The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1876-06-17

Inc adiBg eyen his ss-alp and tee ~oles
OF lIis feet. he 10 . masa of the most
artistic ard eIatorA,sly eogored tattoo
Ing. in letters. signs and figures u
gnadrupeis, bird. tishes. and reptiles.
Captain Costcn,enas Is tall. dark com
plexsoned, OF superb physique. and
-hou. Is years Of age. He does not
rad English, bat converscs heensiy IN
III. own tongue, aud In the Italian,
Arab. Turkish. and Persian languages.
and speaks . little French and German,
ana few words OF English The dS
uats, here affects him 80 that hs keeps
rufF'ed in course suit lined with fur,
with soft round cap pulled down over
hls-forehesd. and a thick pair of gloves
"a his hands His heavy beard only
rartis,ly ooncs-Als the tsttooing on his
weather beaten face
Co~ssnr-Sus early history 10 that VI
many Albnlsns. He hss always bs<n
a soldler of fortune In 1867 he and
eleven others penetrated Chinese Tar.
tary aud sided with the rebels. The
party were captured. ard two or three
were killed, and the rest were submit
led - an ordeal of taiooing. Which only
two survived, Capt. Costeu;enus and a
~patiavd, who has since died. The
oY,cration lasted three mouths. and MAS
performed daily. Six men held him
down while u seventh welded the tat
tooing apparatus. At the cos,clu 81
the operation be regained his health
aud Was freed by the Tarsars, instead OF
making his escape. as was reported.
This tattooing WAS done to warn out
side tartArians Of the danger Of pene-
trsting the Tartars domains.
Nothing like the Captains person
has ever been seen in civilized coun-
tries BY the side Of his eorgeoasly '
embcliished cnticle the tatDoing 81
South Sra Islanders fades into insig-
nificance. The material used was
indigo snd -einnabar. the former pro-
dncing a black and the latter . red
At Il lirs, glance the Captains body
seems 10 10 covered with Turkish
shawl. but II closer examination shows
that the pictures in two colors are pro-
iuced by unnumbcred points. On hi.
forehead are animals and descriptions
and on the face star like 6eurcs On
!. the hands are nusnerousrc points. and
figures resembling sculptures, ss we'll az
long tailed. panther like shapes. The
ears are absolutely the only part Of the
body free from tattooing. even the
scalp being clnbeilished. On the neck
chest, abdomen. back, and extremities
the skin is mass of symmetricnlly
arranged aud admirably executed
figures of monkeys, tigers, lions. ele-
plants. peacocks, storks. swans, snakes
ierocodises. lizards, mingled with bows
arrows. leaves. flowers. and fruits
/ Between the figures are words III Ber-
minian in blue and red letters, and
simpls toinfs .or xtan sAdse.~s,u Tks
palms of the hands are indescribAb ble
figures, aud little figures are on the
inside Of The 6n2ers. On the. back
sides OF both feet. TO the toes are blue
points. aud from the toes to the nails
are red lines Altogether there are 3ss
tattoocd pictures on the entire body
OH the forehead, :; neck. s; chest, 50;
back. 3I; abdomen, j2; upper extren,i-
ties. lol; lower extremities. l37-yet
the Captain is in perfect health.
The instrument used in tatteoing. the
Captain says, was divided into three
parts. The part holding the fluid was
slit like pen four inches long and an
inch aud = half wide, cQmipg down To
two points. In the middle was scylin-
Ter Of brass four inches long. and OH
top was 'tliud piece, four inches
long. of iron. with knob at tue end.
| The three parts were Joined BY cap
sules. The instrument WAS inserted
between the thumb and forefinger oi
the lcf, hand to guide it. and The right
hand msds the punetnrcs with e1trems
rapidiiy f
The Captain has several scars on his
person. as evidence Of his numerous On :
gagements, and these show plainly
through the ts,tooing He has seen
every country in tho world except
Amos ics He Is ging 10 the Centennial