Matriarch

Chapter 1-4

The women had giggled at how he wore boots that went up to his knobbly knees, and how he had brought so many dilly bags they had to build another hut to put them in, and how he sometimes wore a red coat and galloped through the bush, blowing a small didgeridoo, jumping over anything in the way. I would look forward to the morning ritual, although there were often many mornings when he did not come. He would have gone after cattle, the women would know, because some of their men would have also gone out on the muster. They could be out for weeks, or maybe on a long drive to deliver a mob. However, one morning he was there again, and I was so pleased to see him that I stepped out of the trees and found his reaction very pleasant.

‘Good morning young lady, I did not expect anyone to be here at this hour of the morning, and what is your name?’ I told him.

‘Damn me, if you do not understand what I am saying. I am Fritzhugh, but you may call me Fritzy, or Fritz, if you like.’

‘Fritz, sound nice.’

‘Good, I like Fritz, although everybody calls me Fritzy. I have enjoyed meeting you Alkina. Now be a good girl and run along while I get dressed.’

I was very amused by what my mother described as the great white modesty, and after that I would only emerge to say hello once he was dressed. About a month later, I heard that the station people were out searching for him. Mother said he was probably lost, having explained that my father had done the same thing. But once I understood that white men could not find water or tucker, I became very concerned for his safety, and on the second day, I set out with my dilly bag and digging stick, to look for him. I knew we had trackers, but knowing how our people think, I decided he would probably be in a place where they would be reluctant to go. This was dry, featureless, sandy country, and the home of many bad spirits.

The night had come and the bush rustled to the sound of animals, while the stars and moon seemed so low I could almost touch them. Our young people could read the signs, and I saw where dingo, goanna, emu, snake, and lizard had been; but I found no sign of Fritz. Toward the end of that long second day, I saw birds circling in the distance and I began to run. Closer, and I could see the crows, and my heart pounded.

I thought he might be dead; for me, this was a race for life, and I took in great gulps of air as I plunged down into a deep dry water course and clambered up the other side. I ran over the sandy waste, up the side of dunes falling down the other side until I saw him. The crows were waiting for the struggles to cease, before they rushed in for an eye. His horse was dead, with legs stiff in the air and Fritz was pinned under it. His pale skin had blistered and his lips were cracked and bleeding. I was elated that he was alive, and I clearly remember that this was my first brush with his English stoicism. I could have arrived for morning tea, yet he could barely whisper.

‘Hello Alkina, how lovely to see you! We do meet in the most unexpected places and I must say it is always very nice when we do. I am afraid I cannot feel my legs; b****y horse must weigh a couple of tons. Would you oblige me by burrowing from the other side? It is probably lying on my water bottle, which was hanging from the saddle, and I dare say you could do with a drink yourself.’

I was so thrilled to have found him, and despite all this polite carry on, he was very weak, and using my digging stick, I tore away at the sand to retrieve his bottle. He was so ridiculously gallant: ‘no, no… I insist… after you my dear girl…’ I remember taking a quick sip so he would drink. Then I found he couldn’t, until I let the water dribble down my fingers and on to his cracked lips. Fritz was in a terrible state as I did my best to comfort and shelter him from the last of the sun. He had already worked out what had to be done, and apart from anything else, there was terrible stench coming from his horse, which had blown up and attracted a large cloud of blow flies.

‘Alkina, when you have had a rest, I want you to start digging under me, then hopefully, I will fall into the hollow you make.’ It was clear that I could not leave, and with Fritz doing what he could to help, I dug like mad, which did much to ease his pain.

‘Please try to pull the saddle out. I would dig under it from the other side, undo it first, then you may be able to wriggle it out. Then we should try to get my other leg free. I have had plenty of time to think about all this.’

Eventually I got the saddle out. The poor man was extraordinarily brave, and lay there gasping, but at least we were getting there.

‘Thank you, please have a drink and a rest, and when you are ready, I am going to push with my free leg and at the same time, I would like you to pull me straight back by the arms. Do you think you could do that?’ Things had improved considerably. We got ready.

‘Do let me know if I am gripping your wrists too tightly. I want you to pull on the count of three, one, two, three, pull! Nearly there, just one more, on the count of three, one, two, three, ahhh!’ And poor Fritz had fainted. At least he was already a good way out from under the horse, and eventually I managed to drag him free of it. I was in a state myself. Fritz was unconscious, and could die before we were found. Should I run for help or stay with him? I bathed his face, and at last, the day had begun to cool. I can honestly say I was a very relieved girl when he came around.

‘You did it Alkina; you are a first class girl! Now let’s see, I am still in one piece and I think I am getting some feeling in my legs. We should try to make it over to that tree, and it would help if I had a decent stick to lean on?’

