there was really terrific and made me feel quite sick, which I have never felt before. It continued all day and there was no hope of a tent standing in the open here, so I am camped beside a house in the manure which is feet deep. But we drive for the full blast. There is a storm away to the East, where clouds gathered all day; snow seems to be falling. We left before sunrise (to us) at about 6:30 am, were in at 4:30 pm. The locals very good, provided what firewood they have, water, yak dung and soon were sweeping up some of the manure as soon as we arrived. A beast of a day, but I'm glad we came on here, as Tsona is a very easy march from here tomorrow. Near the pass I saw about a dozen ammon and a herd of 8-10 burhel too, but there was no possibility in that cold wind to take a cinema of them as I had hoped to do. Kusho rode on from here to Tsona today - a long trek and one that must have been particularly unpleasant. He is all out to finish up well, as he thinks his tip will depend on that: is confident of arranging yaks without our having to halt a day in Tsona, but I tell him he does not know Tsona yet. Kesang also leaves us at Tsona, so I will just have Lhakpa and Tsongpen, but the latter is very good indeed, will make all necessary arrangements I expect down the Nyam Jang Chu.

9th November. Tsona. Cloudy, windy and snow off and on all day. Glad to get here, especially as we surprisingly found Tsona warmer than Tre or Shoto. Pinbo was here, having arrived on the 7th. But he is laid up with pretty bad malaria; his stomach is right out of order. I hope he will be able to come on tomorrow; I think that he should, to get down to a warmer climate. Ponies all arranged, so we don't have to wait here tomorrow. I have paid off Kusho and Kesang, and told Kusho I might engage him as postman in 1940 between Gyantse and Poyal or Sadiya and Poyal. He seems anxious for the service, and would do it well. He would need a pony, which he could buy for Rs. 40/- or less, and I know would be reliable for such work. Another note from Ludlow at Shakti on 3rd. They found a lot of food.

SUMMARY:
Travel to Kap and then Chayul Dzong, including difficulty lowering the Tibetan mastiff Tumshu down a stone ladder, with Pinto assisting. Notes children peeling rhododendron leaf indumentum to sell as Bané for lamp wicks and observes currants, irises, and early paraquilegia and rhododendrons; an outing up the nala SE of Kap with Tsongpen and Tendup found few flowers fully out.

CONTENT:
have found. He shows it below Lung on the way to the Chupung La, whereas it is above Dotrang on the way to the Kashong La.

4th May. To Kap. 7 miles. Fine. Some difficulty in getting the dog Tumshu—the Tibetan mastiff, a useless beast really (G.)—down the stone ladder today. He was eventually carried on one man's shoulders, while Pinto came down next, holding a rope round Tumshu's neck, to keep his head up, so that he could not bite the carrier. Currants in flower and pretty numerous. The irises here are lovely, every spare inch covered with them. We noticed the children yesterday pulling the thick indumentum off the underside of a rhododendron leaf. They do this when the leaf is more or less dry, then roll up the indumentum, which comes off in one piece, and sell it to the treasury. It is extensively used as a wick in an oil lamp, and goes by the name of Bané.

5th May. Chayul Dzong. 6 miles. Tsongpen, Tendup and I went up the nala SE of Kap, leaving at 5.0 am. I was disappointed to find flowers had hardly come on at all. Paraquilegia, however, is everywhere just on the point of flowering. One or two rhododendrons were just out, but nothing new. Camped

SUMMARY:
The party splits, with S. going up the Lando Chu towards Molo and Tsari while Ludlow and Taylor head to Lusha; the diarist travels via Tsela Dzong with Gulla and the Tsongpen, aiming to meet Kusho. Taylor is improving but will avoid the passes, with Tendrup assigned most passes and Ludlow to do Lusha La; notes mention continuing rain, river levels on the Tsangpo and Nyang Chu, and timelines to Dewangiri. Mail news: Kusho has returned from Lhasa, and Norbhu redirected the mail via Gyantse.

CONTENT:
Sept 16 Party splits - S. up the Lando Chu then on to Molo, the Do La, Langong Valley & Tsari
L. & T. to Lusha - then up the Pan La across to Tsari. Tamnyen La - Po-Doshong La

14th Sept. } Halt Temo. Rained a good deal, hardly any sun to dry our seeds. All plans made for
15th " } future. Ludlow & Taylor go off to Lusha tomorrow, while I start off too, via Tsela Dzong - Taylor very much better & able to do quite a lot. Gulla & Tsongpen only accompany me, but we hope to pick up Kusho in Tsela Dzong.

