Wagons People Part 2

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The free women keep a different calendar based on the phases of Gor's largest moon. This calendar lists fifteen moons, named for the fifteen varieties of bosk, such as the Moon of the Brown Bosk. One effect of this calendar system is that the months may occur in different seasons in different years. This though is not an issue of concern for the Wagon Peoples. On some wagons, this calendar is marked by a set of colored pegs or by a round, wooden plate bearing the image of the appropriate bosk.

The bosk is the most important creature to the Wagon People, a revered animal that is often said to be the Mother of the Wagon Peoples. They probably could not exist without it, at least not without radical changes to their entire way of life. The bosk is a huge, ox-like animal, with a vicious temper to match that of a sleen. It is a shaggy beast with a thick, humped neck. It has a wide head and tiny red eyes. It also possesses two long, horns that reach out from its head and suddenly curve forward to terminate in deadly points. Some of these horns, measured from tip to tip, exceed the length of two spears. There are fifteen varieties of bosk including the brown bosk, red bosk, black bosk, snow bosk and milk bosk. The books do not name all fifteen varieties. The bosk is indigenous to the plains near Turia though it is also commonly bred and raised by people all over Gor.

When a tribe is traveling as a group, the bosk herds form the vanguard, the front line, and rampart, a barricade, for the wagons. A number of outriders though will generally scout out the area in front of the herds. "The wagons are said to be countless, the animals without number." (Nomads of Gor, p.21) Though it may seem that way to someone watching the huge bosk herds and wagons pass, both assertions are incorrect though there are large numbers of both. "Then for the first time, against the horizon, a jagged line, humped and rolling like thundering waters, seemed to rise alive from the prairie, vast, extensive, a huge arc, churning and pounding from one corner of the sky to the other, the herds of the Wagon Peoples, encircling, raising dust into the sky like fire, like hoofed glaciers of fur and horn moving in shaggy floods across the grass, toward me." (Nomads of Gor, p.10) Each large herd is comprised of several smaller herds, watched over by their own riders.

Besides creating a huge cloud of dust, the approach of the herds also brings its own distinctive odor, a musky, pervasive and pungent scent combined with the smell of grass, dirt, dung, urine and sweat. Yet Tarl spoke eloquently about this odor. "The magnificent vitality of that smell, so offensive to some, astonished and thrilled me; it spoke to me of the insurgence and the swell of life itself, ebullient, raw, overflowing, unconquerable, primitive, shuffling, smelling, basic, animal, stamping, snorting, moving, an avalanche of tissue and blood and splendor, a glorious, insistent, invincible cataract of breathing and walking and seeing and feeling on the sweet, flowing, windswept mothering earth. And it was in that instant that I sensed what the bosk might mean to the Wagon Peoples." (Nomads of Gor, p.22)

The importance of the bosk to the survival of the tribes cannot be underestimated. The tribes use basically every part of the bosk, wasting nothing of any use. And these uses fulfill so many functions for the tribes. Without the bosk, there would be many needs of the tribes that would need to be addressed in other ways. "Not only does the flesh of the bosk and the milk of its cows furnish the Wagon Peoples with food and drink, but its hides cover the domelike wagons in which they dwell; its tanned and sewn skins cover their bodies; the leather of its hump is used for their shields; its sinews form their thread; its bones and horns are split and tooled into implements of a hundred sorts, from awls, punches and spoons to drinking flagons and weapon tips; its hoofs are used for glues; its oils are used to grease their bodies against the cold. Even the dung of the bosk finds its uses on the treeless prairies, being dried and used for fuel." (Nomads of Gor, p.5)

A terrible crime among the tribes is the wrongful killing of a bosk. If a person foolishly kills a bosk, then his punishment is to be either strangled to death by a leather thong or to be suffocated in the hide of the animal he killed. The key is obviously the definition of "foolishly" though it is not defined within the books. Now, if a person kills, for any reason at all, a bosk cow with unborn young then the punishment is even worse. The offender is staked out on the prairie, alive, in the path of the herd so that he will be trampled to death. In this case, even if the killing was inadvertent, an accident, you will still be punished.

The tribes use domesticated prairie sleen, as shepherds for the bosk and sentinels to protect their camps. These sleen also help to track down errant slaves. "They would be released with the fall of darkness to run the periphery of the herds, acting, as I have mentioned, as shepherds and sentinels. They are also used if a slave escapes, for the sleen is an efficient, tireless, savage, almost infallible hunter, capable of pursuing a scent, days old, for hundreds of pasangs until, perhaps a month later, it finds its victim and tears it to pieces." (Nomads of Gor, p.28) Prairie sleen are smaller than forest sleen, maybe only six to eight feet long, but can be just as vicious. Such guardian sleen are commonly kept caged during the day and then released at night. They will attack any trespassers without provocation, often killing them. This makes it extremely dangerous to approach their camps at night. And it prevents slaves from escaping at night as well. These trained sleen will respond only to the voice of its master. When their master dies, and no one else can command the sleen, it will then be slain and eaten.

