The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1902-09-05
The Man Who
Made a Man
BY HARLE oREN CUMMINs.
right, BY II. O.. Cummtns


partment of synthetic chemistry in a
famous American college, his friends
wondered, for they well knew that
his greatest pleasure in life lay in
original chemical Investigations. When
two weeks later the papers stated
that the learned chemist had been
taken to the Rathburn Asylum For
the Insane, wonder changed to inordi-
nate curiosity.
Although nothing definite was pub
lished in the papers, there were hints
of strange things which had taken
place in the private laboratory on
Brimmer street, and before long a sto-
ry was current that as result of dab
bling in the mysteries of psychology
man had been killed while undergoing
one of Professor Holbrok's expert
ments.
1t is to clear up this mystery and to
refute the charges of murder that l,
who served for ten years as his assist
ant am about to write this account,
which, to tine best of my knowledge
and belief, contains the facts of the
case.
had noticed for the year previous
that Professor Holbrok was much pre-
occupied, hut l knew that he was
working over some new experiment.
Many times when l came to his door
at o'clock to clean up as usual for
the next day l found q notice pinned
on the door telling me that he was in
the midst of important work and would
not need me again that day. thought
nothing about it at the time, for when
he was experimenting with DR.. Bick-
nell, performing operations with hyp-
notism instead of an@sthetics, there
were weeks at a time when | was not
allowed even glimpse of the inside of
the laboratories. One day, however,
as l came in to report the professor
called me aside and told me that he
wanted to have talk with me.
"You know, Frederick" he began,
"that have been working and exper-
imenting for a long time on new
problem, and / have not told you or
| any one else the object of my toll. But
now / have come to a point where l
must take some one into my conf
dence. l need an assistant, and |
know of no one 1 can trust more than
| you, who have been with me now for
nearly a dozen years"
l was naturally fattered.
Frederick, he continued, rising and
placing his hand on my shoulder, "this
experiment Is the greatest one Of my
life. am going to do what has never
| before been done in the history Of the
world except by God himself. shall
| make a manW
/ did not realize at first what he
meant. I was startled not only by his
wild statement, but also by the in
tense tone in which he had spoken.
"You do not understand" he said.
| "But let me explain. You know enough
| chemistry to realize that all things
water, air, food, everything which we
use in everyday life-are merely CON-
| binations of certain simple elements.
| AS you have seen me by means of an
electric current decompose a jar Of
pure water into It's two component
parts, two molecules of hydrogen to
| every molecule of oxygen, so you can
| bring these same elements together in
| the gaseous state, and If the correct
| proportions are observed when an cleo
| trio spark OF flame is brought into
| contact with the mixture you will OBJ
| tain again the liquid water. This Is
only q simple case, but the chemical
| laws which govern it hold equally we'll
| for every known substance found in
| nature. There are only about seventy
five known elements, and of these less
than thirty compose the majority of
the things found in everyday life.
During the last six months / have
| been working with these elements,
| making different substances. / have
taken a piece of wood, decomposed it
| with acids, analysed it Quantitively
and Qualitatively, finding the proper
lions in which It's elements were COM
| bined. Then | have taken similar ele-
ments, brought them together in the
same proportion, and l have produced
piece of wood SO natural you would
have sworn it grew upon tree.
81 have been Analysing and then
making again every common thing
| NhlNh sOu sec III put was
| only practicing. | have had an end In
view. Finally | took human body
which l obtained from DR.. Bicknell at
the medical college, and analysed the
| flesh, the bones, the blood-in short,
every part OF it. What did / find? OF
that body, weighing 165 pounds, JOG
pounds were nothing but water, pure
water, such as you may draw at the
tap over yonder, and the blood which
in the mans life had gone coursing
through his veins, bringing nourish'
ment to every part-what was thati
Nothing but serum filled with little
cellular red corpuscles which in their
turn were only combinations Of car
bon, oxygen, sulphur and few other
simple elements.
81 have taken the sternum bone from
dead mars chest, analysed It, ther
brought together similar elements
placed them In mold, and l have pro
duced bone which was just as reai
as the one with which started. There
were only two things In nature l could
not reproduce. One was starch, that
substance whose analysis has def1et
chemists Of all ages; the other was Tho
flesh. Though | have analysed bits OF