Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 June 1876 — A Marvel of Tattooing. [ARTICLE]

A Marvel of Tattooing.

Capt. George Costentenus, a descendant of a noble Greek family, from the province of Albania, arrived in New York on Saturday in the Suevia. From head to foot, on every inch of bis body, including even his scalp and the soles of bis feet, be is a mass of the most artistic and elaborately-colored tattooing, in letters, signs and figures of quadrupeds, birds, fishes and reptiles. Capt. Costentenus is tall, dark complexioned, of superb physique, and about forty-five years of age. He does not read English, bat converses fluently in his own tongue, and in the Italian, Arab, Turkish and Persian languages, and speaks a little French and German, and a few words of English. The climate here affects him so that he keeps muffled in a coarse suit lined with fur, with a soft round cap pulled down over bis forehead, and a thick pair of gloves on bis hands. His heavy beard only partially conceals this tattooing on bis weatherbeaten face. Constentenus’ early history is that of many Albanians. He has always been a soldier of fortune. In 1867 be and eleven others penetrated Chinese Tartary and sided with the rebels. The party were captured, and two or three were killed, and the rest were submitted to an ordeal of tattooing, which only two survived, Capt. Costentenus and a Spaniard, who has since died. The operation lasted three months, and performed daily. Six men held him down while a seventh wielded the tattooing apparatus. At the conclusion of the tattooing operation he regained his health, and was freed by the Tartars, instead of making his escape, as was reported. This tattooing was done to warn outside barbarians of the danger of penetrating the Tartars’ 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 aDd 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 are animals and inscriptions, and on the face star-like figures. On the hands are numerous red points, and figures resembling sculptures, as well as long tailed, panther like shapes. The cars are absolutely the only part of the body free from tattooing, even the scalp being embellished. On the neck, chest, abdomen, back and extremities, the skin is a maas of symmetrically arranged and admirably executed figures of monkeys, tigers, lions, elephants, peacocks, storks, swans, snakes, crocodiles, lizards, mingled with bows, arrows, leaves, flowers ana fruits. Between the figures are words in Berminian in blue mid red letters, and simple points or stars and circles. The original skin is invisible. On the palms of the hands are indescribable figures, and 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 lines. Altogether there are 388 tattooed pictures on the entire body—on the forehead 2; neck, 8; chest, 50; back, 37; abdomen, 52; upper extremities, 101; lower extremities, 137—yet the Captain is iajperfect health. The instrument used in tattooing, the Captain says, was divided into three parts. The part holding the fluid was slit like a pen, four inches long and an inch and a half wide, coming down to two points. In the middle was a cylinder of 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 pictures with extreme rapidity. The Captain has several scars on his person as evidence of his numerous engagements, and these show plainly through tine tattooing. He has seen every country in the world except America. He is to the Centennial Exhibition.—A. A number of residents of Western Pennsylvania have purchased 4,500 acres of land in West Virginia, much of which contains bituminous coal. Tax potato-bug has already appeared* tn various parts of the State of New York.