Around the 1830s, two brothers, Hiram and Barney Davis, were born in Pleasant Township, Knox County, Ohio. Both suffered from an unidentified form of dwarfism, which made them look like children even as adults, while their limbs were quite proportional.
By adolescence, both weighed no more than 20 kg and barely reached a meter in height, but they were distinguished by unusual strength. It is reported that each of them was able to lift weight, almost equal to their own.
Unfortunately, both brothers were somewhat mentally retarded, so they were a big burden for their parents. Little is known about the brothers' childhood; their father died in 1842, after which their mother married a second time. The stepfather did not like strange stepsons, so the brothers had to earn their own bread themselves.
They did this by performing on the stage of local institutions and lifting various weights on a dispute and fighting with ordinary men. And in the latter case, they often won. It was here that they were noticed in 1952 by a certain Doctor Warner, who can be called an earlier version of the showman Barnum. Warner gave them new names - Vaino and Plutano and called them on posters as "Wild Men of Borneo".
To live up to the nickname, the brothers grew long hair and beards, and when they dressed in bright and unusual outfits, they looked truly "From Borneo."
Wagner began to take the brothers to different cities and show them to the public for money. At first, they did not have much success, although there were many rumors and they were called, among other things, "Dwarfs from America." But later they were already shown at every fair and people came in a shaft to look at the unusual dwarfs.
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In the 1860s, the brothers passed to the showman Henry Harvey, but he did not stay long either, moving every few years to a new "owner". In 1882, they finally found themselves in Barnum's circus and then real fame overtook them. Over the next 25 years of performance, the Davis brothers earned more than $ 200,000 from Barnum, which at that time was a huge amount.
Their performances consisted mainly of the same wrestling for which they challenged a spectator and weight lifting. It was reported that each of them during these years could lift weight up to 140 kg.
In the 1900s, the brothers could no longer perform fully due to their advanced age and settled in the house of Warner's grandson. In 1905, Hiram died, and Barney refused to perform at all after his death. He died 5 years later. Both were buried in the same grave in Mount Vernon, Ohio under their real names and signature "Little Men".
