SUMMARY:
Rain in Yatung limited collecting to a few rhododendrons and a viburnum, and ponies were arranged for travel to Gangtok amid staffing issues due to Williamson’s wedding. The next day the journey from Yatung to Tsomgo crossed the Natu La in mist and soft snow, with a small avalanche observed and a pony falling.

CONTENT:
of much the same style as the Kashmir houses, but ever so much more pukka-built. The Tibetans we meet are all very cheerful, & invariably greet one by taking off their hats & salaaming.

17th May YATUNG. Rained most of the day, & after two & a half hours on the hill behind the bungalow we only got one bird. Took R. cinnabarinum (L&S. 748), R. cephalanthum (L&S. 9), a few rhododendrons & a viburnum V. cordifolium (L&S. 10). Arranged for ponies (three) for Gangtok. I take Ahmad Sheikh with me, & therefore Ludlow is left without a cook. He wired Williamson for permission to use the chowkidar while I was away & got the helpful answer that he had no objection provided the B.T.A agreed. The B.T.A is in Gyantse. In fact W's wedding is a perfect curse.

Sherriff returns to Gangtok for Williamson's wedding.

18th May. TSOMGO. 22 miles. 11 hours. It was a lovely clear morning in Yatung, so I left at 6.15 & decided to cross the Natu La while the going was good. Ahmad Sheikh & I each rode a mule, while our bedding was on a third one. Up to Chushithang it was lovely & the view perfect. As we reached the pass the clouds came down, & actually on the top we were in thick mist. The track was easy so far, though there is still nearly as much snow as when we crossed before. On this side there appeared to be the same amount of snow, & it was very wet & soft. A short way this side of the pass, a small avalanche passed about 10 yds in front of me, & when I stopped to watch it, I heard that the last pony had fallen. It had been caught in an even

SUMMARY:
Notes scarce flowering near Yatung, a visit to the B.T.A.'s house, and photographing the chowkidar's wife; Worth has gone to Gyantse. On 16th May at Yatung they ride to Lingmathang, find few flowers (primulas and rhododendrons), collect three blood pheasants, and remark on well-built local houses.

CONTENT:
14

wiser provided one keeps 100 yards away from any houses. Even
here practically no flowers are out, except a few rhododendrons
P. denticulata - & masses of a primula like denticulata. It is most disappointing.
Clematis alpina (LD 4)
We went over to see the B.T.A.'s house & garden - both very nice
looking places. Worth, the B.T.A. has gone up to Gyantse. I got
the chowkidar's wife to come & be photographed this afternoon. She
hasn't much in the way of fine clothing, but is typically Tibetan.
Chowkidar's name Tami.

16th May. YATUNG. Today we rode 6 miles up the valley to
Lingmathang, where we had intended to mark flowers for
autumn seed collection. But there were no flowers to mark.
B.S. contd. griffithii & tanneri. The only ones we saw were two primulas & some rhododen-
Scenes in P. griffithii (LD 5) drons. One primula was a beautiful one, deep purple
Chumbi valley coloured, with a yellow eye. This was a good sunny
near Ling- day with a pleasant breeze. It seems the weather this
mathang side of the hills is better than the other. At Lingmathang
we climbed up the hill on the left bank to about 13,500'
looking for birds & flowers. Both were very scarce, but we came
Birds across three blood pheasants which we collected. The two
males varied considerably in colour on the forehead & tail
feathers, possibly due to age, or possibly because we are
halfway between two places where their colours are known
to vary. The houses here are very well built - chalet
style - with roofs of short lengths of pine wood. They are