The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-18
HOW CRIMINALS ARE TATTOOED.
Queer Inscriptions Found on the
Bodies of Some of Them.

From the Boston Traveller.
Perhaps the most curious literary OBJ
jects of interest at New Scotland yard,
the headquarters of the metropolitan po-
lice force, are the archives containing par
ticulars Of the marks, etc, found on Grim
mails who at one time or another, have
had dealings with the police.
There are several volumes of extraor-
binary interest, and their contents are,
naturally, of the greatest assistance to
the police, in tracking or recognition of
old offenders 1t is very odd to note that
nearly every man who has come within the
reach of the arm of the law Is tattooed
in one or another part of his body And
when the thousands of criminals are tax
en- into account, it will be seen that tat
tooing must be carried on somewhere on
an extensive scale. Most of the prisoners
tattooed belong to the lower-middle and
lower classes few of those who are en-
tered as of fair education bearing any tat
too marks upon their bodies.
Brcklayers, laborers. navvies, common
thieves, sailors, pickpookets who snatch"
handkerchiefs, etc, are those who chiefly
enjoy the doubtful privilege of bearing
the most marks One young man de-
sirous of making a permanent record Of
his sweethearts name has pricked on his
chest the words Il love Mary Jane, while
another prefers to say In memory of my
sweetheart" The records show hundreds
of cases of this kind
The man who inscribed on his chest the
words Il love-" followed by the initials
of fifteen girls, must certainly have been
a criminal Don, Juan. The entries of the
phrase Il love" found on prisoners bod
les during the past three years fill several
pages of a large book. Other marks of af-
lection are I'm memory of my sister and
mother" and Sacred to the memory of
nv dear cousin" while one criminal of
religious tendencies has the Lords pray
err inscribed on his back in letters of blue
and red.
Not a few prisoners show a prediction
fer the sea, if tattoo marks go for any
thing. One man rejolced in being tattooed
from the neck to the calf of his leg, the
pictures representing sea fights, ships in
full sail, etc. Another bears on his chest
a union jack. with the words I'm mem
DRY of the old flag, "and yet another glories
in the possession on his chest and back
of a mermaid, three ships OF war, three
womens heads and three men. the latter
fishing from a boat.
Ships in full sail are tattoo marks very
frequently found on the body of prisoners,
one man actually being tatooed in this
manner on the sole of his right foot. That
this mark should have been observed is
good illustration of the strictness of the
search made by the police authorities. A
cruciiix is favorite tattoo mark; and one
man went the length Of having the twen-
ty-third Psalm inscribed on his back.
Many prisoners apparently indulge in
strong drink, if the marks on their bodies
mean anything One man had depicted
upon his chest two foaming tankards of
beer, several pipes and a. tobacco pouch.
Several, too, go IN for fisticuffs, many
bearing the words Smith and Kilrain, .
etc, on different parts Of their bodies. An
Irishman was found 10 have completely
covered his chest with a large design of
the harp of Erin.
The above are only few Examples of
the large variety of tattoo marks found
on the bodies Of prisoners, who probably,
If they knew how useful to the police for
purposes of identification tattooing was,
would keep away from colored inks in
future. Many prisoners have apparently
tried to obliterate the marks, but never
with any great amount of success.