The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-07-22

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
ICED Him.

''Can you tell me- asked the pretty
little brunette, with the voluptuous
red cheeks. of the big policeman. '.can
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
" 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
l think it is lovely. So l thought 1
would just look at some of the designs.
-Four doors down? Oh, thank YOU
and the brunette told of 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. NO.
II has not quite got to be fad vet.
But it will be soon. | 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 a student at
the Conservatory of Music Come from
somewhere in Indiana, 1 think. She
was crazy to have an American flag
upon her leg. / know she was. but she
had scarcely the courage. 1 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 larger
eccentric so as to give the needle the
play 1t requires. The play of the
needle is about one-thirty-secondo 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 rermillioA |
These are the only colors that can be |
used with perfect safety because they
are not poisonous or injurious. Vase |
inc and witch hazel are used to relieve |
the soreness when the design is com
oleted.
''Oh, yes" said the captain. "thev
all for all sorts of designs There's
he crucifix; have perhaps more calls
Tor 1t than any other. They want it
put in the queerest places too Why,
had man in here one day who
NE TO put it on his spinal col
INN so that the crowned head of the
savior would appear just at his collar
button. l have tattooed bracelets on
he wrists of pretty girls and carriers
IN their legs y young woman who is
veil known TO the theater-gocrs of
Boston has serpent reaching from
Ter ankle to a point well above her
NEE, which did for her. The work
ook several days. 1t was 4 delicate
oh and required great care. When /
lnished she gave NE TWENTY-FIVE dol
airs and you never saw more pleased
-irl in your life. The wife of we'll
lnown steamboat captain has the de-
ign OF q sailors farewell on the feshv
art of her arm. She came and told
lie her husband had similar one and
he had determined 10 have one like il.
I would never do to tell him about it .
hough- happened to know that the
aptain detested the design which he
ore within year after tattooed it.
dare say If he ever discovered the one |
is wife had they had squally weather |
] that household. | have had at least
twenty-five Harvard students here
-itEfn SIX months. They mostly have
lch designs as the American coat of
rms or something patriotic. You see
lat Rock Of Ages? / pricked that de-
ya upon the left arm of an out %
'wn clergyman within a week He
aid me two dollars for it and was
ighly pleased"
\ Monster Tree.
Il