It must have been sheer willpower; we got him standing; he must have been in absolute agony, but with him leaning and me lifting, we shuffled a few steps at a time until we made it over to the tree.

‘There we are, absolutely splendid! Now I am sure everything will be rosy. I am so glad the great dreaming spirit had the foresight to make trees.’

Working gingerly together, we managed to prop Fritz up so he was leaning back against the trunk with his legs splayed. ‘Alkina, I cannot tell you how good it is not to be under that horse.’

Daylight was fading, but at least he knew what we should do. ‘Alkina, I want you to go back to the homestead and tell Albert, the boss, where I am, and you can ride back with them?’

‘I have never been on a horse.’

‘Good Lord! Never mind, I will teach you when we get home.’ Before I left, I did what I could to make him comfortable. ‘My girl, you are wonderful, now I insist you take the bottle.’ Obviously I could not, but I took a quick sip and left with him still making a fuss.

Albert was enormously relieved, and they were able to get the sulky in as far as that last deep dry water course. Poor Fritzhugh had to lie flat on his back for months while his pelvis knitted, and was most insistent that I visit him. He soon had me fossicking among his unopened ports so he could show me the family albums, which, with his vivid descriptions, opened up an entire new world for me, and I soon learned precisely who was who.

Fritz was a model patient, and as I found out, he was a wonderful storyteller with an inexhaustible repertoire of very funny tales from his former life. Being young and naïve, I discovered that my friend needed an audience, which was a new experience or as I had certainly never met anyone even remotely like him. However, I think we instinctively knew that we enjoyed our growing friendship. But, unknown to me, we did have a problem; Albert was nine years older than Fritzhugh, and, I imagine, felt duty-bound to protect the young English Lord. It was years later that Fritz described their awkward exchange to me.

Albert had been very apprehensive before he seriously confided his fears to Fritz. ‘I wonder boss if we could talk about something which is really bothering me.’

‘Fire away old man, talk about anything you like.’ Fritz was completely open like that. At the time he was very uncomfortable and could not be moved from his bed, which, each morning, was trundled outside and placed under a tree. But he was fed up. Fritz needed people around him. Nonetheless, out it came that in Albert’s opinion, I was smitten with him, which would have been perfectly true at the time, only I had no idea, and I honestly believe that in those early days, neither had Fritz. Yet Albert, who was very embarrassed with his task, must have felt it had to be said.

‘I mean no disrespect,’ he began, ‘and I am sure Alkina is a very nice girl; it is just that I don’t think you should feel obliged to befriend her.’

‘Albert, but I don’t. She has a wealth of interesting things to tell me about her people. Alkina has a lively mind, and I find her pleasant company.’

‘I mean, begging your pardon Fritzy, but she is here every day; what I am trying to say is, of course, I admire what she did, but she was raised in the bush, and it would have been nothing to her.’

‘Good Lord Albert, I have transgressed,’ Fritz said, doing his best to tread water around the issue. Their exchange only made Fritz more determined than ever not to let Albert’s sensibilities get in the way. ‘Albert, I was thinking that perhaps her father was probably just like you and I, and I believe she is trying to understand us. I would be grateful if, when she visits me, you would accept that she is here as my guest?’

Fritz had the most wonderful sense of mischief. In time, he got Albert to bring in a quiet hack, so I and the horse could get to know each other, and Fritz would revert to playing the bumbling Englishman if he wished to put one over him. ‘I am sorry if my being laid up is a bother, old chap, but I find being so out of touch with everything out here, is a difficulty, but never mind, I have taken her inside leg, waist, arm length, and across the shoulder measurements, and have written away for a few things for her, such as underwear, jodhpurs, and shirts. Oh, and a very strange thing, her feet are much smaller than I would have thought. I had no idea what size, so I measured toe to heel and traced an outline and enclosed that. I do hope it does the trick.’ Fritz said Albert was speechless; yet, given time, he became my very dear friend. Several more rooms had been added to the hut, including a front veranda, a decent workable kitchen with a pantry, and best of all, a good fuel stove. The homestead roof was now big enough to collect rain water in large corrugated iron tanks for drinking.

Mail or not, Percy would make a detour and come all the way in to see him. The three of them were great mates and, after dinner, would sit on the veranda and talk for hours over a bottle of port. Eventually my new clothes arrived, and when Fritz was able to hobble about with the aid of sticks, my riding lessons began. He was a wonderful teacher and extraordinarily patient, it certainly gave him an interest, and he kept up a constant flow of encouragement. ‘That’s very good, an excellent seat, now forward in the saddle, nice hands, keep your mount collected.’ One day he said to me, ‘Alkina, you look very good on a horse, and when I saw you silhouetted against the lowering sun, I thought how pretty you are.’