Wagon Types



Ubar’s Wagon: In our camp, the wagon of our Ubar is known as DRAGONSLAIR; it has also been affectionately called “the tour bus.” When we migrate between our summer and winter lands, the enormous wagon and its one hundred bosk are expertly driven by our Ubar’s first girl. The wagon itself looks exactly like the description of the Ubar’s wagon as detailed in John Norman’s Nomads of Gor--with the exception that this one has a front porch!

”The wagon of... [the] Ubar of the Tuchuks...was drawn up on a large, flat-topped, grassy hill, the highest land in the camp.
”Beside the wagon, on a great pole fixed in the earth, stood the Tuchuk standard of the four bosk horns.
”The hundred, rather than eight, bosk that drew his wagon had been unyoked; they were huge, red bosk; their horns had been polished and their coats glistened from the comb and oils; their golden nose rings were set with jewels; necklaces of precious stones hung from the polished horns.
”The wagon itself was the largest in camp, and the largest wagon I had conceived possible; actually it was a vast platform, set on numerous wheeled frames; though at the edges of the platform, on each side, there were a dozen of the large wheels such as are found on the much smaller wagons; these latter wheels turned as the wagon moved and supported weight, but could not themselves have supported the entire weight of that fantastic, wheeled palace of hide. The hides that formed the dome were of a thousand colors, and the smoke hole at the top must have stood more than a hundred feet from the flooring of that vast platform. I could well conjecture the riches, the loot and the furnishings that would dazzle the interior of such a magnificent dwelling.”—Nomads, 41


Commanders’ Wagons: Although not nearly so large as the wagon, our Commanders’ wagons are still quite large. Each of the members of our Council, whether male or female, occupies just such a wagon. As they are in Nomads, the boxes of our Commanders’ wagons are painted red.

“At that time, of course,” said Harold, our wagons were not painted red, nor filled with booty and rich things, for we were not then commanders.”—Nomads, 273


”It was a large wagon, drawn by eight black bosk. There were two Tuchuk guards outside. Beside it, fixed in the earth, on a pole, was a standard of four bosk horns. The pole had been painted red, which is the color of commanders.”—Nomads, 276

Slave Kennnel Wagons: Our Ubar has seen fit to set aside two large slave wagons, one for kajirae and another for thralls, placing them side by side on the same wagon lot. The wagon platforms sit six feet off the ground on very large, heavy, multiple rear wheels and axles, with two slightly smaller front wheels to assist in the maneuvering of the wagons when in motion. The wagon boxes sit on their platforms looking much like somewhat smaller versions of the Ubar’s wagon, including their multi-colored domed tops. The most obvious difference is the iron bars surrounding the boxes, with iron gates at the rear to allow access to the entries. (The bars of the thrall wagon are much thicker and more closely spaced.) These iron bars also extend beneath the domed bosk hide roofs and under the wooden platforms, enclosing the boxes in single, large, iron cages. These wagons, due to their size and the additional weight of the iron bars, are pulled by sixty bosk. Iron rings extend from the side bars into the wagon boxes, allowing slaves to be secured when necessary.
The floor of the kajirae wagon is piled deep with rich hides covered by multi-colored pillows and luxurious furs and hides taken in caravan raids, in the hunt, and through the processing of our bosk and older sleen. The only barren areas of the floor are where the firebowls are located to avoid burning the hides and furs. There are shuttered windows in the box which open inward so as not to interfere with the iron bars. Along the walls, the trunks of the slaves are placed, each trunk marking a slave’s place within the wagon. It is here where slaves sleep that the furs are thickest for warmth and comfort. There are no arrow slits in the wagon box. The wagon is under constant guard by two Or of hand-picked Warriors and their sleen. The steps are removed for travel and placed upon the rear walkway (the porch). Along the left side walkway, gear is stored for travel, and along the right side is a small but suitable scaffolding to display slaves for sale or auction. The thrall wagon is much less comfortable, as nearly all thralls in Tuchuk are for hard labor or fighting thralls; otherwise, it is identical.
The construction of the kennel wagons is loosely based off this quote, below:


"There are varieties of slave wagons on Gor.
"A common type, used to transport female slaves, is covered with blue and yellow canvas.
"A central metal bar, hinged at one end, near the wagon box, and locked at the other, near the wagon bed's gate, usually occurs in such wagons. The girls' ankles are then chained about this bar. When the bar is freed and lifted they may then, still in their shackles, be removed through the rear of the wagon, the wagon gate being lowered. Another common type of wagon used generally in the transportation of women is the flat-bedded display wagon, with its mounted iron framework. The girls chained and manacled in various positions within and to its framework, sometimes compellingly attractive positions, are then visible.
"Sometimes, buyers follow such wagons to the markets toward which they are bound. Sometimes, however, the girls are sold directly from such wagons, the wagons being in effect themselves trading markets. In such cases usually one side of the flat wagon bed is used as an auction platform, a small but suitable scaffolding on which may well displayed the lineaments of the girl's beauty, and on which may be exacted from her the provocative performances demanded by cruel and merciless vendors of their beautiful, degraded merchandise.
"Another common type of slave wagon on Gor is the cage wagon which, depending on the stoutness of its bars and security, may be used for either men or women. The particular slave wagon in which I was fastened combined the features of the cage wagon and the common slave wagon. It was a converted tharlarion wagon, and, with bars and extra planking, was unusually stout, probably because its purpose was to transport fighting slaves.
"It was a heavy wagon, with high sides and covered with a brown canvas. About the whole a cage had been built with heavy bars, which opened by means of a small door in the back. Within the wagon, in low-sided, heavy stalls, by means of rings at the front and back of the stall, and on the side of the stall near our necks, we were chained by the ankles, wrists and neck.
"We had, thus, far less freedom of movement than is commonly afforded to females.
"On the other hand this additional security was only to be expected. We were male slaves, and fighting slaves. I pulled against the chains. They held me well.
"Gorean masters, for most practical purposes, simply do not lose slaves."--Explorers, 325