16th September. Ligding. 8 miles. Fine, but still very cloudy, with rain apparently constant on the Main Range. We have now parted again, Ludlow & Taylor going over to Lusha to start collecting in that area, while I go West. Taylor will not do the Passes, but Tendrup will work them all but the Lusha La, which Ludlow will do. They will thus be very quick, & should leave Tse before the end of the month. Taylor wants to return as quickly as possible, seeing he cannot work the passes, & he should & must be in Dewangiri by the 16th November. I work out my moves to get me down there by the 1st Dec. if I travel fast, & so I hardly think that Ludlow will wait for me so long. It looks as if we should not meet again this trip till we are in Kashmir, or won't see Taylor certainly. He is much better, & were his tongue only reasonably clean, I would say he was safely out of the wood. He is a difficult person to feed, being very particular about what he eats, & that is not easy to cope with on a trip like this. Although the rain continues, - we have had no sun at all these last three days - the monsoon must be over except for odd rain on the Main Range, which we always notice goes on till the 18th Oct or so. The Tsangpo went down two or three feet during the week we were at Temo, and it is a good 12 ft or more lower than it was when at its highest. The Nyang Chu does not show such a big drop nearly.

17th Sept. Tsela Dzong. Rain at night & showery today. It took us a good long time to get ponies etc to be transported over here. There are 5 branches of the river to cross. The Nyang Chu has only dropped a foot since we were here on 10th August. Kusho is here, having returned from Lhasa in 8 days. The mail had not reached Lhasa when he caught it up on, I think, the 31st Aug. Norbhu stayed the mail runner & sent him back here, while he sent on our mail to Gyantse by the Tibetan post. He expected it back in 8 days & was then to send it to

SUMMARY:
From Sumbatse, the diarist records seed collections and transport delays due to a troublesome headman, then stays overnight en route to Choram. Plans are outlined for a future trip to the Black Mountain in Bhutan and exploration of Pemako via Sadiya, and at Choram they meet Tsongpen, collect more Adonis seed, and note heavy showers and his reports from Tsari.

CONTENT:
From Sumbatse. Sept. 16th Seeds: Primula tibetica 2602, Adenophora liliifolia 2604, Adenophora gracilis 2605, Dracocephalum tanguticum 2607, Saussurea 2608.

Transport took ages to collect, as the headman there had given us a good deal of trouble; we decided to stay a night here, instead of doing Choram in one day. Collected on the way a good many seeds of Primula sikkimensis, and some of the white Adonis (Adonis brevistyla var. dutchuensis 1600), which we took at Choram in May. It is a queer seed and does not look ripe, but K.W. told us he got the seed, and he passed through just before 15th Sept. I have pretty well decided to try a 3-month trip next summer, May, June, July, to the Black Mountain in Bhutan if permission is given by the Maharaja. And for the year after, I am trying to find out all I can about the Pemako area from the South. It would save a huge round by Gyantse, and I'm pretty sure the Bhutanese in Pemako would take me anywhere if only I can get in from Sadiya.

17th Sept. Choram. Fine most of the day, with some very heavy showers. Took a lot of Adonis seed (Adonis brevistyla var. dutchuensis 1600) on the way up here. Tsongpen was here and rather depressed. When he met me he said he had not done well in Tsari, but actually he has done as well as possible; although he has not many 'wanted' things, he has seeds of some quite interesting stuff. He had worse rain than when I went round the Kingkor. His chief excitement was...

SUMMARY:
Notes skepticism about a report of Kingdon Ward shooting near the gompa and mention that he went up the diarist’s nala likely finding primulas. Records two halts at Sumbatse with weather details, Tsongpen’s excursion with little of interest, searches for blood pheasant, a visit to Yarap with vegetables growing well, and abundant primulas above a small loch, with plant species listed.

CONTENT:
anywhere on the pilgrimage, or they would be ill after too much rain here. When Kingdon Ward was here last year, he said he was not shooting, but did so even close to the gompa. I do not believe this story, as K.W. hardly ever shoots. I was sorry to hear that K.W. went up 'my' nala, so he probably found all these primulas. The red one is a little apt to lose colour on top, and has rather a short season, but he is a beauty for all that.

Sumbatse - Kyimdong Chu Sherriff
14th June. Halt. Fine for most of the day, after a good deal of rain at night. Tsongpen went up the same valley, but kept to the south. He did not find much of interest. I went again to look for the blood pheasant, but saw nor heard any sign of him.
(Androsace graminifolia 1815, brahma-putrae 1816, strigillosa 1814, Iris decora 1817)

Sumbatse Sherriff
15th June. Halt. Rain on and off all day. The official date for the monsoon, and it looks rather like it. Went to Yarap and saw the vegetables coming on well. Then up the valley south of Yarap, but found little till the head, above a little loch, where all the primulas seen the other day were in masses, added to which was
(L. tibetica 1819, Primula trichosanthes 1832, Primula officinalis 1823)

SUMMARY:
The diarist and Tsongpen crossed a snow-covered pass while sending the coolies back, finding visibility poor and conditions unsafe, but managed to collect some seed and a large plant of a petiolaris primula. Despite bright sun south of the Chayul Chu, the camp remained in heavy wind and snowfall, making further attempts impractical without several clear days.

