Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 43

turning
summersaults, swimming.
Which is what they
were doing when, in
1824, Scottish merchant Robert Hunter
saw the 12-year-old
twins in the river and
thought they were
"some strange animal." It took Hunter
and his partner Abel
Coffin no time at all
to realize that the boys could
"prove profitable as a curiosity."
But it took the two men considerably longer to convince
the boys' mother, Nak, and
Siamese King Rama III to let
them set sail to America under a three-year touring contract. Nak, whose husband
and five of her children had
died in a cholera epidemic,
relented out of financial necessity, allegedly receiving

P.T. B a r n u m a n d
The Bunkers

Ask anyone what they know about the "Siamese
Twins," and the name P.T. Barnum will undoubtedly
arise. Urban legend has it that the twins toured
with The Greatest Show on Earth-that P.T. Barnum was their biggest promoter.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Chang and Eng had only a three-week contract
with Barnum, appearing at his New York American
Museum in 1860, long after they had made their
fortunes worldwide on their own. The men parted
ways early, with the Bunkers claiming that Barnum
was "tight-fisted and exploitative," and Barnum
in turn labeling the Bunkers as "too independentminded."
This, plus the fact that Barnum and Bailey Circus
didn't come into existence until 1881...eight years
after Chang and Eng died.
"The Art of Money Getting: Golden Rules for Making Money" was written by P.T. Barnum...but it could
just as well have been written by the industrious,
creative Bunker twins. -JV

$500 of the $3,000 promised.
The Siamese king-who had
also seen the possibilities of
the twins, sending them in
1827 to Indochina as representatives of Siam-received
a telescope and a band of
temple dancers from Hunter
and Coffin.
Chang and Eng landed in
Boston aboard Coffin's merchant ship The Sachem in
1829, already able to speak
English, to begin their lives
January/February 2016 43



Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016

Mountain Curios 2016
Night! A Photoessay
Chang & Eng Bunker, Freaks or Solid Citizens?
Bark for the Nation: The Success of Highland Crafstmen
Pretty Spots, Pretty Structures: The Photoessay
Travel Guide I: The Great and Quirky Collections
Travel Guide II: Signature Foods of the Mountains
Travel Guide III: Tea Rooms of the Mountains
UpCountry Dining: South Carolina Mountain Cuisine
Mountain Aerials Photoessay
From the Editor
Contributors/Worth a Click
Creature Feature
Mountain Report
Reader Page
Mill Creek Stories
Country Roads
Great Buys
The Hike
Singing in the Garden
Events: Festivals for 2016
Guest Column: John Cooper
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 6
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 7
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - From the Editor
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Contributors/Worth a Click
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 13
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Mountain Report
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Reader Page
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Mill Creek Stories
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Country Roads
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 22
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Great Buys
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - The Hike
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Mountain Curios 2016
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 30
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 34
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Night! A Photoessay
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Chang & Eng Bunker, Freaks or Solid Citizens?
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 40
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 44
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Bark for the Nation: The Success of Highland Crafstmen
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 48
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 50
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Pretty Spots, Pretty Structures: The Photoessay
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 54
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 55
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 57
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Travel Guide I: The Great and Quirky Collections
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 59
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 60
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 61
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 62
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 63
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 64
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 66
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 67
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 68
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 69
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Travel Guide II: Signature Foods of the Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 71
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 72
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 73
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 74
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 75
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Travel Guide III: Tea Rooms of the Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 77
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - UpCountry Dining: South Carolina Mountain Cuisine
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 79
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 80
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 81
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 82
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Mountain Aerials Photoessay
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 84
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 85
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Singing in the Garden
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 87
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 88
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Events: Festivals for 2016
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 90
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 91
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 92
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 93
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 94
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 95
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 96
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - 97
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Guest Column: John Cooper
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2016 - Cover4
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