Standard Wagons: Members of Maze Tuchuk Camp who do not hold the rank of Council member will reside in standard wagons. Surgical, freight, and commissary kennel wagons are also generally the size of a standard wagon. (However, one notable exception is the Medical wagon, which is 2/3 the size of DRAGONSLAIR!) John Norman offers us a very detailed description of the typical wagon, inside and out:

”The wagons of the Wagon Peoples are, in their hundreds and thousands, in their brilliant, variegated colors, a glorious sight. Surprisingly, the wagons are almost square, each the size of a large room. Each is drawn by a double team of bosk, four in a team, with each team linked to its wagon tongue, the tongues being joined by tem-wood crossbars. The axles of the wagon are also of tem-wood, which perhaps, because of its flexibility, joined with the general flatness of the Gorean plains, permits the width of the wagon.
“The wagon box, which stands six feet from the ground, is formed of black, lacquered planks of tem-wood. Inside the wagon box, which is square, there is fixed a rounded, tentlike frame, covered with the taut, painted, varnished hides of bosks. These hides are richly colored, and often worked with fantastic designs, each wagon competing with its neighbors’ to be the boldest and most exciting. The rounded frame is fixed somewhat within the square of the wagon box, so that a walkway, almost like a ship’s bridge, surrounds the frame. The sides of the wagon box, incidentally, are, here and there, perforated for arrow ports, for the small horn bow of the Wagon Peoples can be used to advantage not only from the back of a kaiila, but, like the crossbow, from such cramped quarters. One of the most striking features of these wagons is the wheels, which are huge, the back wheels having a diameter of ten feet; the front wheels are, like those of the Conestoga wagon, slightly smaller, in this case, about eight feet in diameter; the larger rear wheels are more difficult to mire; the smaller front wheels, nearer the pulling power of the bosk, permit a somewhat easier turning of the wagon. These wheels are carved wood, and like the wagon hides, are richly painted. Thick stripes of boskhide form the wheel rims, which are replaced three to four times a year. The wagon is guided by a series of eight straps, two for each of the four lead animals. Normally, however, the wagons are tied in tandem fashion, in numerous long columns, and only the lead animals are guided, the others simply following, thongs running from the rear of one wagon to the nose rings of the bosk following, sometimes as much as thirty yards behind, with the next wagon; also, too, a wagon is often guided by a woman or boy who walks beside the lead animals with a sharp stick.
“The interiors of the wagons, lashed shut, protected from the dust of the march, are often rich, marvelously carpeted and hung, filled with chests and silks, and booty from looted caravans, lit by hanging tharlarion oil lamps, the golden light of which falls on silken cushions, the ankle-deep, intricately wrought carpets. In the center of the wagon there is a small, shallow fire bowl, formed of copper, with a raised brass grating. Some cooking is done here, though the bowl is largely to furnish heat. The smoke escapes by a smoke hole in the dome of the tentlike frame, a hole which is shut when the wagons move.”—Nomads, 30-31


Commissary Wagons: In Maze Tuchuk Camp, our serving rooms are called commissary wagons.

”...together we had eaten some dried bosk meat and drank water, from one of the commissary wagons attached to one of Hundreds in the city. As commanders we could eat where we chose.”—Nomads, 307


Tarn Cot Wagons: Although tarns were not normally found in a Wagon Camp, Tarl Cabot did introduce two of these majestic saddle birds to the Tuchuks during his stay on the plains. Since many of our members are Tuchuk by choice, not by birth, we do have accommodations for these huge winged predators. Due to the number of tarns currently residing in Maze Tuchuk Camp, our “tarn cots” are much larger than a single wagon with its canvass dome removed and are composed of two huge wagons arranged in an “L” shape, each one third of the size of DRAGONSLAIR and drawn by thirty-two bosk. Nevertheless, our arrangement is much the same as the following quote:

”On one of these wagons, with the top removed, were the two tarns Harold and I had stolen from the roof of Saphrar’s keep. They had been brought for us, thinking that they might be of use in the warfare in the city or in the transportation of goods or men. A tarn can, easily, without difficulty, carry a knotted rope of seven to ten men.”—Nomads, 256
 

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