Arizona republican., 1893-10-04
MESA CITY. ARIZONA, OCTOBER 4. 1898.
THE TATTOO FAD.
Boston Women Who Have Pic
lures on Their Persons.
A Professor in the Art Makes Some Queer
Revelations Concerning Some of the
People Who Have Patron
lied Him.

little brunette, with the voluptuous
red cheeks, of the big policeman, ''can
you tell me where Mr-er-I mean
Capt. McKay's studio is?" The color
in her cheeks went an inch higher and
assailed the faultless temples.
'Never heard of him. Who is he,
anyhow" The big policeman bent his
head for further information. The
pretty brunette looked very much con-
fused.
"Well, my brother said he was right
along here on fremont row. You see,
heard him tell VIII Adams what love
ly tattooing he did, and without the
sign of pain, too. He said lots of girls
went there just to see his work. Well,
I'm crazy about tattooing, you know.
Oh, not at all; oh, my, no, not upon
myself! just like to see it, you know.
think it is lovely. So l thought I
would just look at some of the designs.
-Four doors down? Oh, thank you"
and the brunette told off four doors
and hustled into the last one without
turn of her head
Only Capt. Mckay and the pretty
brunette know what happened within
during the next half hour. True, the
janitor says he heard very. indistinct
little squeal several times through the
keyhole. That was all he knew of the
matter. But when the brunette, with
an expression of guilt upon her coun-
tenance, hurried out into the street
Capt. Mckay told an Every Saturday
man the little tale on the understand
ing that names should not be used. mo,
it has not quite got to be fad yet.
But it will be soon. l have pretty
girls with the daintiest of arms and
legs come in here every day for me to
operate upon. Yes, most of them dec
crate their arms. Take this young
lady, for instance. She is student at
the Conservatory of Music. Come from
somewhere in Indiana, I think. She
was crazy to have an American flag
upon her leg. I know she was, but she
had scarcely the courage. l put this
little scroll upon her arm, away around
here on the side of the muscle. No, it
didn't hurt her in the slightest. She
uttered just a little squeal-more of
surprise that the needle did not hurt
more than it did than anything. Now
the ice is broken she will be back in
week, and perhaps then her courage
will be better She will have that flag
put on there or I'm mistaken"
The old system of jabbing with a
needle by hand has gone out of vogue.
Capt. Mckay uses electricity in his
work. The instrument employed is
an Edison electric pen with a larger
eccentric so as to give the needle the
play it requires. The play of the
needle is about one-thirty-second of an
inch. Ordinary cell batteries are at
tached to it. The same power, how
ever, cannot be used in tattooing all
persons. 1t is regulated by the condi-
ton of the skin of the patron. Two
cells are sufficient for person with
the softest skin. Harder skinned peo-
pie take all the way to six cells, the
full force of the battery. The outlin-
ing is done with single needle The
shading requires seven needles, which
are placed in the machine side by side
But two kinds of ink are used, black
India ink and Chinese vermillion.
These are the only colors that can be
used with perfect safety because they
are not poisonous or injurious. Vase
line and witch hazel are used to relieve
the soreness when the design is com
pleted
sob, yes" said the captain, ''they
call for all sorts of designs. There's
the cruciix; have perhaps more calls
for it than any other. They want it
put in the queerest places too Why,
l had a man in here one day who
wanted me to put it on his spinal col
umn so that the crowned head of the
Savior would appear just at his collar
button. / have tattooed bracelets on
the wrists of pretty girls and carriers
on their legs A young woman who is
well known to the theater-goers of
Boston has a serpent reaching from
her ankle to a point well above her
knee, which I did for her The work
took several days. 1t was delicate
job and required great care. When 1
finished she gave me twenty-five dol
lars and you never saw a more pleased
girl in your life. The wife of a we'll
known steamboat captain has the de-
sign of a sailors farewell on the f1eshy
part Of her arm. She came and told
me her husband had similar one and
she had determined to have one like it.
1t would never do to tell him about it
though. I happened to know that the
captain detested the design which he
bore within year after L tattooed it.
l dare say if he ever discovered the one
his wife had they had squally weather
in that household. have had at least
twenty-five Harvard students here
within six months. They mostly have
such designs as the American coat of
arms or something patriotic. You see
that Rock of Ages?' pricked that de-
sign upon the left arm of an out of
town clergyman within week. He
paid me two dollars for it and was
highly pleased"