Showing 176 results

SUMMARY:
Notes a fine Aconite in flower but seeds largely unripe; mail arrived quickly from Kalimpong. On 13 September, after heavy rain and new snow down to 14,500 ft, the party halted and went up the Chachhu La route toward Nanda La to seek Notholirion bulbs and possible seed, planning to take roots on return from Waitang.

CONTENT:
Tashi coming home with us, we don't want to wait. The only flower today was a very fine Aconite again - a small one with a single very big flower, really very beautiful. Ludlow got this in the Rongde Chu valley about 5 weeks ago, but here it is only just in full flower. So seed will be impossible I fear, and our only hope is to take roots when we return from Waitang. Time is getting on now, and many things are not nearly ripe. It is very worrying, but I can't change plans now. Had to send off the mail today, but kept it to add a little after the new mail came in. This one came in exactly 15 days from Kalimpong, that is wonderfully quick.

13th September. Halt. We had the heaviest rain of the trip last night, and hoped for thunder, but there was none. However this morning the hills were all covered with snow down to about 14500. That is the first sign of the autumn and the first sign of the end of the rains. We want that, to hurry on the seeds, so few of which are yet ripe. Today we went up the Chachhu La route, i.e. the route that goes to the Nanda La past two lakes, joining at the lakes the route we followed when we left Marlung for Mandating. I had been up there before once and seen hundreds of Notholirion hyacinthinum, but only in bud. So we went for the bulbs and perhaps seed. I

SUMMARY:
News from Trashigong reports daks were diverted via Neoli and handed to the wife of Babu Pradhan, who has kept them while Pradhan is away in Calcutta; a small mail is prepared to go next morning. The party moves camp to the west side of Dib La in heavy rain and mist, noting several primulas and Bryocarpum, and makes use of a log hut with prepared flats for tents.

CONTENT:
88
mail.

possible. News came from Trashigong that the daks or at least three of them had been found. They had had to go by Neoli, and there had been handed over to the wife of Babu Pradhan for some obscure reason. Pradhan himself was away in Calcutta so the bitch of a woman has kept them and refuses still to give them up. She must have had one of them for over 2 1/2 months. Packed up a small mail to go off tomorrow morning.

15th Sept. Camp below Dib La (west) 4 miles Ht 11527' (BP 191.6°)
Dib La.
Lil. nanum 959. Temp 52°. Heavy rain and thick mist all day
Prim. thibetica 960. long. Moved camp to the west side of the range
Prim. normanniana 961. which on the way up was better than the East.
One can't do anything in rain like this though.
There are quite a number of primulas on the
East side of the Dib La. I took plants today
of Winteri? (No. 1.) and another primula, both over
Bryocarpum. of course. Bryocarpum also grows in considerable
numbers there. I saw no signs of any other
primulas on the pass or below, though there
should be some, as the area must compare pretty
well with the Saden passes. There is a reasonably
good log hut here, and we have had small flats
prepared for our tents - not ideal but good enough for

SUMMARY:
The diarist travels from Changphu to Chumkarah and on to Pinshogong and Hach, crossing the Bhutan–Tibet boundary near Jangphu, aided by mules from the Trashigang Dzongpon. They collect more Albizzia sherriffii seeds, note fruit sent by the Dzongpon, observe otters, visit a new Dzong, and receive a warm welcome from Dzongpon Dopola while mail arrangements via Basu Pradhan remain unresolved. Weather is noted as improving after rain, with hot conditions in the valley.

CONTENT:
To Changphu
16th November, JAMGPHU. Rain yesterday evening and last night. Fine and bright today. Changed transport twice, but everything ready for us. It is a long climb up from the bridge to Jangphu, the last 2 miles being more or less level. Three mules were sent to meet us, but only for the level stretch, so we all had a good sweat. Hills much drier here, being barer and more cultivated. The boundary of Bhutan with Tibet is crossed 300 yards W of Jangphu — a small very insignificant little valley. Oranges I'm glad to say are ripe, or near enough so to be eaten, and are very good after a climb like today's.

To Chumkarah
17th November, Chumkarah. Clouded and a little rain at night: fine all day. We are getting almost too civilized now. People turn out to meet us, tea is produced by the roadside, and camping grounds are prepared. I would rather just be allowed to wander along. However it is nice to have the Trashigang Dzongpon's mules here to help us on our way. I have hardly ridden at all since we left Kalimpong in Feb. — only on 3 or 4 days for a short while. But here it is hot, and a mule will be very nice to have. Changed transport once again today.

