The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1889-07-12
WANTS AND tArioo MARKS.
TX Twain Tells How Those Afflicted
With Either Can Renaoya Them.

l find the following suggestive dere.
lict wandering aboutthe ocean of Jour.
nalism:
I'D give a thousand dollars" said q
well-to-do New Yorker the other day,
ITO have that mark removed" and he
held out a well-shapcd and w%cll-cared-
for hand. on the back of which, be-
tween the thumb and first-fingcr. was
tattooed n big blue anchor. "When 1
was n little fool ut school, with my
head full of stories of adventure, my
highest ambition was to go to sea. An
old sailor who lived in the village tat
tooed about q dozen of us on the Sly,
and | remember the lies ! told my
mother, MS | kept my hand done up in
a rag, pretending | had cut it. till the
sore healed, Then she gave me such
a %thrashing as broke my plan, fortu-
nately, to havo a fine red aud blue heart
done on the back of the other. The
Disagreement had caused NE no end of
annoyance since and has cost me con-
siderable money for gloves, which /
always year., wintcr aud summer,
though detest them in warm wcathet.
But u mar can't wear gloves Mt the
table. and often at restaurants l catch
people staring at my hand and l won-
der if they think l have served my
term in the fo'-castle of some oyster
Gov or lumber schooner"
A tattoo mark is easily removed.
May l drop into personal history? says
Mark Twain in a lecture to the New
York San. When l was n ANAL boy l
hoI s,>1 4 ven nj -,r,,t, s <,.,
the 36S ways of removing them, but
without results; indeed, i seemed to
be getting wartier and warticr right
along. But at last somebody revealed
to me the S69th way, and l tried it.
Thus: l drove a needle down into the
basement of the wart; then held tho
other end of the needle in the flame of
Il candle some little time; tho needle
became red hot throughout its length,
and proceeded to cook the wart. Pres
emily l drew the needle out; if it had
white atoms like nits sticking about
its points the wart was done; if the
point vas clear, | drove it in again
and cooked till l got those white
things. They were the roots of the
wart. Twcnty-four hours later tho
wart would be become soft and flabby,
and | removed il with n single wipe OF
my hand. Who're it had been was a
smooth snrface now, which quickly
healed, and left no scar. Within two
days l was wartless, and have SO re-
manned unto this day.
Well, u long time afterward, when |
was l6 years old, a sailor tattooed an
anchor aud rope on tho back of my
left hand with India ink. The color
was II deep, dark blue, and extrava.
gantly conspicuous. l was proud OF
it for awhile, but by the time l had
worn it nine years / was tired of i,
and ashamed of it. l could find no.
body who could tell me how to get rid
of it, but at last my wart experience
of near half a generation before oc.
CURED to me-, and l got me severaI
needles and y candle straightway. ]
drove the needles along just under the
surface of the skin and tolcrably close
together and made them include the
whole tattoo mark; then fired up on
them and cooked that device thorough.
ly. Next day | wiped the device of
with my hand. Tho place quickly
healed and left no scar. A faint blush
tinge remained. and | was minded to
begin again and cook that out; but al
it was hardly detachable and not no.
ticeablc, it did not seem worth the fuel,
aud so left it there. and there it is
yet, though suppose l am tho only
member of my tribe that knows it.
was in London u good many year.
ago, when the Tichborno claimants
case was being tried, aud u batch OF
learned experts testified that an India
ink tattoo mark could not be removed;
but | was not asked to testify, and so
those people don't know any better
to this day. Let The '.wcll-to-ao New
YORKER fetch ma some needles and a
candle and nanu his bet. | will take
him up.