Talk:Millie and Christine McCoy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography. For more information, visit the project page.	Biography Portal
Stub	This article has been rated as Stub-Class on the project's quality scale. [FAQ]

[edit] Historical quotation

• Indiana Weekly Messenger; Indiana, Pennsylvania; Wednesday, January 16, 1884. Freak of Millie Christine, the Double-Headed Woman Some of Her Mental and Physical. Miss Millie Christine, the double-headed lady, was seen this morning by a reporter of the Journal, who had an exceedingly interesting ... erratic with regarding herself, her past history and ... immediately rose and extended a most ... . The appearance she presented was that of two persons sitting side by side in the arm chair, and as the conversation went on the reporter could never get rid of the impression that he was talking to two separate and distinct souls. At the [insistance] of the hostess he seated himself in a [chair] opposite her or them and requested [a] sketch of her career from her birth untill the present time. First permit me to ask said the inquisitor, when I am speaking to you am I to address you as two. "You may consider us two in one", laughingly replied the right-hand head. "Independent, but ..." added the left. "We have two perfectly distinct minds and think entirely independently, but we are ... perfectly harmonious. We have ... had the least difference of any subject, and never quarrel." Will [you] please give me a short sketch ... history, then? "To begin at the beginning, said the little head, I was born in Columbus County, North Carolina. My parents an both alive, and now reside in ... Carolina." Do [you] consider you as two or one. "Two" said the head. Are there any other children in [the] family? "I [have] three brothers; and three sisters" [said] the left head." And how many children do you count in the whole family? "Oh, there are seven children in ..." the ... head replied. Are you the oldest? "Oh, there are three older and three younger. I come in the middle." And are any of the others differeces in formation from ordinary "No, not in the least." When did you first begin to ... "I was stolen from Philadelphia when I was one or two years old, I was then on exhibition there and was stolen for purposes of exhibition. The person who stole me took me to Europe, and I was there two, three, or four years. My manager's father, Mr. Smith, took my mother to Europe, when they discovered ... brought me back. The person who stole ... punished my mother ... was too glad to get me [back] to ..." ... here till 1871, when I went a second time to Europe and remained ... the first or second to Europe that jou became ... second trip. ... took me there who educated ... European ... Great Britain and Ireland and the Continent, exhihibition in all its principal cities ... everywhere. That ... very pleasant ..., and during it I made numerous ... exhibiting in the far ...South. Indeed, there are not many places of any ... Four months last winter I spent quietly at home with my parents. ... Is our general health I have excellent health all the time." Should ono of you suffer would the other suffer? "Yes if one suffers, both do." Do you both constantly go to sleep together, or will one go to sleep and the other remain [awake]? "Generally we go to sleep together and sleep for the same length of time. Occasionally one will be asleep when the other is awake, but only for a very short time." Do both heads eat, or does one eating do for eating would sustain the life of both, but both do eat, and both get hungry and thirsty. Is one ever hungry and the other is not? "No; both get hungry together." Are the tastes of both [the same]? "Yes, both have the same tastes. We are at all times perfectly harmonious on everything. Wherever one is, there the other will generally be found." Does your similarity of tastes extend to the ... ? "Yes; we have similar mental tastes. We have never had anything to quarrel about. Sometimes one will read and the other will at the same time, but the difference never extends beyond that. Both mental and physical tastes are the same." Millie Christine is religious, and will not break the Sabbath by exhibiting on that day. Some time ago a correspondent of the Auckland, New Zealand News writing from San Francisco gave the following description of this freak of nature, treating especially of her physical peculiarities: "Miss Millie Christine is a colored, lady, born consequently of negro parents. She has two arms, four legs and one body. From her waist upwards the bodies are twain, fastened together at the back by piece of extraneous flesh, the one commencing at the waist and finishing at the commencement of the dual thighs. As she stands it is as though two forms stood before you, save ana except that only one skirt falls from the waist to the knees The abdomen, instead of being before either of the faces, is side between the two forms the back corresponding, therefore, Miss Millie walks sidewise, as a matter of course. The heads, however, partially face the side, as from a desire to see and speak to one another, and have in the course of years become stationary in that position, that is to the torsos have become the power to turn the head back to back still remaining. Such monstrosities not, ... pleasant to look upon, but in this case Miss Millie is an exception, as there is nothing ... the appearance of the ... On the contrary she is a very pleasant and well educated person, speaking English, German and Italian fluently, also, a little Spanish. It is very curious to hear her speak different languages with her double mouths at the same time, and, though she calls herself Miss Millie Christine, from my own standpoint I should pronounce this monstrosity twins spoiled by a freak of nature. The head and bust of ... mother, the other [is] much smaller, ... totally defficient in features, ... her father. As the sits down, Millie presents the appearance of [two] girls squeezing into one chair, as ... The legs at the same moment in walking or ... though the ... and arms are perfectly independent of each other. The lady has two beautiful ... singing duets charmingly when warbling a solo the voice ... . I had a long ... in which she told me that there is never the slightest difference of opinion between her and her double; they agree in all things, are hungry and thirsty at the same time, eat the same things, and divide everything, 'even to a peanut. When alone they converse on all kinds of topics, rarely having a different thought, except occasionally being puzzled ... to the faces they have ..."