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 Caste of MillersHere are relevant references from the Books where the Caste of Miller are mentioned. While not specifically titled a Caste, this group is mentioned along with others that are. I make no pronouncements on these matters, but report them as I find them. Arrive at your own conclusions. I wish you well, Fogaban the men of Ar do not behave well toward the Spider People. They hunt us and leave only enough of us alive to spin the Curlon Fiber used in the mills of Ar. Tarnsman of Gor Book 1 Page 83 I have seen private apartments with tapestries from the mills of Ar upon the walls Outlaw of Gor Book 2 Page 248 About Kutaituchik there were piled various goods, mostly vessels of precious metal and strings and piles of jewels; there was silk there from Tyros; silver from Thentis and Tharna; tapestries from the mills of Ar; wines from Cos; dates from the city of Tor. Nomads of Gor Book 4 Page 42 I would have expected the message to have been written either on stout, glossy-surfaced linen paper, of the sort milled in Ar Nomads of Gor Book 4 Page 49 "My admission to the races," said another man, a Miller, has been paid a dozen times by the House of Cernus." He referred to a practice of handing out passes, dated ostraka bearing the print of the House of Cernus, outside the gate of the Slaver's house, which were dispensed on a first-come-first-served basis, a thousand a day, each day of the races. Assassin of Gor Book 5 Page 232 A milled linen paper is much used, large quantities of which are produced in Ar Raiders of Gor Book 6 Page 8 Rep is a whitish fibrous matter found in the seed pods of a small, reddish, woody bush, commercially grown in several areas, but particularly below Ar and above the equator; the cheap rep-cloth is woven in mills, commonly, in various cities; it takes dyes well and, being cheap and strong, is popular, particularly among the lower castes. Raiders of Gor Book 6 Pages 10 - 11 Lumber, of course, is a valuable commodity. It is generally milled and taken northward. Marauders of Gor Book 9 Page 28 at the looms in the cloth mills Slave Girl of Gor Book 11 Page 132 There are other girls who work in the mills, chained to their looms. Beasts of Gor Book 12 Page 250 The girls who are regularly shorn are usually slaves who work on the great farms or on the large, commercial hurt ranches, or low girls who are used in large numbers in such places as the mills, or the public laundries and kitchens. Fighting Slave of Gor Book 14 Page 247 Furthermore I knew the security in the mills, behind those high, gray walls, was for most practical purposes absolute. Similarly, there presumably I would be branded, collared and, if permitted clothing, put in distinctive garb. Thus, even if one did manage to get beyond the walls, one would presumably be apprehended swiftly and returned to the mill masters. Similarly the mills had their own sleen, both for patrolling the yard at night and, if need be, trailing slaves. No, girls did not escape from the mills. Too, I was horrified at the thought of going to the mills, for they were one of the lowest and hardest slaveries on Gor. That would be the end of Tiffany Collins, I feared, a slave in a Gorean mill. On the other hand I had, honestly, and joyfully, kissed at the driver's feet for the mercy shown to me. Had he turned me over to the authorities I would doubtless have eventually been returned to Speusippus as his strayed Lita, and then conveyed by him, probably in chains, to Argentum, there presumably to be commended to the attentions of the impaling spear. As it was, in the mill, in Ar, I should be hidden and safe. There, though a slave, I would be concealed, fed and protected. I did not think anyone would think of looking in a mill for the Tatrix of Corcyrus, and certainly not one in Ar. Kajira of Gor Book 19 Pages 261 - 262 I stood in a long line, single-file, of some twenty girls. We were all naked. We were in the yard of one of the linen mills of Mintar, of Ar. Kajira of Gor Book 19 Page 264 Still, of course, in a mill, few would know this. Such a woman, I supposed, aching for a mans touch, might be kept indefinitely in the mill, working her long hours of tiring labor, her left ankle chained to the loom. The mills, incidentally, like certain other low slaveries, such as those of the fields, the kitchens and laundries, serve an almost penal function on Gor. For example, a free woman, sentenced to slavery for, say, crimes or debts, may find herself, once enslaved, by direction of the court, sold for a pittance into such a slavery. Such slaveries also provide a place to utilize women who are thought to be good for little else. Most women, after a short time in such a slavery, strive to convince masters of their fuller potentialities for service and pleasure. Kajira of Gor Book 19 Page 265 "Yes, Master," I said. Borkon, I realized, whoever he was, he was he whom I must now strive to please. "Is that all, Master?" "Yes," he said. "Did you expect to be intricately measured, to be toe-printed, and such? You are not a high slave. You are a low slave, a mill girl." Kajira of Gor Book 19 Page 270 "Pausanias, who is the mill master in Mill 7," said Aemilianus, "has informed me that, in his opinion, there are many lovely girls even in Mill 7." "Interesting," said a man. "Are these two," asked a man, "from Mill 7?" "Yes," said Aemilianus. "They are the two I found there. "You needn't depend on the mills, of course," said a man. "You can buy in the market." "You could also buy trained slaves to begin with," said a man. "They are more expensive," said a man. "That is true," he agreed. "I shall show you one advantage of the mills," said