Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1870-11-04
THE DOUBLE CHILD.
4 Professional Description of the
MOuStrOSity.

4 Professional Description of the
MOnstrOsity.
The Delaware (Ohio) Gazette gives
a full description of the double
child" of which mention has been
heretofore made in our columns:
Ten days ago, the wife of Samuel
Finley, farmer residing in Morrow
county, about five miles southeast of
Ashley, gave birth to one of the
most singular malfOrmatiOns of the
human species ever heard of in any
age or country. The mother was not
allowed a sight of her offspring until
after the physician who had been
summoned arrived, when it was ex-
hibited to her, and, as we are told,
caused her TO swOOn. And no won
der, for human eyes probably never
looked upon such an anomalous de-
veiOpment in the human form.
One of our prominent physicians,
who has seen and examined this
strange freak of nature, favors us
with the following clear and accurate
description:
The wonderful thing can be truly
called double child. There Is but
one spine, at each extremity of which
there is a perfectly formed head and
face. Each has ll-formed shout
ders, arms and hands, and a good
chest, containing lungs and heart, as
any other human being. Each has
also a stomach and liver. There is
! but one naval, which is i'm the center
Of the abdomen, equidistant from
the two heads. 1t is Mt the middle
of the body that the two are grown
together. The abdomen appears tc
be but ono, and the organs contained
! in it, below the stomach and small
intestines, are probably common tC
the two, AS there is but one external
outlet.
Upon one side, at right angles to
the body, there is q well-formed pail
of hips, legs and feet. Upon the OPP
pOsite side there is one large leg (pOs.
sibly the consolidation of two legs,
upon the extremity of which there
are eight toes. Most mOnstrOsities
are repugnant to look upon. This
one is not so in any respect except
ing this leg.
This child, or those children, are
now ten days old, and are doing as
well as children mostly do at that
period of existence. 1t nurses al
both heads. one will be asleep
while the other is crying, and some
times both will sleeper cry at the same
time. The natural outlets from the
body are in their natural position,
between the perfect pair Of legs, and
are common TO the two, there being
no outlet upon the opposite side. IN
sex it is a female. The length from
the top of one mead TO the top of the
other is twenty i0Ches, and the
weight at birth was ten pounds"
There are no terms in our language
applicable to such phenomenon.
It is something for which the die
tjonary. makers have made no provi-
sion whatever. and which utterly
confounds all grammatical 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 lam
guage.
As might be expected, the house of
Mr.. Finley has during the past ten
days been overrun with visitors
come To witness this wonderful curl
osity. SO great is the press that it
has been necessary to charge an adj
mission fee, which is now fixed at
one dollar. We understand the pa
| rents 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.