NO KECOGNISED CHIEFTAINSHIP. 27 



or the tuber of a wild yam {Dioscorea bulbifera), 

 cut into small pieces^ and well steeped in water to 

 remove its bitter taste. 



Among' the edible fruits of Cape York I may 

 mention the ledra, a species of Anacardium or 

 cashew nut (the lurgala of Port Essington), which 

 after being- well roasted to destroy its acridity has 

 somewhat the taste of a filbert, — the elari (a species 

 of Wallrothia), the size of an apricot, soft and 

 mealy, Avith a nearly insipid but slightly mawkish 

 taste, — wobar, the small, red, mealy fruit of Mi- 

 musops KauMi, — and the aplga (a species of Mugenia), 

 a red, apple-like fruit, the pericarp of which has 

 a pleasantly acid taste. The fruit of two species of 

 pandanus yields a sweet mucilage when sucked, 

 and imparts it to water in which it has been soaked, 

 after which it is broken up between two stones, and 

 the kernels are extracted and eaten. 



Thi'oughout Australia and Torres Strait, the exist- 

 ence of chieftainship, either hereditary or acquired, 

 has in no instance of which I am aware been 

 clearly proved : yet in each community there are 

 certain individuals who exercise an influence over 

 the others which Europeans are apt to mistake for 

 real authority. These so-called chiefs, are generally 

 elderly men, who from prowess in war, force of 

 character, or acknowledged sagacity, are allowed to 

 take the lead in everything relating- to the tribe. 

 In Torres Strait such people are generally the 

 owners of large canoes, and several wives ; and in 