Aemilianus. "Emily," he said, "do you wish to mill?" "No, Master!" she said. "Tiffany?" he asked. "No, Master!" I cried. "The motivation of mill girls, as you can see," said Aemilianus, "is high. Accordingly, they may be expected to train swiftly, desperately and superbly." Kajira of Gor Book 19 Page 286 I am also skilled at weaving on a mill loom. Kajira of Gor Book 19 Page 438 It was a long, yellow, closely woven Sa-Tarna sack. If there could have been any doubt about it such doubts would have been dispelled by the thick, black, stenciled lettering on the bag, giving a bold and unmistakable account of its earlier contents, together with their grind and grade, and the signs of the processing mill and its associated wholesaler. Players of Gor Book 20 Page 216 Most Sa-Tarna is now ground in mills, between stones, the top stone usually turned by water power, but sometimes by a tharlarion, or slaves. In some villages, however, something approximating the old mortar and pestle is sometimes used, the two blocks, a pounding block strung to a springy, bent pole, and the mortar block, or anvil block. The pole has one or more ropes attached to it, near its end. When these are drawn downward the pounding block descends into the mortar block, and the springiness of the pole, of course, straightening, then raises it for another blow. More commonly, however, querns are used, usually, if they are large, operated by two men, if smaller, by two boys. Hand querns, which may be turned by a woman, are also not unknown. The principle of the common quern is as follows: it consists primarily of a mount, two stones, an overhead beam and a pole. The two stones are circular grinding stones. The bottom stone has a small hub on its upper surface which fits into an inverted concave depression in the upper stone. This helps to keep the stones together. It also has shallow, radiating surface grooves through which the grindings may escape between the stones, to be caught in the sturdy boxlike mount supporting the stones, often then funneled to a waiting receptacle or sack. The upper stone has two holes in it, in the center a funnel-shaped hole through which grain is poured, and, near the edge, another hole into which one end of the turning pole is placed. This pole is normally managed by two operators. Its upper portion is fitted into an aperture in the overhead beam, which supplies leverage and, of course, by affording a steadying rest, makes the pole easier to handle. The principle of the hand quern is similar, but it is usually turned with a small wooden handle. The meal or flour emerging from these devices is usually sifted, as it must often be reground, sometimes several times. The sifter usually is made of hide stretched over a wooden hoop. The holes are punched in the hide with a hot wire. Renegades of Gor Book 23 Pages 17 - 18 Beyond this, although many of the wagons were unmarked, many others, in the advertising on their sides, bore clear evidence of their origins, the establishments of chandlers, carders, fullers, coopers, weavers, millers, bakers, and so on, wagons presumably commandeered for their present tasks. Magicians of Gor Book 25 Page 103 I leaned against the heavy horizontal pole, chest high, inserted through the large, conical stone. It, like its two similar poles, passed through the stone and emerged on the other side. This produced, given the penetrations, the effect of six poles, against which weight might be pressed, this turning the heavy stone. The miller's man, at intervals, from his ladder, would pour the grain, sa-tarna, the "life daughter," into the opening on the top of the stone, and the stone, when turning, would press down upon it, and grind it, the resultant flour, by means of three descending troughs, being gathered in waiting sacks. Plunder of Gor Book 34 Page 138 I closed my eyes. I, and the others, were covered with sweat. We welcomed the moments when new grain was poured into the feeding aperture atop the stone. Too, sometimes a pole would snap. This, too, meant a surcease of effort. The stone was large, and heavy. It ground coarsely. There were, about the yard, smaller stones, as well, some of which could be turned by a single girl, kneeling near it. In this way our basic mill produced flour that could be reworked, if one wished, to different varieties of fineness, which would then be priced differently, being addressed to different markets. If we take the three penetrant poles spoken of, and count them as six poles, or spokes, by means of which to turn the stone, there were four girls to each of the six poles, or spokes, so twenty-four of us were used at a time in the work. The mill owner owned some thirty draft slaves, and those not chained in place to their pole, would usually be chained to the side, in the shade, where they might rest. He owned other girls, as well, of course, who had their different employments about the mill, turning the smaller stones, grading and sacking flour, sewing and marking sacks, loading carts, accompanying the drivers, when they made deliveries, and so on. I gathered that those accompanying the drivers, as they were silked, were supposed to be attractive advertisements in their way, for their master's goods. Surely I was familiar with this sort of thing from Earth. What male is not likely to be favorably inclined toward a product that he associates with a beautiful woman? I thought myself obviously superior to them. It seemed to me madness that they should be silked, and I was chained to a pole. For the most part, however, sa-tarna, harvested and threshed, was brought in by peasants, milled, and carried away by peasants. The fee for the milling was in tarsk-bits, but, most commonly, it was taken