CONTENT:
However the sun was soon out, and I had hopes of it melting the snow and making the Kashongha easy enough. The sky was bright blue and clear to the South of the Chayul Chu. I reached the pass, with Tsongpen at 10.0, in bright sun, but on the other side was thick mist, with some snow falling. The pass had 2 feet of fresh snow, and was not too easy or even too safe. So I sent the coolies back to a nala bed about 2 miles west: They had reached within 300 feet of the pass, but would have had great difficulty in getting further. Tsongpen and I went on over the pass, but it was difficult to see anything. All flowers were covered with a thick coating of snow, and I knew we could do little, but try for the yellow primula. This proves, as I thought, to be a petiolaris primula, but we took what seed we could find and one fine big plant with a good clod of earth. Unless it clears up for three days running, it will be no use going over again, a great pity. It is doubly annoying, as the snow in the day, only reaches a mile North of the main range, beyond which is bright sun. Here in camp it snows all day, but we are just on the edge of the sunshine too. Wind is awful here, driving a heavy fall of snow which will lie at night. On the Kashongha we could see and feel it snowing hard.

SUMMARY:
The diarists halt at Sanga Choling, receiving hospitality from a local mother and later sending mail via a young lama to Chague. The head lama visits and speaks of a recent scare in Lhasa involving Russians or Chinese Communists; Tsongpen returns with seeds from Karpo and the Trakan la, though the sought red Primula nivalis was not found.

CONTENT:
Sanga Choling
23rd Sept. Halt. Some rain, mostly fine and sunny. The old woman who is mother to the two girls we always see here, gave us lunch of guatu in camp, and came herself. She is a most delightful lady, full of life and talk, and her great desire was to be given some embroidery silk, a selection of which she went off with. We could get no man for the mail; all are off cutting grass and so on.

Sanga Choling
24th Sept. Halt. Got a man for the mail, through the mother's good offices, and sent him off this morning via Chague. He is a young lama and seems a nice youth. Rained in the night again. After lunch the head lama called, and was very pleasant. He has just returned from Lhasa, where he told us of scare of Russians, which may be real Soviet or Chinese Communists. However R.B. Norbu had gone to Lhasa, and the scare had quietened down. Nearly all S. Choling seems to be inter-related, and it is most complicated. We gave him some fruit salad and cake to eat, many cigarettes and four glasses of Cointreau, all of which he took with relish, a most un-lama like performance. It rained off and on all evening, and was overclouded all day. Tsongpen arrived back with a few seeds from Karpo and the Trakan la. He failed to find the red Primula nivalis, but got another one, and the P.

SUMMARY:
Movements are recorded near Lung, with Lumsden and Tenduk exploring a southern valley, Tsongpen a southeastern one, and Pintso reporting a steep climb and descent in the Char Chu gorge; despite a reportedly reasonable route, the party decides to return to Charme via Chayul. Ludlow collects Suthora fulvifrons and rhododendrons, while the diarist notes an early start, a Lopa path possibly leading to Kushung La, and dense mixed forest.

CONTENT:
Lumsden & Tenduk up the valley South of Lung itself. Tsongpen himself up a big valley to the South East of camp. Pintso reports a climb of about 1500 through the gorge of the Char Chu, very steep, & an equally steep descent again. Otherwise the route is supposed to be pretty reasonable, but we have decided to go back to Charme. It seems silly to do so as Charme is 11 miles from here, will take us 8 days going back via Chayul. Ludlow got some Suthora fulvifrons, saw a good many rhododendrons & some other flowers. I had an excellent day, & a long one. Left camp at 5.30 & got in just after 2.0 pm. The first 1300 ft or so was up a burnt hillside, which helped a lot. Then I was lucky in finding a Lopa path through the bamboo. This must I think eventually lead to a pass, perhaps the Kushung La. The jungle is pretty dense, consisting of bamboo & rhododendron, birch, fir, pine & larch. The fir looks like Abies Webbiana again. We found eight more rhododendrons, some of which are particularly fine. The prettiest I thought were Rhod. fulvum 1383 with a nicely spotted upper half, & a blush pink flower: a fine