nes, dominoes, draughts,
playing-cards, etc., or form means of communication with their
fellow-prisoners and construct weapons for executing their schemes of
vengeance. They also devote themselves to eccentric and useless
occupations, like the training of animals, such as mice, marmosets,
birds, and even fleas (Lattes). This morbid and misguided activity,
which frequently shows gleams of talent, might well be utilised for
increasing the scope of prison industries.

TATTOOING

This personal decoration so often found on great criminals is one of the
strangest relics of a former state. It consists of designs,
hieroglyphics, and words punctured in the skin by a special and very
painful process.

=FIG. 11
Alphabet Discovered by De Blasio=

Among primitive peoples, who live in a more or less nude condition,
tattooing takes the place of decorations or ornamental garments, and
serves as a mark of distinction or rank. When an Eskimo slays an enemy,
he adorns his upper-lip with a couple of blue stripes, and the warriors
of Sumatra add a special sign to their decorations for every foe they
kill. In Wuhaiva, ladies of noble birth are more extensively tattooed
than women of humbler rank. Among the Maoris, tattooing is a species of
armorial bearings indicative of noble birth.

According to ancient writers, tattooing was practised by Thracians,
Picts, and Celts. Roman soldiers tattooed their arms with the names of
their generals, and artisans in the Middle Ages were marked with the
insignia of their crafts. In modern times this custom has fallen into
disuse among the higher classes and only exists among sailors, soldiers,
peasants, and workmen.

Although not exclusively confined to criminals, tattooing is practised
by them to a far larger extent than by normal persons: 9% of adult
criminals and 40% of minors are tattooed; whereas, in normal persons the
proportion is only 0.1%. Recidivists and born criminals, whether thieves
or murderers, show the highest percentage of tattooing. Forgers and
swindlers are rarely tattooed.

Sometimes tattooing consists of a motto symbolical of the career of the
criminal it adorns. Tardieu found on the arm of a sailor who had served
various terms of imprisonment, the words, "Pas de chance." The
notorious criminal Malassen was tattooed on the chest with the drawing
of a guillotine, under which was written the following prophecy: "J'ai
mal commence, je finirai mal. C'est la fin qui m'at