New-York tribune., 1922-03-31
eSialnese Twins
Die as Kin Bars
Severing Knife
Josefa Succumbs 2 Minutes
Before Rosa, Her Married
Sister, Whose ll-Year.Old
Son Forbids an Operation
Brother Also Vetoes Plan
Overeating Primary Cause
of Deaths of Women. 43.
Joined at Side and Back
Special Dispatch 70 rho 7r,hun.


CHICAGO. March 30 Joscfa and
Rosa Black, who came into the world
;oined at the hips and who lived forty
three years, went out Of the worlS. TO-
gether to-day, with an interval Of , y
TWO minutes between their deaths
Plans TO cut them apart immediately
after the death Of Josefa, in the hone
tina. the life Of Rosa might be saved.
we're abandoned last night because the
brother of the twins and the eleven
year old son of Rosa would not give
their consent.
"They do not wish it," said the
brother. "They came into life together
and want 20 go out that way. Rosa
has repeatedly said she cannot live
without Josefa.'
Ouija Board Foretells Deaths
Josefa was seized with commissions
a. 2;30 o'clock tnis morning and died
at 2:42. Two minutes later Rosa
died kilograms from Mrs. Carrie
Aodeeker, of Wellston, Mo, foretold the
deaths almost to the minute She said
she had consulted ouija board, which
said the first death would occur at
2:35:06, Chicago time, and second
message directed that the bodies be
separated, but not at the base Of con-
nection.
The twins were Joined at the side
ind back by q connection approx
inately foot in diameter. This link
contaired rigid bone about four
inches thick. surrounded by soft It's
sues. Anatomically the sisters were
complete persons, although they had a
lower stomach in common.
According to physicians, they had
different likes and dislikes Rosa was
tall and thin, while Josefa was short
end stout. Because of their community
stomach medicine given one affected
the other.
Death was attributed to overeating.
This caused congestion, which ran into
fellow jaundce of the worst type and
caused appendicitis in Josefa. Since
their arrival in the United States the
twins had INDUCED their appettes,
Usually eating five pounds of meat
every day to make up for the slim fare
they subsisted upon in war-ridden Eu-
rope. Physicians say their systems
were unable to assimilate this amount
{: food.
Two days before their death Josefa
developed pneumonia. lmm mediately Rosa
was stricken with bronchial affection
which speedily ran into pneumonia.
Rosa's Husband Killed by Reds
Rosa was married fifteen years ago
- soldier who WAS slain by the
Polsheviki on the Austro- Russian front
The Black twins were consid red
the most remarkable Of their kind
They were educated, played the violin
climbed trees, romped like other chill
dren, and ore OF them became a mother
Their mother had six children, all the
others being normal. The twins were
;he second and third of the progeny
II ost of the other children are mar
ried and have healthy and normal chill
dren. The mother died a year and 6
half ago, when she was sixty three
years old. The father is still living
He is eighty five.
II the coroner can be induced tc
grant the order, a post-mortem will be
conducted on the twins, to determine
for the benefit of science. all the de-
tails Of the ligaments and bones tina.
bound them together