Showing 6828 results

SUMMARY:
The party reports delays due to missing loads and exhausted coolies while aiming for Nang Dzong. On 2nd April they march to TROMDA in rain and snow; Puitso catches up after spending the night on the road, and the route is noted for sandy paths, a spur crossing, and vegetation including pines, rhododendrons, and Primula species in side valleys.

CONTENT:
They are all of poor physique & some are lunatics: most seem to be diseased. We should have got to Nang Dzong in two days; now it will take at least three, but it was worse going on today, with 15 loads not yet arrived & the coolies very tired. The valley is rather drier here, we saw no pines on the hills after the first two miles, but they are covered with shrubs, not yet in flower, though showing green here & there.

2nd April. To TROMDA. 6 miles. 10800'
A clouded day, with rain & snow for an hour even in the valley, clearing up later. Puitso did not get off till after dark last night, & himself arrived at Rabdang just after we had left this morning. He spent the night on the road. We left at 6.45 & got in at 9.30 am. with the same coolies. There is a good deal of sand on the path, but it is not so much up & down, with the exception of one spur crossed at mile 2. No flowers on the way, but I saw a few heads of Primula pumilio here - a species just coming into flower. The hills again have pines on the north faces & also rhododendrons. On the way here one passes some small side valleys with water, & they all seem to have a primula growing in them. P. sikkimensis is there, but there is another also, which appears to be P. microdonta,

SUMMARY:
Records continued fine mornings following a Bhutanese 'St. Swithin's Day' weather rule. On 19th July the party traveled 8 miles to Trongsa in leech-ridden conditions, found a single campanula flower, and stayed in HH's summer house above the dzong; the Zimpon recounted his trip to Calcutta with HH and his heavy duties at Damthang arranging salaams and gifts for visitors to the Maharaja.

CONTENT:
back to Chendebi again. The Bhutanese St. Swithin's Day rule is holding good. We had awful rain for the last 10 days of the last Bhutanese month. But if the 30th was fine, we were to have 15 days fine, if wet, then bad weather for a month. It was not fine, but there was comparatively little rain and we had sun in the afternoon. Since then all mornings have been fine.

19th July. To Trongsa. 8 miles. Very heavy rain all last evening and night. Fine this morning, leeches very bad, got 5 or 6 on my feet and some on my hands which weren't seen till too late. Found only one flower of a nice campanula, but otherwise nothing of interest. Here we are staying in a very nice kind of summer house which HH uses, above the dzong. It is pleasantly cool and a breeze blows all day. The Zimpon seems a very nice man. I had met him before in Bumthang, where we had competed at archery. He was down in Calcutta with HH last year, and has been telling me all about his experiences there. His work was light, he got all the fun there was, and thoroughly enjoyed himself. But at Damthang on the way back, he had to work hard, as everyone who came to salaam the Maharaja had to do so through him, he had to give presents to them all. So that of the 8 or 9 maunds of things he had brought

SUMMARY:
The party exchanged ceremonial scarves before departing over a good pass with many flowering shrubs, but refrained from collecting birds or butterflies due to the death of the Dzongpen of Thimbu. They marched to Tsalimape along the Bemem Chu toward Trashi Cho Dzong; despite requests not to visit or photograph during mourning, W. went to the Dzong, and collecting was deferred until reaching the next pass.

CONTENT:
34

ready to start off. We all in turn gave him scarves, and he did likewise to us. He held out his hands with a closed scarf in them, while we placed an open one over his forearms, and then took the one he offered. When this was over we left, and following the custom, we waved to each other and imitated wolf calls till we were out of sight. Road good the whole way, not too steep either side. Found a number of flowering shrubs on both sides of the pass. Unfortunately last night the Dzongpen of Thimbu (Trashi cho Dzong) died, so out of respect for the dead, we cannot collect either birds or butterflies yet. It is very sad, but we must agree to this. Bar. Ht. 8900'.

