Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-15
BETRAYEDeBrSHOWER BATH

"There was an officer of the line put on
the retired list the ether day." said an old
time messenger at the Navy Department
who put in manyytcFuises as petty officer
| in the United States sea service. who got
| himself into an ssdd pickle one morning.
way back yonder IN the seventies, by taxi
ing shower bath II
This off1cer was fine Sailorman to serve
under. and the men were mighty fond of
him. But he haddose kink. That was his
opposition to the practice Of tattooing. He
ship at the time I'm speaking of, and, while
he was particularly teasy oh his crew, he
certainly had habit Of coming down on
EN- like thousand o, brick for the tattoo
ing business. There were a lot. of men in
the crew that did tattooing. and the first
lul kept an eye on them. He didn't want
any OF the new young chaps in the service
10 get themselves marked up and when he
caught the lads with new punches of ink
on their persons he invariably berated them
soundly and had the tattooers to the mast.
There was no regulation then, as there is
now. against tattooing, and so the execu-
tive oncer couldn't punish the tattooers,
but he always lectured them pretty sound
practice The young fellows entering the
service as landsmen weren't a little bit con-
tented until they'd got themselves marked
up IKE the Old fiatfeet; and right down to
. d
latlon against tattooing, the lads blow in
good part of their wages, particularly on
the emma station when their ships are on
the Japan coast in getting the expert Jap
tattoists to needle them up
Inns executive officer, however consd-
eseu the practice foolish and barbarous and
idiotic; as 1t no doubt it. although I've got
the Ink scattered over a good deal of my
oia frame l remember that, while I was
attached to the ship of which this officer
was the first luff,' I went ashore at Maya
~ TO- 'ap ta one afternoon. and came across
Jap tattooer, whose work was high grade
l mad a small vacant space still unmarked
on my left forearm. and, being good deal
younger then than am now, and a bit
uhoer the saki, doubt not. at that I had
tnls Jap tattooist needle me the American
nag and the Irish emblem intertwined on
Lhat vacant space. Well the next morning
l was doing my stunt on deck. with my
sleeves rolled up, and that raised bit of
tattooing showing raw on my left arm.
The executive officer caught sight of it,
ana i m! ne rounded on me instantly.
wen, you ought to have thirty days in
some iubbers Jail, said he to me. An old
5; JACK like you getting himself scraped up
IKE any beach-comber. after all your years
OF yourself"
felt pretty sheepish of course, but I
todd MIN that wouldn't ha' had it done If
II nadnt been for bit too much of the
rice wine on the afternoon before; but he
only snorted and walked aft
well only two mornings after that
this kindly first Iuff' showed himself I'D
ana got the terrible laugh from the whole
snip s company for'ard. The officers had
rugged up shower bath on the after deck
under which. with only pair of small
trunks on. they'd stand when they got up
on the hot mornings to get cooled off The
apparatus had only been up for a couple Of
days when, on this morning that I'm
speaking OF, the executive officer, who was
an an. exceeaingiy absent minded man. pranced
out. with his little pair, of new trunks, and.
turning the water on, stood under the
shower, sasping, and enjoying himself It
was ABOUT an hour after all hands in the
morning, and all the men were on deck
Wen, when they saw the first luff' stripped
mat way, there Went up shout from that
ships company That sounded like a home
Ward-bound roar -
For the executive officer was lust ono
mass OF fine tattpoing from his neck to his
middle 1t was all japanese work-dragons
eagles, snakes. dainty, garden scenes and
all that sort Of stuff in all of the Jananese
tattooer's colors.,, His arms had ali kinds
OF adders and pythons and boa constructors
coined around them, and, all in all 1 don't
oeueVe any OF US in the crew had ever
seen man, for'ard or aft, so completely
tattooed up as that first luff' Of ours was.
-. When he heard the tremendous laugh
the executive officer looked up in surprise,
anu When ne saw the whole ships COM
pany doing nothing but stare at him with
grlns, ne turned as red as beet looked
down at himself and hustled for his room
at the gallop. He looked pretty sheepish
1no ieu witch ne emerged, about half an
hour later in uniform, but he took II Ali
good naturedly, and that afternoon he said
to me on the quiet:
You lads for'ard have got it on me sure
enough out 1 mad those imbecile things
needed on me when 1 was a pin-head of a
cadet. thinking it was fine Anyhow. it's
not case Of doing as I do, but of doing
as 1 say!
II could only grin in reply, and he snort
ed and then grinned and went aft
From then on until the wind-up of the
cruise he never said another word against
tattooing."