THE LIFE HISTORY OF FRANCESCO A. LENTINI

I am the subject of the present sketch.  I was born in Rosolini in the province of

Sirocusa, Sicily, in the year 1889.  I am of a family of twelve children (seven sisters and

five brothers. who are all ordinary appearing people, there being nothing unusual in their

personal appearance of physical characteristics).

Indeed careful investigation does not reveal any peculiarity in any of my ancestors

either on the maternal or paternal side of my family.

I am often asked the question.  "What is the cause of my strange condition!"  I have

appeared before the leading medical world in Europe as well as in the United States, and

the only cause that they can give me is that my mother was to have given birth to

twins but at a certain period some of the cells holding one of the bodies ceased to

develop so that my mother gave birth not to two children, but more than one.  yet

not two.

Up to the age of six I was able to extend the third limb so that it was possible

for me to reach the floor with it, but was never able to use it for walking purposes, but

strange as it may seem at the end of the sixth year my body started outgrowing the

third limb, so that at the present time you will notice that it is six or seven inches shorter

than the two limbs that I stand on.  And furthermore, you will notice, that none of my

limbs are alike--yet, I have three and yet, haven't a pair.

Often people look at me and pass the remark.  "Isn't that too bad!"  But I am here

to tell you that there are lots of people in the world who are a great deal worse off

then that the realization came to me of my unusual peculiarity, and naturally, I grew a

little despondent about everything.  My parents were fairly well to do and I had every

comfort and was not neglected, but I began to grow unhappy, nevertheless.

But one time I was taken to an institution where I saw a number of blind children

and children who were badly crippled and otherwise mistreated by fate, and then and there I realized that my lot wasn't so bad after all.  Even though a child, I could appreciate and enjoy the beauties of life.  I could read and they couldn't,  I could talk to my friends, but some of them couldn't because they were dumb.  I could hear and enjoy

beautiful music, while some of them couldn't because they were deaf.  I had my normal

faculties and began to look forward to my education, and some of them couldn't because

they were idiots.  The visit to the institution, unpleasant though it was because of

the misery that I saw, was the best thing that could have happened to me.  From that

time to this I have never complained.  I think life is beautiful and I enjoy living it.

When I was quite young my family moved to America.  Wherever we want I was of

course, considered a curiosity, and while at first their curious, critical gaze was considerably embarrassing.  I gradually became used to it.  It was natural for everyone to suggest to my parents that I be put into the show business, but my father said "No." emphatically--at least until I should have gained an education.  He said he could for see eventually that I might travel, but that he would not allow it until I had the benefit of an education.

I am often asked the question if I know of any other case of my kind of anyone

being born as I am. Yes, I know of two three-legged cases and two four-legged cases--

the three-legged being males, and the four-legged being females--but none of these had

a normal extra lower limb, and none had control of their extra limbs and in fact they had

all they could do to get around on their normal lower limbs.  Only one of these lived to

an old age, and that was Myrtle Corbet, the four-legged woman.

No my limb does not bother me in the least.  I can get about just as well and with

the same ease as any normal person--walk, run, jump; ride a bicycle, horse: ice and roller

skate: and drive my own car.  I can swim--one advantage I have over the other fellow

my shoes, well here's how I buy two pairs and give the extra left show to a one legged

friend of mine who had the misfortune to loss his right leg, so you see every time I buy

a pair of shoes I really do a good deed along with it.  Another question often asked is.

"Does the extra limb bother in sleeping!"  It does not: I can lie on my back or either

side of my body without any hardship or loss of sleep.

Of course, it was a great shock to my parents that I was born as I was but when

they found that I was perfectly normal every other way they too began to be philosophical

about it.  I have been traveling for the most past of my life and must say that I enjoyed

it very much.

FRANK LENTINI