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A Marvel Of Tattooing

A Marvel Of Tattooing image
Parent Issue
Day
16
Month
June
Year
1876
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

[From the New York Sun.] Oapt. George Oostentenus, a descendant of a noble Greek family, from the province of Albania, arrived in New York yesterday in the Servia. From head to foot on every inch of nis body, includiug even his scalp and the soles of his feet, he is a mass of tíie most artistic and elaborately colored tatooing, in letters, signs, and figures of quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and reptiles. Capt. Costentenus is tall, dark complexioned, of superb pbysique, and about forty-five years of age. He does not read English, but converses fluently in his own tongue, and in the Italian, Arab, Turkish, and Persian languages, and speaks a little French and Germán, and a few words of English. The climate here affects him so that he keeps mufñed in a coarse suit lined with fur, with a soft Tound cap pulled down over his forehead, and a thick pair of gloves on his hands. His heavy beard only partially conceals the tattooing on bis weatherbeaten face. Consteutenus' early history is that of niany Albanians. He has always been a soldier of fortune. In Ï867 he and eleven others penetrated Chinese Tartary and sided with the rebels. The paity wore captured, and two or three were killed, and the rest were submitted to an ordeal of tattooing, which only two survived, Capt. Constentenus and a Spaniard, who has since died. The operation lasted three months, and was performed daüy. Six men held him down while a seventh wielded the tattooing apparatus. At the conclusión of the operation he regained his health, and was freed by the Tartars, instead of making his escape, as was reported. This tattooing was áone to warn outside barbarians of the dangor of penetrating the Tm-tars' domains. Nothing like the Captain's person has ever been seen in civilized countries. By the side of his gorgeously embellished cuticle the tattooing of South Sea Islanders fades into insignificance. The material used was indigo and cinnabar, the former producing a black and the latter a red. At a first glance the Captain's body seems to be covered with a Turkish shawl, but a closer examination shows that the pictures in two colors are produced by unnumbered points. On his forehead aro animáis and insaïp: tions, and on the face star-like figures. On the h?nds are numerous red points, and figures resembling sculptures, as well as long tailed, panther like shapes. The ears are absolutely the only part of the body free from tattooing, oven the scalp being embellished. On the neck, chest, abdomen, back, and extremities, the skin is a mass of symmetrically arranged and admirably executed figures of monkeys, tigers, lions, elephants, peacocks, storks, swans, snakes, crocodilos, lizards, mingled with bows, arrows, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Between the figures are words in Berminian in blue and red letters, and simple points or stars and circles. The original skin is invisible. On the palms of the hands are indescribabla figures, aiid little figures are on the inside of the fingers. On the back sides of both feet to the toes are blue points, and from the toes to the nails are red Unes. Altogether there aré 888 tattooed pictures on the entire body - on the forehead, 2 ; neck, 8 ; chest, 56 ; back, 37 ; abdomen, 52 ; upper extromities, 101 ; lower extremities, 137 - yet the Captain is in perfect health. The instrument used in tattooing, the Captain sayp, was divided into threo parts. Tbs part holding the fluid was slit like a pen four inches long and an inch and a half wide, coming down brass four inches long, and on top was a third piece, four inches long, of iron, with a knob at the end. The three parts were joined by capsules. The instrument was inserted between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand to guide it, and the right hand made the punctures with extreme rapidity. The Captain has several scars on his person as evidence of his numerous engagements, and these show plainly through the tattooing. He has seon every country in the world except America. He is going to the Centennial Exhibition. A number of gentlemen lately from the East were congregated on a street corner in San Francisco tho other day, when they saw a two-horse dray loaded down with what they took to be lead bars, stalled on Montgomery street. Great was their surprise when informed that the lead bars were silver bricks from the Bonanza mines, being taken to Flood & O'brien's bank, and that over a hundred thousand dollars in value was intrusted to the custody of one man, and haulod around the streets like any other merchandise. Bears are making it lively for the . sheep in Aroostook, Me.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus