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n Conjoined twins are, even today, commonly referrednto as ‘Siamese Twins’, a term taken from the case of Chang and Eng Bunker, bornnin Siam (now Thailand) on May 11th 1811. Their father was Chinese,ntheir mother was Chinese/Malay, and they were the fifth of their nine children.
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| Young Chang and Eng |
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nA cartilaginous band at the sternum joined the twins, with their livers fusednbut independently complete. At birth, the shortness of the band forced them tonlie face to face, but over time, as they grew, the band stretched to about fournand a half inches in length, allowing them to stand side by side. In 1819,ntheir father died and Chang and Eng, even though only boys, became involved inna series of business ventures, including a duck-rearing and preserved-egg farm.
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| The Siamese Twins |
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nIn 1824, they were ‘discovered’ by a Scottish merchant, Robert Hunter, who sawnthem boating, stripped to the waist and Hunter negotiated with their parentsnand the King of Siam, Chowpahyi, to allow the boys to go with him onnexhibition. They left their duck-breeding concern in the care of a brother and,non April 1st 1829, they departed for Boston, America on board thenship Sachem, with Hunter and under the protection of its captain, AbelnCoffin. After a short stay in America, they sailed again, for England, on thenship Robert Edwards, with Captain Sherburne.
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| Chang and Eng at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, November 24th 1829 |
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nIn London, they werenexhibited at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, and then embarked on an extensiventour of the cities and larger towns of Britain, and when they came of age innMay 1832, they undertook their own financial and touring arrangements (Hunternand Coffin had fed very little of the income back to the boys).
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| Publicity Poster |
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nThey returnednto the Americas in 1831, toured in the US, Canada and Cuba, before leavingnagain for Europe, arriving in Paris in 1835 (although they were not welcome innFrance, doctors feeling that any pregnant women who happened to see them maynhave deformed children of their own, as a result of the maternal impressionnformed), and also visiting Belgium and Holland, before returning again tonAmerica a year later, where they grew tired of touring and settled down, becamennaturalised citizens, invested their shared earnings and purchased a plantationnand slaves in North Carolina.
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| The Siamese Twin Brothers – 1831 |
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nIn respect for a woman who had treated them wellnin New York, they assumed the surname Bunker, and on April 13thn1843, they married two sisters, Adelaide and Sarah, the daughters of anneighbouring farmer and part-time preacher, David Yates.
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| Adelaide, Chang, Eng and Sarah |
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nChang (pronounced Chun) always stoodnon the left of his brother, he weighed 110 pounds and was five feet and oneninch tall. Eng (pronounced In) was five pounds heavier and one inchntaller; Chang wore blocks on the heels of his boots to lift him slightly. Theynwere able to run reasonably fast over short distances, could swim, and werenable to use farming implements with ease. They enjoyed hunting game, could readnand write tolerably well, played draughts and chess (although not against eachnother) and adopted American dress, although they maintained the habit ofnwearing their hair in long pigtails.
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| Bunker Family Home, North Carolina |
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nIn the early part of their married lives,nthey shared a bed made for four, but when Adelaide and Sarah quarrelled, theynset up two separate households, a mile-and-a-half apart, spending three days anweek at each. Each was the master of his own home and his brother had to complyntotally with his wishes.
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| Chang-Eng The United Siamese Brothers 1836 |
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nChang and Adelaide had ten children, two of whom werendeaf-mutes, and Eng and Sarah had eleven children; one son of the formerncouple, Christopher, and one son of the latter pair, Stephen, fought for thenConfederacy during the American Civil War.
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| Chang and Eng with sons |
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nAs a result of that war, the Bunkersnlost some of their property, and began to exhibit themselves again, althoughnsomewhat unsuccessfully. In 1869, they returned to Europe, ostensibly to seeknmedical advice about the possibility of an operation to separate themselves,nfollowing an acrimonious quarrel, although this was most likely a cover forntheir renewing their touring careers in an attempt to recoup their post-warnfinancial losses.
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| The Siamese Twins |
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nAs they grew older, Chang developed a taste for drink and wasnfrequently inebriated (although Eng remained sober when Chang was drunk), hisnspinal curvature increased and he became hemiplegic on his right side. Bothnbrothers became partially blind in their anterior eyes, possibly as a result ofna lifetime of squinting outwardly and obliquely.
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| Chang and Eng Bunker |
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nOn Monday evening, January 12thn1874, Chang was seized with an attack of bronchitis whilst at his own home, butnby Wednesday, the symptoms had subsided a little and Eng insisted that theynshould go to his house, as was their custom. On a freezing cold evening, and innan open carriage, they rode the mile and a half to Eng’s home, where Changncomplained of chest pains and the inability to lie down in comfort. On thenFriday evening, they built a log fire and retired to bed, and the followingnmorning (Jan 17th), Eng called for his son, who slept in the roomnabove, to come and awaken Chang.
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| Adelaide and Sarah in later life |
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nThe boy came and announced, “Uncle Chang isndead,” to which Eng responded with, “Then I am going.” He did notnrefer to his brother again, other than to ask to be moved a little nearer tonhim, but complained that he was choking and asked to be raised in bed. Henslowly lost consciousness and a little over two hours after Chang had died, hisnbrother Eng also died. The bodies were placed in a coffin, then in a tin box,nwhich was soldered shut, and the whole buried under charcoal in the cellar.
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| Post-Mortem Cast of the Twins |
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nAnteam of physicians made for Mount Airy, but did not arrive until a fortnightnlater and, on Sunday February 1st 1874, fifteen days and eight hoursnafter their death, the coffin was exhumed and opened and the bodies injectednwith zinc chloride, to begin the embalming process. The coffin and tin box werenthen re-sealed and sent to the College of Physicians, Philadelphia, where andetailed autopsy was carried out.
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| Report of the Autopsy – 1874 |
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nAlthough, as I said at the very top,nconjoined twins are still referred to as Siamese Twins, although they were bynno means the originals.
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