The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1870-11-04
sIAMEsE TWINS OUTDONE.
One Of the Most Singular Prodigies Ever
Heard of.


Ten days ago the wife of Samuel Fin
ley, farmer residing in Morrow coun-
ty. about five miles southeast of Ash
ley, gave birth to one of the most sin
gular malformations of the human spe-
cies ever heard of in any age or coun-
try, The accouchment took place ut
the home of the mother, and owing to
its suddenness,-not more than half an
hour being occupied, only i'll the pres
ence of a female attendant, by whose
rare discretion the singularity of the
being just brought into the would was
concealed from its maternal parent.
The mother was not allowed sight OF
her offspring until after the physician
who had been summoned arrived when
it was exhibited to her and, as we are
told, caused her to swoOn. And no
wonder, for human eyes probably never
looked upon such an anomalous devel-
opment of the human form.
One of our prominent physicians
who has seen and examined this strange
freak of nature, favors us with the fol-
lowing clear and accurate description:
"This wonderful thing can be truly
called double child. There is but one
spine, at each extremity of which there
is perfectly formed head and face.
Each has well formed shoulders, arms
lungs and heart, as any other human be-
ing. Each has also a stomach and liver.
There is but one navel, which is III the
center of the abdomen, eqUidistant
from the two heads. 1t is at the mid
die of the body that the two are grown
together. The abdomen appears to be.
but one, and the organs contained in it,
below the stomach and small intestines,
are probably common to the two, as
there is but one external outlet.
upon one side, at right angles to the
body, there is well-fOrmed pair of
hips, legs and feet. Upon the opposite
side there is one large leg, POSSIBLY the
consolidation of two legs), upon the eX-
tremity of which there are eight toes.
Most monstrosities are repugnant to
look upon. This one is not so in any
respect, excepting this leg.
'FThis child, or these children, are
now ten days old are doing as well as
children mostly do at that period of ex-
istence. 1t nurses at both heads. One
viii be asleep while the other is crying,
and sometimes botn will sleep or cry at
the same time. The natural outlets
from the body are in their natural posi-
ton, between the perfect pair of legs,
and are common to the two, there be-
ing no outlet upon the opposite side.
In sex it is female. The length from
the top of one head to the top of the
other is twenty inches, and the weight
at birth was ten pounds
Here, certainly, is a problem for psy-
cologists as we'll as psychologists. Is
this one being with one will and one
sentence, or two beings each having in
dependent will, and consciousness and
different desires, impulses andfeelings?
or is it ''two souls with but a single
ipifT cd mr.
fused as they are physically united
Many circumstances go to establish the
theory of two individual existences,
Notwithstanding the identity of sex and
the intimacy of physical union. Per-
sons who have seen this ineXplicable
phenomenon inform us that while one
half of it-or perhaps we should say,
one of those blended existences-has
been seen crying and in the active use of
| its limbs, the other was at the same
| time calmly asleep, and while the two
| legs one side of the body were in mo-
| ton the single one on the other side,
apparently under the control of diff
| ferent will, would be undisturbed. AT
| the same hour one of these strange be-
| ings-if indeed there. are two-will be
| sick while the other seems to be at the
same instant enjoying perfect health.
One may weep and the other appear to
| be at the same time perfectly uncon-
scious of distress.
There are no terms in our language
applicable to such phenomenon; it is
something for which the dictionary ma
kers have made no provision whatever,
and which utterly confOunds all gram
NAUTICAL rules as to gender, number and
person. Let any one undertake to
write about it, being precise as to the
| meaning and application of terms, and
he will at once recognize the poverty OF
! language.
/ As might be expected, the house of
Mr.. Finley has during the past ten days
been overrun with visitors come to wit
ness this wonderful curiosity. So great
is the press that it has been found nee
ess0ry to charge an admission fee, which
is now fixed at one dollar. We under
stand the parents have been offered ten
thousand dollars for the dual infant, the
offer being unconditional as to whether
it should live or not. The offer has not
been and probably will not be accepted.
.l-Delalcdre, (OhiO) Gazette.