I could not find the original tree of Albizzia Sherriffii, although I recognized the place, but took more seeds again today, so surely should have it by now. The Dzongpon sent some pears, bananas and oranges, which are just what the doctor ordered for this hot valley. I hear that there is still no mail in Trashigang, so again our arrangements have gone wrong, though why I cannot think. I wrote to PM Kumarikata Basu Pradhan in August, and Tobgye has forwarded our letters to the latter.

To Trashigong Dzong
18th November, Pinshogong. Fine and very hot. On the way, I spotted three otters having a great time in the river, always keeping together, and hunting for a few minutes, then joining up on to the hot sandy beach and rolling and playing about. Owing to a cliff I could not get very close, but took a tele-cine picture of them. Went and saw the new Dzong, which is a fine building and seems well designed. Then came on here about 3.0 pm, for a very warm welcome from the Dzongpon Dopola. Rained pretty hard at night.

19th November, Hach. Fine all day. Stayed in camp, and talked to the Dzongpon. He says the same

SUMMARY:
Notes 1938 expedition plans for the Yilung Chu–Gyala area and records February travel from Mansehra via Rawalpindi to Calcutta and Kalimpong, dealing with delayed kit and shipping. Mentions visits with the Potters and Bakewells, calling Taylor and Mary, staying with Tobgye, a trip to Gangtok to see Gould, and preparations to proceed to Pedong.

CONTENT:
In 1936 L.D. collected in the upper reaches of the Subansiri. In 1938 they decided to collect in the drainage basin for the north of Molo on the Yilung Chu down to Gyala at the entrance to the gorge. (journey to last for 10 months). East of the area covered in 1936 — between Long. 94° and the bend of the Tsangpo — is contained in the Tsela District of Kongbo Takpo.

1938.

Feb. 8th. Mansehra The last two days have been cold with a good deal of snow at Uri. So we decided to leave today about 11:30, and go as far as possible. Actually the road was not really bad, and there was no snow beyond Uri. Primula inayatii was in flower at the cliff beyond Uri. At Domel we heard the road between Domel and Kohala was shut, so we went by the Abbottabad road and reached Mansehra very easily by 5:45 pm. Bungalow very clean and nice.

Feb. 9th. Rawalpindi. Left at 8:30, and got in in good style just after 11:00. The kit servants reached Pindi by mail lorry at 3:20 pm. Spent most of the day with the Potters and Bakewells.

Feb. 12th. Calcutta Left Pindi by the Frontier Mail on 10th at 2:10 pm and reached here at 8:00 am today. The first blow was to find that our kit had not arrived on our train. We then went to Cox and Kings and heard that the B.M. boxes had not been taken off the 'Domala' and that all the seven cases of whisky and rum had not been sent on from Bombay. Then we found the Bank all shut, and a good many shops too. In the evening we went to Mrs. Graham's house and telephoned to Taylor and Mary — six minutes to each, which meant a bill of Rs 160/-.

Feb. 13th. Kalimpong. Arrived here this morning by 10:30. It was nice, as always, to see Tobgye again, and we are staying in their house with them.

Feb. 24th. to Pedong. 10 miles We can now be said to have started. While with Tobgye we went to Gangtok, spent two nights with Gould. It was in a way rather a waste of time, as Gould is not a bit fit, and could not see us for very long. After that all our time was spent in packing and checking kit, leaving stuff for Taylor and making arrangements for his following us on. Tobgye had sent on some of our kit, on two different

SUMMARY:
The party splits as W and Mrs W go to Punakha while the diarist and Ludlow, on Tobgye's advice, take a dense leech-infested jungle path from below Lomitsawa towards Wangdupotrang. They avoid shooting due to sensitivities in the late Shabdrung’s area near Thimbu, collect some birds, butterflies, and plants, and after a tiring nine-hour trek reach the Punakha Chu/Mo Chu; camp conditions are filthy with flies, mud, and fleas.

CONTENT:
36

Nearly every tree trunk was covered with moss. Birds were therefore different too, and we had quite an interesting bag. It is again very difficult to find shot birds in the intensely dense jungle. This is a filthy small camp, full of flies and mud. Yesterday too was bad, and Ludlow had little sleep owing to fleas.

70
1st July. TO WANGDUPOTRANG. 10 miles (by jungle path 16 miles). 4508' (An Ht. ). W and Mrs W went off to Punakha, and Ludlow and I decided on Tobgye's advice to go to Wangdupotrang by a jungle path. As we

(B. 16. contd) View from Lomitsawa down towards Wangdi Potrang in the misty early morning.

were still in the late Shabdrung's area, in Thimbu, the Penlop of which died the other day, Tobgye did not want us to shoot on the normal route, as the transport men talk, and the fact of our shooting here may get to the ears of the Maharaja's lama, who at present holds such power over the Maharaja. We therefore left the main route ½ mile below Lomitsawa, and turned into the re-entrant to the South West.

magnificent fern with fronds 3-5 ft long
This led us into the densest jungle we have seen, and full of leeches - even worse than Sikkim. We hardly dared to stop a second, as our feet became covered with them.

