He had hoped to show them some of the saddle-oxen of the Himalayas, but in this he was disappointed, as they did not happen to meet any of them during their journeys. These oxen are the small sturdy animals of the mountains, and though they are no larger than a two-year-old steer in America, they can carry a load of two or three hundred pounds without difficulty. The Buddhist priests at the mountain temples keep several of these oxen, and in parts of the Himalayas they are preferred to other beasts of burden. The boys were greatly interested in the description of a Thibetan train from the salt-mines on the northern side of the Himalayas, in which every animal that can carry a load is pressed into the service. First comes a string of _yaks_, or buffaloes, peculiar to the mountain regions, and each of them has a cargo of two hundred pounds of salt, in addition to the pots and pans used in the camps, and possibly a baby or two in a basket hanging at the animal's side. Then comes a long file of sheep and goats, and each of them carries a bag of salt on his back; behind these quiet beasts of burden are two or three huge dogs of a peculiar breed, with long shaggy hair, and with noses flattened in so that they are almost like no noses at all. Every dog carries a bag of salt, and so does every one of the children that bring up the rear of the caravan. The only animals of the train exempt from service are the cats; their freedom from labor is secured, not from any tenderness on the part of their owners, but from the antipathy of the cat to working under the pack-saddle. [Illustration: A THIBETAN DOG.] CHAPTER XXXIV. HUNTING SCENES IN INDIA.--PURSUIT OF THE TIGER ON FOOT AND WITH ELEPHANTS. The curiosity of the boys to learn about the wild animals of India was awakened by their meeting with Captain Whitney, the famous hunter, and they were greatly delighted when they found him entirely willing to speak of his exploits and describe incidents of a hunter's life. The stormy day at Simla was, therefore, utilized to the fullest extent, and the stories of the gallant captain found a place in the note-books of both Frank and Fred. We will let Captain Whitney give the account of his hunting experience, as nearly as we can, in his own words. The boys listened attentively to the stories, and afterward wrote them out from memory, and from the notes they had taken while sitting at the table in the parlor of the hotel where the conversation occurred.