Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1895 — Tattooed Snakes. [ARTICLE]

Tattooed Snakes.

The sailors of the Gulf of Mexico and the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean amuse themselves, and also turn an occasional honest penny, says the Cincinnati Enquirer, by capturing both large and small snakes of the variety known as the lemon boa and covering their bodies with tattooed letters and designs. One of these living manuscripts was recently exhibited at Egyptian Hall, London, which had the whole of the third chapter of Genesis and some pieces from Punch tattooed upon his back in indelible letters of various colors. Thousands of these tattooed snakes are annually disposed of at Rio de Janeiro. The buyers generally kill these snakes and either skin them or preserve the entire reptile In alcohol. Such specimens are highly prized by both European and North American collectors of curiosities.