Schima wallichii 201
Polygala arillata 202
Pyrola rotundifolia 203

There were good butterflies to be caught though, and also we managed to get a few birds and some flowers. The route was as tiring as I have yet come across in Bhutan, and we walked for 9 hours before reaching here. This is on the Punakha Chu or Mo Chu, which we joined at

SUMMARY:
The diarist notes many migratory birds from Tibet and poor seed results except likely from Marlung or passes to the west. On 21 Sept., they remain in camp while Yundon and Pasang collect Primula caveana and a fine woolly Phandra from Tamagorra Nala, returning late and exhausted, with Yundon suffering a bad headache. On 22 Sept., amid cold wind and intermittent rain and sun, letters arrive from H.H. and mail from Hicks and Ludlow, but none from Betty.

CONTENT:
This, in the same way as I did with Mec. simplicifolia. Hope it turns out well. The whole scene is too big for a cine-camera. There are a good many birds now on migration from Tibet. I saw hundreds of wagtails and two Afghan redstarts today. And I must have seen 20 Ibisbills, but they aren't on migration though. We did not do well with seed again, and certainly most of our seed this year will come from Marlung or over the passes to the West.

21st Sept. Halt. Rain at night, but a lovely day of sun and cumulus clouds. I stayed in camp to deal with yesterday's seeds, while Yundon and Pasang went up Tamagorra Nala to the NE to get P. caveana and the 8 plants of white caveana marked by Yundon when we were here before. They have just returned at 6:00 pm when I was beginning to be a bit anxious about them. Boulder scree is dangerous: one can very easily make a false step and have a nasty fall. It was too late for me to examine any seed brought, but they have got all the white P. caveana, and another basket of the usual caveana as no seed is ripe. They also found the very fine Phandra which is woolly all over, and which we took twice at Marlung, but never saw in very good flower. Today they have brought both seed and fine flower. It is a beautiful thing. I have not been able to see if the seed is good or not. Otherwise just a Sax or a Saussurea, and a few odd very small primula roots - perhaps P. cervicina or P. walshii, which I may take too. As they have had such a long day, we will not go out tomorrow, but I will do the seed and get the roots properly packed. Yundon returned with a very bad head, which he said he had most of the day.

22nd Sept. Halt. Stayed in camp. Rain and sun very cold indeed, with a strong wind. Letters came in from H.H. with food etc and a mail from Hicks, Ludlow and Kalimpong, but in some strange way no letters from Betty. Hers must have

SUMMARY:
Notes on the death of the Thimbu penlop and Tobgye’s sending of English medicine, causing concern with the Maharaja. On 30th June Ludlow and the author travelled to Lomi-Tsa-wa via Do Kyong La in clearing weather, collecting flowers including Magnolia globosa and observing that vegetation in the Trashi-cho-dzong valley and at the pass resembled Sikkim.

CONTENT:
35

Thimbu penlop. He died of dropsy & a short while ago his
relations asked Tobgye for English medicine. Against his own
lamas advice, Tobgye sent some, but with strict instructions
that the lamas should first of all decide in their usual way
whether it would do good or not. After taking one of the two
medicines, the man felt weaker, & the whole thing was
immediately reported to the Maharaja, who is said to have been
angry with Tobgye. They said nothing of the fact that the
other medicine did a lot of good. I can't believe that the
Maharaja will put any blame down to Tobgye in the end.

30th June. TO LOMI-TSA-WA. 12 miles - 6700' (An. Ht. 7700'). Ludlow & I
Embelia oleracea 182
Anemone rivularis 183 were at last able to go on our own & were allowed to shoot
Rhod. Keysii 184
Symplocos ramosissima 186 as soon as we reached the DO KYONG LA, 10410'. So we
Pedicularis megalantha 187
left at 5.30 am, although it was raining pretty hard. By
Meconopsis villosa 189
Rhod. camelliaeflorum 190 7.30 however it cleared up & remained fine till 5.0 pm. On
Berberis celestina 191
the way up & at the top we found a number of flowers,
Mag. globosa 192
Pyrola rotundifolia 193 including the magnificent Magnolia Globosa in full bloom at
Streptopus simplex 194
10000'. We also got a strange rhododendron which Dawang
Geranium pratense 198
Didissandra lanuginosa 199 has never seen before. In the Trashi-cho-dzong valley
the vegetation is quite different to what we had seen before:
trees were quite scarce, & what there were, were mostly
small. The forest again became thick, but at the pass the
vegetation was much more like Sikkim - no pines or firs, a
good deal of bamboo undergrowth & numbers of rhododendrons.

