The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1874-01-30
Sketch Of the siannese Twins.

The Siamese Twins, Eng and Chang,
lately residing in North Carolina, were
afflicted with illness III the year 1871.
They were born at Il small village on the
coast Of Siam, in the year 1911. Their
parents got their living by fishing, and
until 1929, when Eng and Chang were
brought to the United States, they made
their living by selling shelltish. Their
mother bore seventeen children. Atone
time she gave birth to three, and never
less than two. But none of these chill
dren were defOrmed. The Twins were
united at the anterior part of the chest
band, the size of the hand. This band
of flesh is about two inches broad and
four inches thick. The whole mass is
tough and capable of being considera-
bly, extended.
One could whisper i'll the ear of one of
them without the other hearing while
volatile salts applied to the nostrils of
D had no effect on the other; and while
pinching the arm of one excited no sem
satiOn in the other, still if You but stick
a pin in the exact vertical centre of this
connecting link both would finch from
the hurt. The Twins were seldom OBJ
served to converse with each other.
They played a good game of draught,
Aht~N> pAIuCJ hUC IIIC SdtIlt IuONtB, anu
at the same time, and frequently PLAYED
against each other.
After attracting a vast amount of at
tentlon among scientists and physiology
lists in the Old World, they married two
sisters, and settled down near Salisbury,
North Carolina, on a well stocked plan
tatiOn. In addition they had at n
period ample funds invested through
their agent in New York. During the
war they continued to reside on their
plantation and lived in the same quiet
and harmony as ever, until some few
years afterward.
Ofcourse, noone ever thoughtof draft
ing them, n their negroes prospered,
cause, 1t was apt to work itself off in
striking the first n that come to hand,
from which the best excape was to keen
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 arrangement,
Up to the period that each had five
children all prOspered well enough, but
n OF them had Il sixth, and this awoke
envy and jealousy to such a degree that
the twin sisters, not being bound togeth-
er like the twin brothers, would no lon
ger V underline same roof. The broth.
ers Were, it seems, about fiftv-fOur wears
OF age, but one, we believe, the smaller
and feebler of the two, looked, tits said.
ten years older than the other. They
could turn either back to back or face to
face, but that is as far as the remarkable
bond that united them permitted. Tt is
almost certain that should either die the
other could not survive even more than
a few minutes, as there is an artery as
large as the femoral artery that connects
them.
A few years since they correspondent
with some of the leading surgical opera
tors IN London as to the possibility of
the umblllcus being cut, so that i'm 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.
n many experiments were tried to de-
termlne the safety of such an operation.
Among other things, a ligature was tied
firmly for a few minutes around the con-
nectiOn between them so MS to nrevent
the circulation of blood through the ar
terry. But it seemed asi If each wOuld ex-
pre- IT this We're persisted in. Thesmal-
erofthetwofainted awaylandlostal ali con
seriousness, and there were. symtOmst that
the same effect would follow to the other
but the process could not be continued
long enough without endanger1ne the
life OF him who was the first to faint,
Since the breaking out Of the rebellion
the twins both dressed in the Confeder-
ate gray, u were both members of the
church, havingunited with q small
Baptlst church in their neighborhoOd, of
winch they were considered very wor-
thy members, though born Siamese.