The Saint Paul globe., 1899-04-17
TITLE WENT WITH ARM
THE PROOF OF A CLAIM To mn
ONEFCY LOST BY AN AM
PUTATION
CREST MARKED IN WITH INK

Papers Lost and Only the Tattoo
Marks Left by Which James Bar
nett Mason Could Prove His Right
-Amdavifs From the Doctors
May Serve to Set the Matter Right
in the Eend.
Ihe LOSE of an arm, dissected by med
ical students in Chicago, may prevent
James Barnett Mason from claiming the
title and estates of an English baronetcy
In wiltshire. The arm was tattooed with
the motto and crest Of the family insignia
or rank, and Its amputation has been a
serious blow to the well-built English
man OF 40 or thereabouts who Is at pres
ent in New York waiting for funds to
cross to the other side to complete his
claims for recognition. Here is the story
told by the heir-presumptiye:
My father was the youngest of three
sons and he followed the usual nro-
gramme of pulling out to one of the COLO
mes with enough money to give him a
start. He drifted to Australia as n-os
pector then an owner and promoter
ne uio not make millions. but he salted
uo"ii respectable fortune when L was
sydney.
lie died when 1 was IS and when I
came OF age L was very we'll to do and
pretty well alone In the world, as I lost
my mother at much earlier age. and
my only sister had married a district
Judge In New Zealand.
NOT KNOWN TO THE FAMILY
Il mad never been in England and knew
Oh Our family there only through their
letters 20 my father. His eldest brother
oieo before my father and the next one
came into the title. That's the last I
heard OF the family for a good manv
years.
MY 1atner had an odd fancy for tat
toolng, which I think was result of a
| e.ay III Japan. where he was attached to
| .ne BRUSH legation before he landed in
AuSeraia. His arms and chest Jyere
mary VeIous works Of art in those days he
| noie the craze had spread to other civ
| in@eo countries. When 1 was a lad he
aao my left arm tattooed with the fam
ny letters and row of six letters. 'R
L. 7. A. R. g.
was rather wild and unsteady and T
| got into trouble, roved about a few wears
ana 1etched up in America three wars
| ago by way Of San Francisco with O
sorry looking remnant of q fortune T
| hao lost all track of my English connec-
lions and never thought of LOOKING than,
up and no one In Australia knew wbera
L mad dr1fted. I happened to see an ad-
Vertisement and notice which made mo
| Jump. A firm of London solicitors asl.ed
| LOT news Of my whereabouts. with the
emphasis Of important business. etc ana
the paper explained that. a cousin ~
mine having died. 1t was probable that r
| was next In succession to the baronetcv
Now, I had scarcely any papers 1eft
TO show who I was and was fat broke
out knew that the tattoed marks on nv
| arm would go long way. because OF
| lnese letters. which stood as some sort
| OF FAMILY trademark so to speak ana
Wnlch was known to no one otl1si6e
Il MS would be the strongest kind of evil
| oence In itself as to my Identity. So
! upon nasty impulse 1 started east TO
60. somehow TO London. L raised enough
money TO bring me as far as Chicago.
L earned little money In Chicago and
| managed to work along, sometimes
catching freight trains, until disa ster
oVerhauied me near Fort Wayne.
On a black, sleety night 1 slipped be-
tween Two freight cars and was sma shed
nearly to death. 1 was picked I'm nm
d
where the surgeons gave me uD as
hopeless wreck. But they cut off NV Ieft
arm. 49,
was delirioUs most of the time for
the hrst week and when l knew where
was and began calling for my arm the
nospltal people thought ] was still a bit
OIL L begged them to tell me what had
been done with it.
mad been raving so about nv arm
ana that 1t was worth all the wealth in
the world to me that naturally the hos
p1tal authorities thought L was crazy
was told that the arm had been sent to
the dissecting room of a medical school
IN Chicago week before One of the
surgeons had made tracing of the tat
toofng, as an Identification mark in the
event or my death while in the hosuital
lie told me the idea of tanning this
curious Dit OF skin as an uncanny SOU
Ven1r had suggested itself to him. but
that ne had great distaste for such
mementoes. He regretted that he had
not done 1t after he heard my story.
GETS AN AFFIDAVIT.
"Cf course, the local newspapers made
great spread Of the strange value of
the lest arm, and a great deal of SYM
pathy was expressed over my MISFORTUNE
enough of this feeling took a practical
form to help me financially In very en-
couraging fashion. L accepted this only
DIS Il loan.
The surgeons and nurses furnished me
with aiildavits. setting forth important
facts to which they were able to swear.
that my arm had borne In tattooing GER
tain marks and characters which thew
described In detail. and the tracing made
by the surgeon was sworn to as a true
and exact copy.
nave almost wholly recovered from
my Injuries. although sadly Handicapped
and crippled by the loss of my arm
nave received one letter from England
asking further information and papers
and promising a remittance If my retIv
Is satisfactory"
The aitidavits are properly drawn I'm
and attested, and several are of the tenor
or the one signed by Charles r. Alcock.
house surgeon Municipal hospital of Fort
Wayne, Jan. IT, 1899, anG sworn to he
fore f. s. Arthur. justice of the peace.
1t declares that an accompanying cony
or drawing is faithful copy of certain
tattooing pricked on an arm amputated
from Edward Barnett, ETC.
The newspaper advertisement which he
has preserved read as follows:
Edward Alexander Parnett-M Mason,
son OF the late Alfred Barnett-M Mason, Of
sydney. Australia, Is earnestly requested
TO communicate with the firm of Moore,
Little &c Grant. solicitors, 24I Fleet street.
London Information of greatest i'm
portance awaits him.
FIy's Eggs.
and eighty eggs each time. The de.
SCendantS of one female fy I'm a single