The last twelve days I was very short of food. of course one can get searcely anything in that awful country; I lived chiefly on boiled rics and pumpkin for those last twelve days and reached Hkamti-Loong in a rather exhausted condition, and, catching a chill the same evening. went down next day. If I had not reached Putao, where the Deputy Commissioner was putting me up, and if there had not UN
465 been a white civil surgeon there (there are four, or sometimes five white men in Putao, namely, the D. C., Civil surgeon, and two or three army officers of the military police), it would have been all up. As it was I had fourteen days with temperature of 104° and then dropped to 92° and almost pegged out. T was in a terrible state, from bad bitings I had had from leeches. However, I got off with a couple of bad (both were cut: I look like a German student now!) and after that came convalescence.
Altogether I was on my back five weeks, and spent two months in Putao instead of the proposed work. I left on December 1 and reached Myitkyina and civilization December 24 and Rangoon three days later. The Kachins looted one of my boxes on the way down—rather a serious loss.
T have had an interesting year, found some very rare plants, and lived amongst the most interesting tribes—Yawyins (or—_Lious), Marus, Lashis, Shans and Kachin The day after my arrival I applied for a commission in the Indian Army Reserve (formed during the war) and was failed for active
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.