DE. CAMPBELL EXPECTED 307 



Two letters to Sir William describe the happenings of this 

 month. 



Choongtam : October 3, 1849. 



I arrived here late last night, having made three flying 

 marches down from Momay Samdong to meet Campbell, 

 who will be here to-morrow en route to Kongra Lama, as 

 he tells me you are (ere the receipt of this) aware. I have 

 been months stimulating him to the journey and with success 

 at last. It is now six months since I have had any one to 

 talk to, and now that the route is known and he has the 

 Eajah under his thumb, I do not anticipate any difficulty. 

 He had a most narrow escape for his life on the second day 

 after leaving Darjiling : his pony slipped its foot in a most 

 dangerous part of the road ; feeling it do so he wisely jerked 

 himself off, and the animal, rolling down the precipice, was 

 killed on the spot ! 



I had hoped to make a very fine collection of seeds on 

 the road down here, but it sleeted and snowed all the first 

 day, and rained tremendously all the other two, which sadly 

 impeded my proceedings. However, I did my utmost, and 

 have ripe and good seeds of many very fine things, of which 

 I send a few samples. I am now collecting seeds as fast and 

 hard as I well can, and losing no opportunity. 



The tardy advance of the whole flora is most remarkable, 

 and many plants actually ripening their seeds, and uniformly 

 past flower at 15-16,000 feet are still in full flower at 7-10,000. 

 The reason plainly is, the further north you go the more sun- 

 shine there is. ... 



On the way down I passed an uncut maize field at 7000 

 feet very high for the culture of that plant and I stole 

 several hermaphrodite heads. The villagers made an outcry 

 at first, as they appear to know the value of the male panicle, 

 but a sick woman turning up whom I doctored, gave me 

 the run of the field as fee, and a pocketful of small, hard, 

 tasteless peaches. . . . 



I brought down three loads of 80 Ibs. each of plants whose 

 sodden state now keeps me hard at work. It is a very fine 

 collection after all, with heaps of new and curious things 

 from the Passes. The roads, mere tracks at best, were in 

 a horrid state from landslips and deep mire, and I do wonder 

 how my coolies made it out in three days, but they are all 