29th TO TSALIMAPE. 12 miles. 7700' (Bar. Ht. 8200'). An easy but hot march down the BEMEM CHU and up towards Trashi Cho Dzong. We were asked not to visit this Dzong, where the Thimbu Penlop died last night, but W. is off there now. He was asked not to take photos too, but again has taken his camera, having no thought for anyone but himself. Flies are perfectly beastly here, as the camp is in the village, the worst camp we have had so far. Butterflies are at last out, but we couldn't collect today. Tomorrow when we reach the pass we will start to collect again.

SUMMARY:
Camped at Tobrang with persistent rain, the party continued collecting, including several 'badal rats', and birding near a marsh on the Pang La route. Notes mention primulas by the marsh, illness of Kurtip, Ramzana and companions remaining well, and a misdirected mail reportedly sent to Sahden after a message from Pinto. Leeches and dense jungle hindered hunting despite a spell of fine weather.

CONTENT:
81

about 100 lbs, a good test on a path like the Me La - Cho La one.

Tobrang
31st August Halt Tobrang. Bad day: rain from morning till night. Very wet work collecting.

1st September Halt Tobrang. Rain mist all day, but we did surprisingly well, getting three or four "badal rats". Saw a star in the evening which promises well for tomorrow!

2nd September Tobrang. Quite a good day. Rode up the Pang La route to a marshy flat, where there were any number of good birds about. Got nothing new, but several wanted birds. There are some primulas growing on the edge of the marsh, but they have no flowers or stalks—probably the common yellow one. Kurtip again down with fever, fairly badly. Ramzana & Co. all quite fit though.

3rd September Tobrang. Fine all day. It almost makes one hope the monsoon may be over. In spite of the good day though, we got a poor bag, losing several, & not managing to get a shot at others through the denseness of the jungle, or because of armies of leeches. A note came by devious ways from Pinto today. Some BF has sent our mail up to Sahden again. It

SUMMARY:
Field notes describe bird collecting in dense jungle near Tobrang, with birds proving shy; Ludlow shot a 'whistling schoolboy' thought to be the Burma form or possibly new, and there is still no sign of Puitso or the missing dak. On the 6th they moved to SHAPANG (6584') over 6 miles in hot weather after heavy overnight rain, with BP 200.6 and temperature 75°, and recorded plant specimens 935–938.

CONTENT:
83

morning and evening wandering about the jungle, and did fairly well. But we have both developed the habit of missing Pucopygas in a most distressing way. Ludlow shot a "whistling schoolboy", and was surprised to find that it is different - either the Burma bird or a new one. No sign yet of Puitso or the missing dak. Tomorrow is our last day here. We have done well here, and got about 10 or a dozen birds a day, others are a good many different ones still to collect, but even in dry weather it would be difficult to get all. It is curious how shy all birds are in this dense jungle, where they have such easy means of hiding. Neither in Tibet nor here, are birds molested in any way - game birds or others. But whereas in Tibet, on an open plateau, with no cover at all, birds will let you walk to within a few yards of them, here they are off into thick cover almost before one has time to see them.

5th Sept. Tobrang.

6th Sept. To SHAPANG. 6584' 6 miles. Very hot, but fine until the evening. There was very heavy rain last night for some hours. (BP. 200.6 Temp 75°)

Didymocarpus albitubus 935
Vigna vexillata 936
Hoya linearis 937
Chlorophytum nepalense 938

SUMMARY:
In heavy rain, the party ascends from Omta Tso past Thita Tso to Thampe La (~16,000 ft) and descends to Thampe beside Thampe Tso, noting bearings and that Thampe Tso drains east to the Mangde Chu. Primula 3383 occurs near the pass, with masses of P. pusilla and common P. hopeana. The following day is a rainy halt with sleet, and a short valley exploration reveals another lake.

CONTENT:
Toke Maru or Rinchen Chu

6th July. Thampe La. 4 miles. B.P. 187.0°. Temp. 51°. Time 3:00 p.m.