in kind, a portion of the flour going to the miller, who might then market it as his own. Plunder of Gor Book 34 Page 140 We were apparently camisked because the gate of the mill yard was usually open in daylight hours, and free women might pass by. Too, sometimes peasant woman, accompanying their companions, brought grain to the mill. My two wrists were chained to the pole. I put my head down, upon it. My body ached. Plunder of Gor Book 34 Page 141 I saw the miller's man approaching, with his basket of grain, followed by the dark-haired flute girl. He set his ladder against the stone, climbed the ladder, and poured the grain into the cavity within the stone. He then withdrew, setting the ladder aside, and disappeared, with his basket, returning to the receiving house, where grain was brought and weighed, and records kept. The flute girl then climbed to her perch, or platform, on the side, and sat upon it, her legs dangling over the edge. She, too, was camisked, and wore the mill collar. Shortly thereafter the switch slave, a large, strong woman, similarly camisked, arrived, her switch in hand. About her forehead was bound a broad, yellow fillet, from the wool of the bounding hurt. This held back her hair, of course, but its significance, in her case, was considerable. It was a talmit, indicative of rank. She was first girl in the mill yard. The flute girl began to play, and we dug in our feet and pressed our weight against the spokelike poles by means of which the stone was turned. With a heavy, grinding, sound, one we knew well, the heavy, conical stone began to rotate slowly on the thick, flat, circular, platelike stone from which the troughs descended. Plunder of Gor Book 34 Page 142 I was owned by the miller, of course, as the other girls, but he had never touched me, and had scarcely regarded me. Perhaps, I supposed, he pleasured himself with the "silk girls," those who went about on the cart with the miller's men, attending to their deliveries. Plunder of Gor Book 34 Page 144 "What is going on here?" asked one of the miller's men, hurrying to us. "The barbarian," said the flute girl. "She has collapsed." "Is she dead?" he asked. "No," said the flute girl. "I saw her eyelids flutter, weakly." This small signal, I conjectured, might hearten those about, generating some hope that I might recover. "Poor kajira," said a girl. "We might all so collapse," said another girl. Things were going well, it seemed. "No more work today," said the miller's man. "Hold her up, that her weight not be on the manacles. Her wrists might be abraded." I was supported then by the girl to my left. "Poor barbarian," said another girl. I smiled, weakly. "How brave she is," said a girl. "Yes," said another. "She is too small, and weak, for this work," said another girl. "She is not so small or weak," said another girl. "No more than we," said another. I did not care much for these two comments. "If she recovers," said another, "sell her, and find her a gentler, sweeter collar." I understood what she meant, but collars are much the same. To be sure, some collars are more ornate than others, enameled, even jeweled, and such. And some collars were unpleasant, point collars, punishment collars, and such. Turian collars, I was told, were rounded, and so on. "Continue to support her," said the miller's man. "I will fetch water, and the key to her manacles." I was then aware that he had hurried away. Things, I surmised, were going well. I opened my eyes, and, to my uneasiness, found myself looking up, into the eyes of the first girl. "Release her," she snapped to the girl to my left, who was holding me, which command was instantly obeyed. I then gasped, as though in pain, and, momentarily, hung again in the manacles, my body partly on the ground, my wrists up, a foot or so from the pole. Then, as though with great effort, my head down, I struggled to a kneeling position, and knelt behind and below the pole, my wrists raised, on either side of my head, held in the manacles. "How brave she is," marveled one of my chain sisters. "Yes," said another, "and she only a barbarian, as well." "Fraud! Slackard! Inferior actress!" said the first girl. I fear my eyes opened widely then, in alarm. "Have mercy on her, noble Mistress," said the flute girl. "Can you not see she is spent? Pity her, lest she perish at the pole!" "If she perishes at the pole," said the first girl, "it will be my doing!" The switch then rained down upon my back, and legs, and neck, and I scrambled to my feet, sobbing, seizing the pole. "Please stop, Mistress!" I begged. But the switch continued to strike, and I clutched the pole in misery. "Faker, faker!" said the first girl, and then she desisted in her work. Her arm, I supposed, was sore or weary. I was shuddering at the pole. "What occurs?" said the miller's man, returning to the mill, a bota in hand, presumably filled with water. "Little, Master," said the first girl. "This slacking slave does not even know how to faint." "She is on her feet," observed the miller's man. "And eager to work, Master!" said the first girl. "I was tricked?" said the miller's man. "It may be so," said the first girl. "I was tricked!" he said. "It may be so, Master," said the first girl. "I do not care to be tricked," he said. "Many were tricked, Master," she said. "But not you," he said. "I know such slaves," she said. "She has been punished?" he asked. "I conjecture well enough," said the first girl. I, clinging to the pole, sobbed, my protesting body raging with pain. "You will work to dusk," said the miller's man, "and then an extra Ahn." Then he turned to the flute girl. "To your station," he said. |       
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