Port Royal standard and commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1876-06-29
A MARVEL OF TATTOOING.
Remarkable Subject from the Hnnds Of
the Skillful Chinese Tartars.

hemarkaDlo subject from the hands oi
the skiilful Chinese Tartars.
Capt. George Costentenus, a descend.
ant of q noble Greek family, from the
province OF Albania, arrived in New
York recently. From head to foot on
every inch of his body, inclrding even
his scalp and the soles of his feet, he is
a mass Of the most artistic and elabor-
ately colored tattooing, in letters, signs,
and figures of quadrupeds, birds, fishes,
and reptiles. Captain Costentenus is
tall, dark complexioned, of superb
physique, and about forty-fve years of
age. He does not read English, but
converses fuently in his own tongue,
and in the italian, Arab, Turkish and
Persian languages, and speaks little
French and German, and few words of
English. The climate here affects him
80 that he keeps mufaed up in q coarse
suit lined with fur, with soft round
cap pulled down over his forehead, and
a thick pair of gloves on his hands. His
heavy beard only partially conceals the
tattooing on his weather-beaten face.
Costentenus' early history is that OF
many Albanians. He has always been .
soldier of fortune. In 1867 he and
eleven others penetrated Chinese Tar
tary and sided with the rebels. The
party were captured, and two or three
were killed, and the rest were submitted
to an ordeal of tattooing, which only
two survived, Capt. Costentenus and
Spaniard, who has since died. The
operation lasted three months, and was
performed daily. Six men held him
down while q seventh welded the tat
tooing apparatus. At the conclusion of
the operation he regained his health,
and was freed by the Tartars, instead OF
making his escape, as was reported.
This tattooing was done to warn out.
side barbarians of the danger OF pere-
tratipg the Tartars' dominion.
Nothing like the captains person has
ever been seen in civilized countries.
By the side of his gorgeously embel-
lished cuticle the tattooing OF South
Sea islanders fades into inEgn6cance.
The material used was indigo and Gin
nabar, the former producing black and
the latter red. Ata first glance the
captains body seems to be covered
with Turkish shawl, but closer ex'
animation shows that the pictures in two
colors are produced by unnumbered
points. On his forehead are animals
and inscriptions, and on the face star
like figures. On the hands are uumer-
ous red points, and figures resembling
sculptures, as well as long tailed pan
ther like shapes. The ears are absolute.
ly the only part of the body free from
tattooing, even the scalp beng embel-
lished. On the neck, chest, abdomen,
back, and extremities, the skin is mass
of symmetrically arranged and admir-
ably executed figures of monkeys, ele-
plants, tigers, lions, peacocks, stalks,
swans, snakes, crocodiles, lizards, min
gled with bows, arrows, leaves, flowers
and fruits. Between the figures are
words in Berminian in blue and red let
ters, and simple points or stars and cir
cles. The original skin is invisible. On
the palms of the hands are indescrib-
able figures, and little figures are on the
inside of the fingers. On the back
sides of both feet to the toes are blue
points, and from the toes to the nails
are red lines. Altogether there are 388
tattooed pictures on the entire body-on
the forehead, two; neck, eight; chest,
fifty; bacK, thirty-seven; abdomen,
ffty-two; upper e1tremities, 101; lower
e1tremities, 137-yet the captain is in
perfect health.
The instrument used in tattooing, the
captain says, was divided into three
parts. The part hiding the fluid was
slit like pen four inches long and an
inch and a half wide, coming down TO
two points. In the middle was cylin-
der of brass four inches long, and on
top was third piece, four inches long,
of iron, with q knob at the end. The
three parts were joined by capsules.
The instrument was inserted between
the thumb and forefnger of the left
hand to guide it, and the right hand
made the punctures with extreme "a
pidity.
The captain has several scars on his
person as evidence of his numerous en-
and these show plainly
through the tattooing. He has seen
every country in the world except
America. He is going to the Centen-
nial Exhibition.