LIZARDS, CROCODILES, AND TORTOISES 325 



the water and their great tails lashing from side 

 to side, or diving and remaining below the surface 

 to come up at a great distance from the points 

 at which they disappeared. In ordinary circum- 

 stances they come to the surface of the water 

 after brief intervals, but when alarmed they can 

 remain submerged for a long time with complete 

 impunity. Their power in this respect is not, 

 however, equal to that of crocodiles, and continuous 

 submersion during periods of from three to four 

 hours' duration is enough to drown them. As a 

 rule, they do not venture very far from water, 

 and, on any alarm they always make for it as 

 quickly as possible. Their tails not only serve 

 as very efficient propellers and steering-gear, but are 

 also formidable weapons, owing to their great reach 

 and the violence with which they can be lashed 

 about. At one time, and much against the wishes 

 of my servants, I kept a very large Varanus in a 

 cage in the verandah of the first floor of my 

 house. He was the object of much horror to the 

 household, as the uneducated natives firmly believe 

 that the long, forked, flickering black tongue, that 

 so often comes out from between the formidable 

 jaws, is endowed with such potently venomous 

 properties, that its slightest touch is fatal. The 

 cage was a very strong one, and was large enough 

 to contain an earthenware bath, in which the 

 prisoner spent most of his time. Every now and 



