Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-01-23
SKETCH OF THE SIAMESE TWINS.

sorrow and bereavement in the most pitt
full manner.
SKETCH OF THE SIAMEsE TWINS.
The Siamese twins, Eng and Chang,
lately residing in North Carolina, were af-
fiicted with Illness in the year 1871. They
were born at small village on the coast
Of Siam, in the year 1911. Their parents
got their living Wy fishing, and until 1929,
when Eng and Chang were brought to the
United States, they made their living by
selling shellfsh. Their mother bore seven
teen children. At one time she gave birth
to three and never less than two. But
none OF these children were deformed.-
The twins were united at the anterior part
Of the chest by prolongation of kind of
ieshy band the size Of the hand. This
band Of flesh is about two inches broad and
four iuches thick. The whole mass is
tough, and capable of being considerably
extended. One could whisper in the ear
while volatile salts applied to the nostrils
of one had no effect on the other; and
while pinching the arm OF one excited no
sensation in the other, still if you but stick
a pin in the exact vertical center of this
connecting link both would finch from
the hurt The twins were seldom observed
to converse with each other. They played
q good game of draughts, made pretty
much the same moves, aud at the same
time, and frequently played against each
other.
After attracting vast amount of atten-
ton among scientists and PSYCHOLOGISTS in
the old world, they married two sisters
and settled down near Salisbury, N. G., on
a well-stocked plantation. In addition
they had at one period ample funds invest
ed through their agent in New York. Dur
ing the war they continued to reside on
their plantation and lived in the same
quiet and harmony as ever, until some few
years afterwards. Of course, no one ever
thought of drafting them and their negroes
prospered, except when out of temper from
any cause, it was apt to work itself off in
striking the first one that came to hand,
from which the best escape was to keep
out of the way. The brothers probably
never would have had any difficulty but
that their wives, though sisters, turned
away their hearts, and children were the
cause Of this estrangement Up to the pc
Rod that each had five children all pros
pered well enough, but one Of them had a
sixth, and this awoke envy and jealousy to
such degree that the twin sisters, not be-
ing bound together like the twin brothers,
would no longer live under the same roof.
The brothers were, it seems, about fifty
1Oul ySdIo VI tts3G, Uuo OilC3 VIC OCliCNC, IllC
smaller and feebler of the two, looked, it
is said, ten years older thar the other.
They could turn either back to back OF
face to face, but that is as far as the re-
markable bond that united them permit
ted. 1t was almost certain that should eth
er die the other could not survive more
than few minutes, as there is an artery
as large as the femoral arterythat connects
them. A few years since they correspon-
ded with some Of the leading surgical ope-
rators in London as to the possibility of
the umbilicus being cut, so that in case of
the death Of one the life of the other might
be saved. At the request Of the London
surgeon they visited that city, sand many
experiments were tried to determine the
safety of such an operation. Among 9TH
Ell things ligature was tied firmly for a
few minutes around the connection be-
tween them SO as to prevent the circula-
ton of blood through the artery. Bnt it
seemed as il each would expire if this
were persisted in, The smaller of the two
tainted away and lost all consciousness,
and there were symptoms that the same
effect would follow to the other, but the
process could not be continued long enough
without endangering the life Of him who
was the first to faint. Since the breaking
out Of the late war the twins both dressed
in the Confederate gray, and were both
members of the same church, having uni
ted with small Baptist church in their
neighborhood, of which they were consid-
cred very worthy members, though born
SiameSe.