Page:EB1911 - Volume 26.djvu/480



TATRA MOUNTAINS (Hungarian Tarczal) or the High Tatra, the highest group in the central Carpathians, and the central group of the whole Carpathian system. They extend between the rivers Waag, Arva, Dunajec and Poprad, and form a sharply defined and isolated group, rising abruptly like a gigantic wall to an altitude of over 8400 ft. in the midst of a high plateau situated 2600 ft. above sea-level. The Tatra Mountains extend through the Hungarian counties of Liptó and Szepes, and with their northern extremities also through the Austrian crownland of Galicia, and have a length of 40 m. and a width varying between 9 and 15 m. The mean altitude is between 6000 and 7500 ft. The principal peaks are:—the Franz-Josef or Gerlsford (Hung. Gerlachfalvi-Csûcs, 8737 ft.), the highest in the Carpathian system; the Lomnitz (Lomniczi-Csûcs, 864 ft.); the Eisthal (Jêgvolgyi-Csûks, 8630 ft.); the Tatraspitze or Hohe Visoka (8415 ft.); the Kesmark (8226 ft.); the Meerau-genspitze (Tengerszem-Csûcs, 8210 ft.); the Schlagendorf (Szalóki-Csûcs, 8050 ft.); and the Krivan (8190 ft.). The principal valleys, which lie at an altitude of 2600 to 3250 ft. above sea-level, and present some of the wildest scenery, are:—the Kohlbach Valley, the Felka Valley, the Valley of Mengsdorf, the Javorina Valley, the Kotlina Valley, in which is the stalactite cavern of Bela, and the Bielka Valley. One of the characteristics of the Tatra are the numerous mountain lakes (112 in number), called by the people “eyes of the sea.” The largest of them are the Lake of Csorba, in the southern part of the group, which has an area of 50 acres; the Grosser Fischsee in the Bielka Valley; and the Wielki Staw, with an area of 85 acres, the largest of the Five Polish Lakes, which lie in the Roztoka Valley.

There are many summer resorts in the Tatra Mountains, the most frequented being Tatrafüred (German, Schmecks), three small villages situated at an altitude of 3250 ft., at the foot of the Schlagendorf peak; and the environs of the Lake of Csorba, which is called the “Pearl of the Tatra.”

TATTA, or Thato, an ancient town of British India, in the Sind province of Bombay, 7 m. from the right bank of the main channel of the Indus and 13 m. from a station on the North-Western railway: pop. (1901) 10,783. Tatta was the capital of the Samma dynasty in Lower Sind in the 16th century, and long continued to be the centre of trade in the country, to which it sometimes gave its name in early European travels. An English factory was established here in 1758, but withdrawn after a few years. There are two old mosques, decorated with the coloured tiles characteristic of Sind.

TATTERSALL’S, the London horse auction mart, founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second duke of Kingston. The first premises occupied were near Hyde Park Corner, in what was then the outskirts of London. Two “Subscription rooms” were reserve for members of the Jockey Club, and they became the rendezvous for sporting and betting men. Among the famous dispersal sales conducted by “Old Tatt” were those of the duke of Kingston’s stud in 1774 and of the stud of the Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV.) in 1786. The prince often visited Richard Tattersall, and was joint proprietor with him of the Morning Post for several years. He was succeeded by his son, Edmund Tattersall (1758–1810), who extended the business of the firm to France. The third of the dynasty, Richard Tattersall (1785–1859), the eldest of Edmund’s three sons, became head of the firm at his father’s death. He had his grandfather’s ability and tact, and was the intimate of the best sporting men of his time. Another Richard Tattersall (1812–1870), son of the last, then took command of the business. His great-grandfather’s 99-year lease having expired, he moved the business to Knightsbridge. Richard was followed by his cousin, Edmund Tattersall (1816–1898), and he by his eldest son, Edmund Somerville Tattersall (b. 1863).

A son of the second Richard Tattersall, George Tattersall (1817–1849), was a well-known sporting artist. In 1836 he compiled a guide to The Lakes of England illustrated with forty-three charming line drawings, and he showed skill as an architect by building the Tattersall stud stables at Willesden. His experience in this and similar undertakings led him to publish Sporting Architecture (1841). In the same year, under the pseudonym “Wildrake,” he published Cracks of the Day, describing and illustrating sixty-five race-horses. He also contributed illustrations to the Hunting Reminiscences of Nimrod (Charles J. Apperley), the Book of Sports (1843), and the New Sporting Almanack.

TATTNALL, JOSIAH (1795–1871), American naval officer, was born near Savannah, and was educated in England. He entered the United States navy in 1812, and was actively employed till the beginning of the Civil War. He may be said to have gained a world-wide reputation by his use of the phrase “blood is thicker than water” to justify his intervention on behalf of the British squadron engaged in the operations against the Peiho Forts. Tattnall’s flagship the Toeywan had grounded shortly before, and had been helped off by the British squadron. He was in the Peiho river when the unsuccessful attack of the 25th of June 1859 was made. Tattnall not only brought the Toeywan under fire, but lent the aid of his boats to land detachments to turn the Chinese defences. When the Civil War began he took the side of the Confederacy. He was put in command of its naval forces when Franklin Buchanan resigned after he was wounded in the action with the Federal squadron in Hampton Roads. The Confederate States were never able to form a sea-going squadron, and Tattnall had no chance to do more than make a struggle with insufficient resources on its rivers. He died on the 14th of June 1871.

TATTOO, a signal given by beat of drum and call of bugle at nightfall for soldiers to go to quarters when in garrison or to tents when in the field. The earlier word is taploo or laptow, and was borrowed from Du. laploe; the phrase de taploe slaan, to close the taps, and the parallel Ger. Zapfenstreich, literally “tap-stroke” (Zapf, a tap of a cask), show that it meant originally a signal that the “taps” or public-houses were closed for the night.

TATTOOING (Tahitian, lain, from ta, mark), the practice of decorating the skin, by cutting or puncturing, with various patterns into which a colouring matter is introduced. Though the word is Polynesian, the custom appears to have been almost universal, but tends to disappear before the spread of civilization. The prohibition to the Jews (Lev. xix. 28) under the Mosaic Law to “print any marks” upon themselves is believed to have reference to tattooing, which is still common in Arabia. The North and South American Indians, the Chinese, Japanese, Burmese, all tattoo. The origin of the custom is disputed. It was probably at first for purely ornamental purposes and with the idea of attracting the opposite sex. The discovery in the caves of Western Europe of hollowed stones which had been apparently used for grinding up ochre and other coloured clays is thought evidence that prehistoric man painted himself, and tattooing for decorative reasons may easily date back to the cave-dwellers. The modern savage paints himself as a protection against cold, against the bites of insects or the sun’s rays, and -most of all to give himself a ferocious appearance in battle, as Caesar relates of the ancient Britons. Any of these motives may have shared in originating tattooing. Subsequently the practice assumed religious and social significance, varying with the country and according to the age at which it was