Telegram from Sir Eldon Gorst, Foreign Office, handed in at Parliament Street at 5:18pm, to Professor Balfour, Keeper of the Royal Gardens, Edinburgh, received at Goldenacre Post Office at 5:55p on 19 August 1905.
'Further telegram received from Consul Gunnan [sic - Yunnan] stating Forrest is alive and safe. Gorst.'
Telegram from Traill; presumably Miss Clementina Traill, Forrest's fiancee, handed in at Portobello Post Office at 8:25pm, to Balfour, Inverleith House, received by Edinburgh Office at 8:28pm, 19 August 1905.
'Many thanks for kindness letting me know good news. Traill.'
Letter from A.K. Bulley, Ness, Neston, Cheshire, to Isaac Bayley Balfour [Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh] dated 19 August 1905.
Bulley writes to confirm he has just received the news of Forrest’s death and he feels sick that Forrest lost his life ‘in the endeavour to earn my beastly money’. Bulley encloses Forrest’s last letter and asks that it be passed to Miss Traill and the Forrest family.
Letter has been fire damaged with some loss.
Copy letter from Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, to A.K. Bulley, Ness, Neston, Cheshire, dated 21 August 1905.
Balfour writes to Bulley to forward communications from the Foreign Office. Balfour adds that ‘Forrest is a capital letter-writer and his next one should be full of thrilling details.’
Balfour urges Bulley to remember that Forrest’s work is ‘exploration contributing to scientific knowledge and that the life he is leading is that which he longed for, he revels in it, and we could not have realised his wish for it but for your enterprising kindness in employing him.’
Letter has been scorched.
Copy letter from Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, to A.K. Bulley, Ness, Neston, Cheshire, dated 22 August 1905.
Balfour writes to forward further communication from the Foreign Office to A.K. Bulley.
Letter from Grace R. Forrest, 'Springbank', Lasswade, to Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, dated 04 September 1905.
Forrest's sister writes to Balfour to report the receipt of two letters from Forrest dated 4 and 13 July from Tsekou. She thanks Balfour for letting the Forrest family see Bulley’s letter.
Letter has some minor scorch damage.
Letter from George Forrest, China Inland Mission, Talifu [Dali], to Isaac Bayley Balfour, 'Regius Keeper', Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, dated 11 September 1905.
Forrest writes to say that having recovered his strength he has decided to join Mr. Litton on a journey to the Salween-Irrawadi [Irrawaddy] Divide. He hopes to push as far north as 28 degrees, directly west of Tsekou - 'however there is no danger of our being disturbed by llamas [sic] as the valleys are wholly populated by Shans and Lissoos'. Forrest hopes to send many new things, but as the season is so far advanced, Forrest's mode of collecting seeds 'is bound to be what Mr. Bulley terms 'hocus pocus' i.e. gathering the seed without having seen the plant in flower wherever I go, so the best I can do is to get on to really new ground.'
Letter has been scorched with a little loss.
Copy letter from Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, to A.K. Bulley, Ness, Neston, Cheshire, dated 20 September 1905.
Balfour promises to send copies of all the photographs relating to Forrest plants that RBGE produce. Balfour is finding it difficult to identify the rhododendrons sent by Forrest from descriptions only but hopes that Dr Henry [of the Paris Herbarium?] will be able to assist. ‘I have one twig from Forrest of a veritable “blue” Rhododendron. I hope you have seed of it.' Balfour states that he wishes Bulley would allow his name to appear on the herbarium labels as he is the sponsor of the collection. He reports receiving letters from Litton amplifying the news already received via telegram; they are with Forrest's family but Balfour will send them to Bulley when he can.
Letter has been scorched with some loss, there is also some water damage.
Copy letter from Isaac Bayley Balfour, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, to George Litton Esq., H.B.M. Consul, Teng Yueh [Tengchong], dated 25 September 1905.
Balfour thanks Litton for his letters and his kindness to George Forrest. 'Truly his escape seems to have been miraculous and we are now anxiously looking forward to his letters giving us the story of his adventures'; ‘He is all you say of him and his collections are indeed marvellous for their perfection. What he has already done is great and gives promise of even greater things in the future - but what that will be we cannot judge until we hear what has really happened to him and what his present state is.’
Letter has been scorched.
Sketch map in ink showing Forrest's escape route from Tsekou [Cigu] on the 19th July to ~4th August at Yeh Chih [Yezhi]. The map was drawn by Forrest, presumably some time after the event, but is stored alongside the letter of the 10th October 1905, to which it relates.
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