Rained all night, and very hard all day today. Path climbs steeply for ½ mile from the Omta Tso on the left bank of the river, which comes down in a waterfall. At ½ mile, another lake, the Thita Tso, is met. This is about ½ mile long and 300–400 yards across, surrounded by steep hills. The path keeps to the west of this, and at the NE end, begins to climb to the Thampe La, which is about 16,000 ft. Bearings of the nala, the Rinchen Chu, are about 240°, and on the north side 65°M. Descent easy with cliffs on both sides to Thampe at mile 4. Thampe is a grassy clearing beside the Thampe Tso, another lake about 300 yards each way. The water on the north side of the Thampe Tso flows down east to the Mangde Chu. Primula 3383 was growing to within a mile of the pass or less, always on open ground. We found nothing new here in that line. P. pusilla is in masses, coloring the hillside blue. P. hopeana also very common.

7th July. Halt. Rain all night and day. On the hilltops it was very cold and sleet fell all morning. We went up a valley lying at about 170°M from Thampe. There is a sheep's track. On the other side of the ridge—about 1½ miles—at about the same altitude as this place, is yet another lake, about 500 x 300 yards.

SUMMARY:
Notes from fir forest observations and collecting, including comparison of a Primula resembling tsariensis, signs of shao, and an encounter with blood pheasants with chicks. At Tomtsang the day was misty with heavy rain; the route to the pass is steep and direct, with abundant Primula species observed but little new.

CONTENT:
Abies delavayi 2198
Pedicularis filiculiformis sp. nov. 2197

In fir forest is yet another primula which I thought was tsariensis 2194. It looks much the same, but it has a much longer scape & bigger though similar leaves. I left it at first, but as I have never seen 2195 in fir forest before, took it under 2196. Down here there are a good many signs of shao in the forest. I came across again a pair of blood pheasant, with chicks, one of which I caught, but I could not induce either parent to come nearer than 10 yards or so, so did not take a photo. Fine all day, but cloudy, & rather misty in the afternoon.

23rd June. Tomtsang. 8 m. 12600'. A foul day. Thick mist & heavy rain all day long. And we saw very little. Plenty of Prim. macrophylla, P. tenuiloba, dryadifolia, glabra, the bright one tsariensis 2195, & the yellow jucunda 2175, but little of interest as new. The road to the pass just goes straight up the side of the hill - I have never seen more direct route. Similarly it is pretty straight down this side for the first 500 ft, then eases off & finally very steep indeed down through the jungle. Here I had hoped to find more, but there is really

SUMMARY:
Diary entries record weather from the end of March through mid-April at Tonghyuk Dz, with frequent rain and snow reaching elevations of 11,500 feet, including 1 inch at Amnyina and 9 inches at Lumang. Notes also document payments to Mohammed and possible amounts related to Tsetang and Gyantse, clarifying pay, advance, and pony fodder expenses.

CONTENT:
31st - 1st April. Tonghyuk Dz. Very heavy rain at night. Snow to 11500'.
1 - 2 - " Bright part of day. Cloudy afternoon.
2 - 3 - " Cloudy night. Cloud some sun.
3 - 4 - " Rain at night. Cloudy day 4th.
4 - 5 - " " " " & snow to 11500'. 5th.
5 - 6 - " Little rain at night. Cloudy but fine day.
6 - 7 - " Rain at night. Cloudy some rain 7th.
7 - 8 - " " " " - 8
8 - 9 - " Heavy rain " " - 9.
9 - 10 - " " " " Ditto all day 10th.
10 - 11 - " " " " " 11th.
11 - 12 - " Heavy snow 1" at Amnyina. 9" at Lumang. Fine but heavy cloud 12th.
12 - 13. Low cloud. Mostly fine but much cloud. 13th.
13 - 14. Some snow.

Mohammed has had Rs 20 + 200 sangp on 15 Dec.
150 " ? Tsetang Pedong Dorji
400 " ? Gyantse R.B.B.

Of these payments:-
Rs 20 + 300 sangp (Rs 100) is his pay - + Adv. 5/-
Remainder 450 sangp was for ponies' food.

12338 P. chungensis = 12279.

SUMMARY:
From Tongkyuk Dzong, the party reconnoitred toward the Soshe La but was turned back by deep snow, placed a thermograph, and noted views of Gyala Peri. Botanical observations included Meconopsis and Nomocharis, abundant capsules on Lilium wardii, and a noteworthy Lonicera; weather was cold with light snow. The old Dzongpon prepared to depart for Lhasa, and local peaks including Rangzen Karpo were discussed.

