Their strength and powers of endurance are great, the same writer
states, and they consider that these qualities are obtained by the
eating of the _goh_ and _sandha_ or iguana lizards, which a Vaghri
prizes very highly. This is also the case with the Bawarias of the
Punjab, who go out hunting lizards in the rains and may be seen
returning with baskets full of live lizards, which exist for days
without food and are killed and eaten fresh by degrees. Their method
of hunting the lizard is described by Mr. Wilson as follows: [66]
"The lizard lives on grass, cannot bite severely, and is sluggish
in his movements, so that he is easily caught. He digs a hole for
himself of no great depth, and the easiest way to take him is to
look out for the scarcely perceptible airhole and dig him out; but
there are various ways of saving oneself this trouble. One, which I
have seen, takes advantage of a habit the lizard has in cold weather
(when he never comes out of his hole) of coming to the mouth for
air and warmth. The Chuhra or other sportsman puts off his shoes and
steals along the prairie till he sees signs of a lizard's hole. This
he approaches on tiptoe, raising over his head with both hands a
mallet with a round sharp point, and fixing his eyes intently upon
the hole. When close enough he brings down his mallet with all his
might on the ground just behind the mouth of the hole, and is often
successful in breaking the lizard's back before he awakes to a sense
of his danger. Another plan, which I have not seen, is to tie a wisp
of grass to a long stick and move it over the hole so as to make a
rustling noise. The lizard within thinks, 'Oh here's a snake! I may
as well give in,' and comes to the mouth of the hole, putting out
his tail first so that he may not see his executioner. The sportsman
seizes his tail and snatches him out before he has time to learn his
mistake." This common fondness for lizards is a point in favour of
a connection between the Gujarat Vaghris and the Punjab Bawarias.