All of us, no doubt, have heard tell of the "Siamese twins," the most famous of the wonders the nineteenth century produced. Yet most of us do not know that these twins settled in North Carolina, and that they married and had children...
The original Chang and Eng died in 1874; the last of the children they fathered — twenty-two in all — died last year. These have left behind them descendants scattered through every corner of the globe: among them the president of the Union Pacific lines, a commander of the United Nations air forces, and many other ordinary citizens besides. They were all known for their energy and open-handedness, and for their endearing Oriental stamp.
An American press correspondent wished to gather serious information about these two strange twins, who were joined one to the other at the chest by a short, thick band; so he made for the edge of the "Ari" mountains, setting his face toward a tobacco field where the twins' grandchildren and great-grandchildren were working...
And there, where these folk dwell, this press correspondent was able to come upon many memories and relics that the twins had left behind. He learned that they were skilled at breaking horses and oxen and at riding them, and that they excelled at all kinds of sport. They were also masters of the jest and shone at it. Among the amusing stories told of them: one of