CONTENT:
moraine, when the road disappeared, & became too bad for ponies. Here I stopped and Ludlow went on, on foot, to try to reach the pass. He was held up by snow up to his knees & had to give up. While he was away, I looked at the cliff beside me & at the foot of it, & found many Mec. paniculata, a few M. speciosa, Primula aff. hyacinthina, several Allium, a Nomocharis & other signs of good things. We returned to camp at 6.0 pm.

1st Jan. 1947. Tongkyuk Dzong. Left at 8.0, & back at 2.0 pm. Nothing new seen on the way. We looked for Cremanthodium, but found none. The only game bird seen on the trip was one ♀ tragopan on the way up. The trip was worth while - we placed the thermograph: we saw the Soshe La: & saw that the area is undoubtedly a good one for flowers. There is a very fine view of the snow peaks around Gyala Peri from a little below the entrance to the Soshe La, with the river in the foreground.

2nd Jan. Halt. - Cloudy all day + cold, though min. temp. was high. Ludlow found two Lil. Wardii, one with 22 pods & one with 14. Both bulbs very big — one 8" in circumference. (Later saw one with 28 capsules). We can get little information about the mountains to the SE of here. The big one most obvious from here is called Rangzen Karpo & Gyala Peri is said to be more to the South i.e. right from here, but not visible.

3rd Jan Halt. - Cloudy all day, with snow in the evening down to about 10,000' but clearing up. Ludlow found a very interesting shrub 12062, a Lonicera, in flower. We have never seen this before.

4th Jan. Halt. - Only a very little snow fell, none in Tongkyuk, but pretty well up the hills. Even what fell will not last for long. We find that the old Dzongpon is going back to Lhasa now, so are sending with him a few

SUMMARY:
Heavy spring rain at Tongkyun with peach blossom in Pasha; several halt days used to repack for a two‑month return journey while letters were exchanged rapidly with Ludlow via Dzeng. Tsungpen and Akong visited Trulung; plans were made for Ludlow to go to Pemakochung and the Yigrong Range, possibly leaving Suowa to Tsungpen, and Henry may accompany the diarist to Tromda. The writer, feeling heart trouble, decides to return to India amid persistently dull, rainy weather.

CONTENT:
been held up, but had gone very slowly indeed & had waited in Lhasa a very long while. I felt my heart rather a lot, & have had to decide to go back to India, a blow which I haven't realized fully yet.

31st March. Tongkyun. We had heavy rain & a thunderstorm on the way - typical weather for spring. Although it was very heavy, it was noticeable that snow did not fall low down on the hills. All the peach blossom is out here, in Pasha - a very pretty sight.

1-2-3 April. Halt. Nothing much to do. Repacked all stores for our 2 months trip back, leaving the rest for Ludlow to dispose of. Tsungpen & Akong went to Trulung on 3rd for a quick trip to Trulung and back, & hope secured for quite a lot of good things. There must be a great change down that way by now.

4-5-6-7th April. Halt. I sent a letter to Ludlow on 3rd telling him of our altered plans. The lad took it to Dzeng in 2 days & found L & S there, they not yet having been able to see the Dzongpen at Tsola Dzong, as he had gone to Trulung. Ludlow wrote back at once & I got the letter on 6th - there & back in 4 days. Ludlow plans now to go to Pemakochung, then here by 15 May & on to the Yigrong Range. He wants to let Tsungpen do the Suowa area on his own. I wonder if that is wise & if Tsungpen can manage it. It would be a jolly good show if he did do it. Henry suggests coming with me to Tromda, but I hope that will not be necessary. We will have to have a good talk on 14th when we meet there. What a lot of time has been wasted this year. But we could not help it. Tsungpen should be back here this evening from Trulung, if he has had no trouble from coolies.

8th & 9th Ap. Halt. Every day is the same now. Each night it rains more or less. Each day is cloudy, with some bright intervals, more or less. It is dull weather,