The Peoples are nomadic but settle on occasion in large camps for a time. This becomes a City of Harriga, or Bosk Wagons. There are sufficient numbers of wagons so that it almost seems like a real city with streets and such. These wagons are drawn by a double team of bosk, four in a team, linked to a wagon tongue. Those tongues are joined together by tem-wood crossbars. The wagons are guided by eight straps, two for each of the four lead animals. The wagons are commonly tied in tandem fashion, in long columns and thus only the lead wagons need to be guided. The other wagons follow with leather thongs running from the rear of one wagon to the nose rings of the bosk in the next wagon, sometimes as much as thirty yards behind. A wagon may be guided by a woman or boy who walks beside the lead animals with a sharp stick.

The wagon box stands almost six feet off the ground and is often square, about the size of a large room. It is constructed from black, lacquered planks of tem-wood. The sides of the wagon box are perforated with arrow ports, for use of the horn bow. The rear wagon wheels are about ten feet in diameter while the front ones are only about eight feet. These rear wheels are more difficult to mire, often preventing the wagon from being stuck in mud. The front wheels permit an easier turning of the wagon. The wooden wheels, joined by axles of tem-wood, are commonly painted in vibrant colors and designs. Thick strips of boskhide form the wheel rims, and must be replaced three to four times a year. The exterior of the wagon box is also painted well, with great colors and designs. The wagons often compete to see who can create the boldest and most exciting wagon.

Inside the wagon box, there is a fixed, rounded tent-like frame, covered with painted and varnished bosk hides. These hides are usually richly colored with fantastic designs. The frame is made so that a walkway surrounds the dome, like a ship's bridge. The interior of the wagon is accessed from the back and while the wagon is moving, it is lashed shut to prevent dust and dirt from filtering inside. The interiors of wagons are as lavish as the outside, richly carpeted with tapestries and carpets on the walls. There may also be numerous chests and fine silks scattered around. The interior is commonly lit by hanging tharlarion oil lamps. In center of the wagon there is a small, shallow fire bowl, formed of copper, with a raised brass grating. Though it is sometimes used for cooking it is primarily there to provide heat. The smoke escapes through a smoke hole at the top of the frame and that hole is also shut when the wagon is moving.

In the Tuchuk camp, the largest wagon belonged to Kutaituchik, their ostensible Ubar. This vast wagon was situated on a large, flat-topped grassy hill, the highest land in the camp. The Tuchuk standard stood next to this wagon. One hundred huge, red bosk drew his wagon. These bosk were made to look well pampered with polished horns, glistening coats from combs and oils, nose rings set with jewels, and necklaces of precious stones hanging from their horns. In essence, the wagon is a vast platform set on numerous wheeled frames with a dozen large wheels at the edges. These wheels could turn the wagon but could not alone support its weight. The hides that form its enormous dome, maybe 100 feet high, are extremely colorful. Kutaituchik held court outside the wagon, on a large dais that was built about one foot off the ground. This dais was covered with dozens of thick rugs, sometimes four or five deep. To enter the dais, you had to remove your footwear and have your feet washed by male slaves.

The Wagon Peoples are a warlike people and often war among themselves. They also raid caravans that try to cross the Plains, usually those coming from or going to Turia. In addition, they sometimes travel toward other cities and areas, having gone as far north as Ko-ro-ba in the past. The books do mention one important historical incident, the Kaiila Wars. Many years ago, the exact time period not given, the Kaiila Wars were fought among the different tribes. The primary objective of these Wars was the acquisition of kaiila, the common mount of these peoples. But, the capture and acquisition of slaves occurred as well, an unintended side effect. The tribes soon realized the benefits of owning slaves so the idea became much more prevalent.

Male children are taught from a young age the ways of war and the hunt. "It was said a youth of the Wagon Peoples was taught the bow, the quiva and the lance before their parents would consent to give him a name, for names are precious among the Wagon Peoples, as among Goreans in general, and they are not to be wasted on someone who is likely to die, one who cannot well handle the weapons of the hunt and war. Until the youth has mastered the bow, the quiva and the lance he is simply known as the first, or the second, and so on, son of such and such a father." (Nomads of Gor, p.11) This creates a powerful incentive for the male children to excel. Otherwise, they fail to become fully accepted members of their society. This same type of education does not seem to occur with female children.

"The Wagon Peoples value courage above all else." (Nomads of Gor, p.16) The people of the tribes are expected to be courageous and they value courage in others as well. It is their primary virtue. "To a Tuchuk," said Harold, "success is courage-that is the important thing-courage itself-even if all else fails-that is success." (Nomads of Gor, p.273) It was Tarl's display of courage that earned him permission to stay with the Tuchuks. Even though Tarl admitted to feeling fear, the fact that he remained courageous, unflinching from possible death, impressed the tribesmen. Courage is not the absence of fear, but it depends on how one handles that fear.