The St. Johns herald., 1895-02-21
ARTISTS IN THE NAVY.
How Jolly Jack Loves to Decorate
 His Body.
Tattooing Still Flourishes as a Profession, Especially Among the San-o'-Wars
 Men-It Is Not Painful. Nor Is 1t Very Beautiful

How or where the custom originated,
 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 ot
 marking and dcfacing the body has
 been quite common, and it is very
 probable that the sailors. in their
 cruises to fcrc;cn la0dG rtr,ve1,.1 "
 civilized people, r'- ci iup
 In my experic:."o ;--- s@i: =.
 Dion Williams in |. } q
 Star, have often E<- eel 1 , l...;-ly
 queer devices tattccc;, all CT tie
 bodies, or on some r@rt cf the: hardy,
 good-naturcd fellows that love "a life
 on the ocean wave" better than the
 dry land.
 It is probably among men-o'-war's
 men that the cuatCn is most near
 ly universal, and there is scarcely
 a ship in the navy but has some blue
 jacket aboard who i an artist with
 the tattooiIg needle. It is said that
 the Chinese are the most expert at tllis
 queer trade, and their designs are
 often artistic-that ia, a. t;stic in the
 sense of the dra ago1 a2i ;-.97.c style Of
 art peculiar to ,iap@ }-na.
 The outfit of .:..: con-
 sists of q few lc r!i in
 the end of fine s5ic... ."rIs i.1.s a sort of steel comb, few stiv,ls of India ink, generally black, blue and red, and a few mixing cups. and always book of samples in which are crulcly 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. lie 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 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 al extent depending upon the size of the design and the place tattooed, but it generally con- pletcly heals within ten days, and the design in cOlorS is indelibly iacorpo- rated into the skin. There is no known means of removing it after it is once on, except to remove the skin tattoocd, which would, of course, leave severe scar.
 On board a 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 tho queer designs in tattooing on back, breast, legs and arms. The designs are rich in variety as we'll as Here. for instance, is griZzled old tar with messy breast, whose back is covered with ship un- der full sail, with the men on her decks ten times too big for proper propor tions. Another has on his breast a 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 jacl1ey points with pride to it and | tells an admiri1g crowd of young ap- 1 prentice boys, who stand around, of | that glorious summer day when Farra- 1 gut, ever dear to the navy as their | Grand Old Admiral said: "D-n the 1 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 of their gallant record ! in the civil way.
 Many bluejacl1ets have a picture of the crucifXion tattooed upon them, though one whom saw with it cover ng the whole of his back seemed little fitted to bear so devout an ornament, for when another sailor stepped on his pare foot such torrents of real sailor came from his mouth that here could be little doubt that he had forgotten the day of repentance when le had the cross tattooed on his back. These large designs cause such great ApdEoC Ol SKILL GO DCCOLuC lTT1C6CcO ] hat they become quite painful if done III at once, so they are generally done n sections, sometimes so unsl1illfully hat the marks show, making sort of picture. Some of the de- igns arc very grotcsqUe. l remember me very we'll done. one of monkey on mans leg, that always caused smile mong those who saw it. The blue aclzets often have pictures of their weethearts tattoocd on their arms or ,reaSt, and it makes little difference the sweetheart herself changes from ime to time, for the picture will look $ much like ono as another, and the vearer's imagination will do the rest. low History Might Have Bccn Changed.
 An interesting incident" of the arecr of the great Napoleon has been rought to light by Prof Rambaud, no has just been rewarded for his History of Russia" with the cross of ne Legion of Honor. Bonaparte, as is ell known, was at one time disgusted 'ith the slowncss of his promotion nd enter 1ained serious thoughts Of di-