Evening star., 1930-06-15

KANSAS CITY, Mo-, June II (N.A.
N.A) In the Barber County Home,
Medicine Lodge, Kans., are only two
inmates. One Is Bill Horn, who drove
the stage from Wichita down through
that country in the old Wild West DAYS
The other is 80-year-old Patrick Henry
Bunker, son Of one Of the original
"Siamese Twins"
For nearly half q century the Siamese
twins were the eighth wonder of the
world. They Travelled everywhere in
America and Europe, and millions Of
people saw them. They died in 1874.
found Partick Henry Bunker fishing,
and by degrees the Swart little man told
ME his story.
How did the son of man of Siam
get the name OF Patrick Henry Bunk
er?" asked.
well, those twin boys, my father and
uncle, were born in 1911 in Ucklong,
about so miles from Bangkok" he be-
gan. When they were 1S years old they
were playing in the water, and the cap
tain of an American ship saw them and
realized what a wonderful curiosity they
would be in America. He made deal
with their SiameSe mother, my grand
mother, by which he was to take them
to America.
Took Bystander's Name.
They were put on exhibition, and in
New York City they were naturalized.
They were known as Ing and Chang.
In the naturalization ONCE they were
told they must have a surname. A man
named Fred Bunker, II Ann street,
New York, was standing there, and he
suggested that they take his name, and
they did. So my father was named Ing
Bunker and my uncle was Chang
Bunker.
After they had made a lot of money
they married sisters, Sallie and Adelaide
Yates, of Dutch and Irish descent. Sallie
villas my mother, and she was q hand
had wonderfully good disposition.
The twins were married the same
day to the sisters. Father and his
brother had farm apiece, not over
half mile apart, and each had a house
on his land, and it was agreed that the
twins would spend three days with one
Of the wives and three days with the
other, and so on, and that plan they re-
hg1ously followed whenever they were at
home.
Father and his twin brother would
stay at our house three days and nights
and then would go to nay uncle's house
for three days and nights. Father had
II children and my uncle had 10, seven
girls and three boys.
Swung Same Az Together.
MY father and my uncle were sep
arate individuals in every way, except
that, as it was found after they were
dead, their lives we're united and they
had the same bloodstream. mem
braneous band that united them came
out of the bottom of the breastbone
and was a trif1e over inches thick
| and about 2l2 inches long, but 1t was
| very elastic and would stretch to 512
inches. 1t was a cartilage SO strong
that one could lift the other and let
him hang by it,
They were born face to face, and
| in infancy they were that way, but
after they learned to walk they found
| 1t easier to get around side by side
so they were almost always that way,
close together and facing in toward
| each other.
They became very dexterous. They
could chop wood as well as any man
Father was on the right side and Un-
| Gle Chang on the left, so father would
| grasp the ak handle with his right hand
and Uncle Chang would take hold with
| his left, and. as he was left-handed
/ anyway, that gave them q strong grip
of 1t, and as they chopped the chips
would ny They would handle a hoe
or any other tool in the same way"
! I told Bunker that 1t was said the
twins used to have violent quarrels.
THAT isn't So" he said. They would
| have their differences, of course. Father
loved poker and he would often sit ur
all night and play. Uncle Chang never
played and II took q good deal of per-
| suasion to get him 10 stay up so long
remember that once father won two
colored boys at a poker game. Father
was q great checker player, too, anC
many a game I played with him. HI
would sit up all night TO play with {
good checker player and that trket
Uncle Chang.
They did have their little differ
ences, that's true, but they never hat
violent quarrel.
I'm the years before the Civil Wa
! father and Uncle Chang made fortune
exhibiting themselves. and they investe'
in farms in Wilkes County, N. c., bu
later sold them and bought other farm
near Mount Airy, in Surrey County
N. G. They both owned slaves and grey
tobacco and father had q whisky still
house.
'aThe Civil War wiped out our for
tunes and the twins went TO Europe OF
, a tour arranged by P. T. Barnum. an,
father left me in charge of his farm
They were in Berlin in 1870, when tn
Franco-Prussian War began. and tina
: wiped out another fortune for them.
4 Liked Different Food.
!, In all the newspaper accounts
e have seen In later years about th
twins II was alIaays stated that the.