Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1893-08-29
THE TATTOO FAD.

you tell me where Mr.-er-I mean
Capt. McKny's studio lisp" The color
in her cheeks went ar inch higher and
assaulted the faultless temples.
Never heard of him. Who is he.
anyhow" The big policeman bent his
head for further information. Tho
pretty brunette looked very much con-
fused.
"Well, my brother said he was right
along here on fremont row. You see,
heard him tell Will Albums 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! l just like to see it, you know.
i think it is lovely. So / 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
a 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 a very indistinct
little squeal several times through the
keyhOIc. That was all he knew of the
matter. But when the brunette, with
an expression of guilt upon her coun-
tenancc, hurried out into tho street
Capt. Mckay told an Every Saturday
man the little tale on the understand
ing that names should not be used. mo,
1T has not quite got to be q fad yet.
But it will be soon. I have pretty
girls with the daintiest of arms and
legs come III 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, / think. She
was crazy to have al American flag
upon hcr leg. know she was but she
had scarcely the courage. / put this
little scroll upon herarrl. away around
here on the side OF the muscle. No, it
didn't hurt her in the slightest. She
uttered jI@t q little squcal-morc of
surprise that the needle did not hurt
moro than it did than anything. Now
| the ice Is broken she viii be back in 4
wccl=> and perhaps then her courage
will be better. She will have that flag
put on there or I'm mistnlicn.''
The old sy5tcrn of jabbing with a
needle By hand has gone out Of vogue
Capt. Mckay uses electricity in his
work. The. instrument employed is
IN Edison electric pen with larger
eccentric SO as to give the needle the
plaT' - r0"riro2 Tho plnv of tho
needle is about onc-thirty-gccond of an
inch. Ordinary cell batteries arc at
| tachcd to it. The EGElc power. how
ever. cannot be used in tattooing all
| -, 1o1
| ton of the skin OF the patron. Two
cells arc sufficient fora person with
| the Goftcst skin. Harder skinned pco-
| pie take all the way to six cells, the
| full Ecrcc of the battery. The outlin--
! ing is done with q single needle. The
shading requires seven needles, which
arc placed in the machine side by side.
Rut two kinds of ink arc used, black
India ink and Chinese vcrmillion.
Those arc the only colors that can be
used with perfect safety because they
arc not poisonous OF injurious. Vase
line and witch hazel are used to relieve
the soreness when the design is COM
| plcted.
ooh, yes" said the captain, 'they
call for all sorts of designs There's
the crucilx; have perhaps moro calls
| for 1T than any other. They want it
put in tho quccrest places too. Why,
l had n man in here one day who
wanted me to put it on his spinal col
| urnn SO that the crowned head of the
Savior would appear just at his collar
! button. i 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 serpent reaching from
hcr'anl1lc to a point we'll above her
knee, which did for hcr.' The work
took several days. 1t was a delicate
job and reqnirod great care. When 1
finished she gave me twenty-five dol
Lars and you never saw more pleased
girG in youT life. The wife of we'll.
known steamboat captain has the de-
sign of n sailors farewell on the 1eshy
part of her arm. She, came and told