Sir J. G. Tennent[[164]] gives the following account of V. salvator:–
"The 'Kabara-goya' of the Singhalese is partial to marshy ground, and when disturbed upon land will take refuge in the nearest water. From the somewhat eruptive appearance of the yellow blotches on its scales, a closely allied species, similarly spotted, obtained the name of Monitor exanthematicus, and it is curious that the native appellation of this one, Kabara, is suggestive of the same idea. The Singhalese, on a strictly homoeopathic principle, believe that its fat, externally applied, is a cure for cutaneous disorders, but that taken inwardly it is poisonous. The skilfulness of the Singhalese in their preparation of poisons and their addiction to using them are unfortunately notorious traits in the character of the rural population. Amongst these preparations the one which above all others excites the utmost dread, from the number of murders attributed to its agency, is the potent kabara-tel, a term which Europeans sometimes corrupt into cobra-tel, implying that the venom is obtained from the hooded-snake; whereas it professes to be extracted from the Kabara-goya.
"In the preparation of this mysterious compound, the unfortunate Kabara-goya is forced to take a painfully prominent part. The receipt, as written down by a Kandyan, was sent to me from Kornegalle by Mr. Morris, the civil officer of that district; and in dramatic arrangement it far outdoes the cauldron of Macbeth's witches. The ingredients are extracted from venomous snakes by making incisions in the head of these reptiles and suspending them over a basin to collect the poison as it flows. To this, arsenic and other drugs are added, and the whole is boiled in a human skull, with the aid of three Kabara-goyas, which are tied on three sides of the fire, with their heads directed towards it, and tormented by whips to make them hiss so that the fire may blaze. The froth from their lips is then added to the boiling mixture, and so soon as an oily scum rises to the surface, the kabara-tel is complete. Before commencing the operation of preparing the poison, a cock has to be sacrificed to the demons.
"This ugly lizard is itself regarded with such aversion by the Singhalese that if one enter a house or walk over the roof, it is regarded as an omen of ill-fortune, sickness, or death; and in order to avert the evil, a priest is employed to go through a rhythmical incantation."
Captain Robinson, renowned as a hunter of tigers on foot in the old days of muzzle-loading rifles, has told me the following unique use to which these large lizards are put by ingenious thieves in India. In order to be able to get over a wall too high for climbing without assistance, the thief provides himself with a strong lizard, ties a rope round its waist and lets the animal go, when it at once scales the mud wall by its strong and sharp claws, and jumps down on the other side. The weight of the lizard, which, moreover, holds vigorously on to the ground, and the friction of the rope on the top of the wall, are sufficient to help the man over!
Fig. 140.–Varanus salvator swallowing a Fowl's egg. × ⅛.
It is a sight, never failing in its attraction to the visitors of the Zoological Gardens in London, to see one of the big Monitors fed with an egg. The lizard knows the treat well that is in store for it. It raises itself up high in expectation, then examines the egg with the long tongue, takes it up gingerly and swallows it entire, crushing it by the contraction of the muscles of its gullet. On one occasion it was given a rotten egg which burst in its mouth, and the lizard refused for a long time to take another.
V. gouldi is common in Australia and in New Guinea. It reaches a length of about 4 feet. Its colour is brown above with yellow spots on the back and limbs, and with yellow rings on the tail. Two yellow streaks separated by a black band extend from the temples along the side of the neck. The under parts are yellowish, sometimes with black spots.
Fam. 9. Xantusiidae.–Three Californian, or West-Indian genera, with less than half-a-dozen species. Pleurodont with a short tongue and with the supratemporal fossa roofed over by bone. The tongue is scarcely extensible, with oblique overlapping folds which converge towards the median line, and with scale-like imbricate papillae towards the tip. The skull possesses complete postorbital and postfronto-squamosal arches, the latter meeting the parietals and roofing over the supratemporal fossa. The palatines are in contact with each other, and there are no infra-orbital fossae. There are no osteoderms; the body is covered above with small granular scales, below with larger scales. The eyes are devoid of movable lids. The tympanum is exposed. Femoral pores are present. Limbs and tail well developed. Xantusia and Lepidophyma.