SUMMARY:
Itemized expenses for supplies and freight from Calcutta and R'Pindi to Kalimpong, including purchases from Spencers and Harrods. Records advances and payments for mule transport from Phari to Gyantse, Tuna, Dochen, Kala, and Samoda.

CONTENT:
ACCOUNTS.

Cigarettes 200 tins. Spencers. Calcutta. 243 - 0 - 0. ✓
Cox & Kings. R'Pindi 14 pkgs R'Pindi to Kalimpong. 150 - 0 - 0 ✓
" Calcutta. 12 " Calcutta - Kalimpong. 76 - 1 - 0
Soap. Candles. Cointreau. Spencers. 70 - 0 - 0 ✓
Harrods. £ 53/- B.M.
Vegetables. Dried £ 11/- ✓
Advance to muleteers 25 mules to Phari @ Rs 6/- = 150 + 4 riding at Rs 10/- = 40 = 190. 100 - 0 - 0 ✓✓
Mules to Phari 16 loads at 6/12 mule & 14 loads at 5/12 mule : 95 - 0 - 0 ✓✓
17 mules Phari to Gyantse at Rs 8/4. Advance paid Rs. 100/- 100 - 0 - 0 ✓✓
24 " " Tuna at Rs 2/- 48 - 0 - 0 ✓✓
22 " " Dochen @ Rs 1/- 22 - 0 - 0 ✓✓
22 " to Kala, 22 to Samoda + mixture mules

SUMMARY:
Notes common primula, iris, and emerging gentians, with a few Parnassius butterflies at camp; praises local butter and mentions a local man paid in food and clothing who sells to buy an ornament for his wife. Sends for coolies to leave for Changu on the 21st; on 21 July at Drötang (11700') reports mist then sun near Karutra, parched conditions, no pheasants or larks, and shooting a rubythroat while declining to skin an aegithaliscus.

CONTENT:
The little Tama La-Tahtsang primula is also common, nearly always coloured violet, instead of the usual white seen elsewhere. Iris also fairly common near snow. Gentians are all coming on, but few fully out yet. Got a few more parnassius at camp, but nothing new amongst them. I have sent for the coolies to come tomorrow evening, will leave for Changu on the 21st. I think there is more to be had here, either down the other side of the Chayha, or later on when gentians are in full swing. The local butter is very good, much better than can be had at Sanga Choling. This man gets no pay, but food & clothing. However he is very willing to sell, to get a rupee for an ornament for his wife.

21st. July. Drötang. 11700'. 6 m. Thick mist up the hill, till half way below Karutra, then bright sun. Obviously there has not been much in the way of rain down here, things still look pretty parched. Came across no pheasant or larking. Shot one ruby throat at camp - Bunged for an aegithaliscus down here, which I am not going to skin. Pretty hot down here after last camp, where there

SUMMARY:
The party stays in the Dzongpen’s guest quarters, sends presents to Bumthang, and arranges future mail to India via Neoli instead of Dewangiri to avoid the wet march to Darrang Mela; the Dzongpen is very hospitable and even takes up shooting sparrows. On 29 June they make a short, mostly downhill march to Trashigong with the Jongpen, passing cultivated hills near Pinhogong (Rongtung) and noting the Dangme Chu (Trashiyangsi Chu) below.

CONTENT:
boxes and stores. The Dzongpen has two quite pleasant quarters for guests, and had made a place for our servants. We sent off all presents for Bumthang and arranged for the first mail to go to India today. It will go by Dewangiri, but we are arranging that in future it should go by Neoli, so as to miss the wet march from Dewangiri to Darrang Mela. The Dzongpen is not likely to worry us for shooting birds, as he saw my two rifles yesterday and immediately took both out and started potting sparrows himself. He is being as kind as Bhutan officials always have been, and provides everything. In fact he provides far too much, and we are not allowed to pay for anything if he can help it.

29th June TO TRASHIGONG 5 miles. (205.2° = 3574'. Temp. 81°.

Sent off all loads about 10 am and followed with the Jongpen at 11.30. A very short march, steep down for the first mile over a small side valley. Then the road is well graded, slightly downhill, through open hillside. The hills are cultivated here and there, but there are signs that formerly there used to be a great deal of cultivation near here. Pinhogong is the RONGTUNG of the map, or near it. Below Trashigong flows the Dangme Chu (Trashiyangsi Chu) a fine big swift