The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1894-02-02
ARTISTS IN THE NAVY.
How Jolly Jack Loves to Decorate
His Body.
Tattooing Still FlourIshes as a Profession,
Especially Among the Man-o'-Wars
Men-It Is Not Painful. Nor Is
1t Very Beautiful

How or where the custom originate
it is hard to say, but it is certain that
about nine-tenths of the seafaring men
of the world are tattooed on some parts
! of their bodies. Among the uncivilized
of almost every cline this custom of
marking and defacing the body has
been quite common, and it is very
probable that the sailors. in their
cruises to foreign lands untraveled by
civilized people, picked up the custom.
In my experience among sailors, writes
Dion Williams in the Washington
Star, have often noticed the many
queer devices tattooed all over the
bodies, or on some part of these hardy,
good-natured fellows that love s'a life
on the ocean wave'' better than the
dry land.
1t is probably among men-o'-war's
men that the custom is most near
ly universal, and there is scarcely
a ship in the navy but has some blue
jacket aboard who is an artist with
the tattooing needle. It is said that
the Chinese are the most expert at this
queer trade, and their designs are
often artistic-that is, artistic in the
sense of the dragon and snake style of
art peculiar to Japan and China.
The outfit of a tattooing artist con-
sists of few needle points stuck in
the end of fine stick, forming sort
of steel comb, few sticks of India
ink, generally black, blue and red, and
a few mixing cups. and always book
of samples in which are crudely drawn
in chalk the flashing designs that the
artist is able to make. Seated on
ditty box or the deck, the artist first
takes the arm or the place to be
tattooed and draws in ink the design
to be made. He then draws the skin
tightly and with the steel needle points
punctures the skin along the design,
first dipping the needle points into the
color to be used. The operation is not
particularly painful, no more so than
sticking a sharp needle through the
skin, which, if anyone tries to do with
deliberation, he will find not particu-
larly painful. The place tattooed then
becomes sore to an extent depending
upon the size of the design and the
place tattooed, but it generally COM
pletely heals within ten days, and the
design in colors is indelibly incorpo-
rated into the skin. There is no known
means of removing it after it is once
on, except to remove the skin tattooed,
which would, of course, leave severe
scar.
On board man-of-war in the early
morning after reveille the men all
over the decks take off their clothing
and wash themselves, and it is then
that have found the best opportunity
to notice the.queer designs in tattooing
on back, breast, legs and arms. The
designs are rich in variety as well as
execution. Here, for instance, is a
grizzled old tar with messy breast,
der full sail, with the men on her decks
ten times too big for proper proper
tions. Another has on his breast
picture which his fond Imagination
paints into the glorious fight in Mobile
bay, with Farragut and the Hartford
in the foreground and cannon below
ing red clouds of fire all around. The
old jackey points with pride to it and
tells an ad1niring crowd of young APP
prentice boys, who stand around, of
that glorious summer day when Farra-
gut, ever dear to the navy as their
E'Grand Old Admiral said: ''D-n the
torpedoes," and led the squadron to
victory in the old Hartford. She was
then the pride of the navy, and now is
being rebuilt to be put in active serv-
ice, according to an act of congress,
which provides for keeping the Hart
ford and Kearsarge in the service in
commemoration of their gallant record
in the civil wav.
Many bluejackets have a picture of
the crucifxion tattooed upon them,
though one whom 1 saw with it cover
ing the whole of his back seemed little
fitted to bear so devout an ornament,
for when another sailor stepped on his
bare foot such torrents of real sailor
profanity came from his mouth that
there could be little doubt that he had
forgotten the day of repentance when
he had the cross tattooed on his back.
These large designs cause such great
expanse of skin to become irritated
that they become quite painful if done
all at once, so they are generally done
in sections, sometimes so unskillfully
that the marks show, making a sort of
checkerboard picture. Some OF the de-
signs are very grotesque. 1 remember
one very well done, one of a monkey on
a mans leg, that always caused smile
among those who saw it. The blue
jackets often have pictures of their
sweetheartS tattooed on their arms or
breast, and it makes little difference
ii the sweetheart herself changes from
time to time, for the picture will look
as much like one as another, and the
wearer's imagination will do the rest.
How History Might Have Been Changed.
An interesting incident" of the
career of the great Napoleon has been
brought to light by Prof. Rambaud,
who has just been rewarded for his
ssHistory of Russia with the cross of
the Legion of Honor. Bohaparte, as is
we'll known, was at one time disgusted
with the s1owneSS of his rromOtion
and entertained serious thoughts of di-