Willmar tribune., 1909-05-26
Observation-Disclosures
!: An Exchange Of Heads. !:
: A Story Of the Future.

organs Of the lower animals were
made and made successfully. It was
then announced by one vivisectionist
that he had transplanted dogs heads
with preservation Of cerebral and
bulbar function.
During the decade that followed this
discovery the technique involved In
transplanting the head Of one dog to
the body Of another was very much
improved, and surgical scientists be-
gan to covet an opportunity to try the
experiment upon men. But it was not
until 1916 that DR.. Therapeutus scalpel
succeeded in obtaining the requisite
human subjects. The courts that had
sentenced two murderers to be electro
cuted consented that they should in
stead be decapitated by DR.. Scalpel
with view to an exchange of heads.
The prisoners gladly consented because
they would have chance to live again,
though under swapped identity.
Patrick Flanagan and Gottlieb Shu
man were the subjects. DR.. Scalpel
before making the experiment spent
three months in educating an eminent
vivisectionist and four young physi-
clans to assist him. Just before the
heads were severed the last rights Of
the church were administered to the
convicts, after which they were placed
on operating tables side by side.
The period of occlusion (shutting of
the circulation) was but twenty min
utes. Chis brought it within the limit
of time necessary to prevent coagula-
ton. During this period each head
was removed from the body, trans
planted, the arteries, muscles and
nerves saturated, the point Of cutting
of the spinal chord being especially
carefully adjusted.
Suspended animation returned as
soon as the anaesthetic began to lose
its effect, and within few hours DR..
Scalpel began to feel that the expert
ment had been successful. But it was
ten weeks before the patients were
discharged.
Up to this time it had been supposed
that the individuality of person was
solely in the brain. The case Of Flan-
agan and Shuman demonstrated that,
though this is partially correct, it is
not entirely SO. Flanagan on the day
of his discharge headed straight for a
saloon and shouted to the barkeeper,
''Ye spalpeen, gimme"-he hesitated
and instead Of calling for q glass Of
whisky finished-"ein glass beer" Shu-
man, who followed him into the place,
succeeded in correctly giving an order
for whisky, but the barkeeper. being
inattentive or thinking he said beer,
handed him a glass Of that beverage,
whereupon he berated the Teuton.
"What dye name, ye heathen? Fon
glass visky, l said, und sweitzer case
sandwich"
| Here Flanagan-that is, Flanagan's
body with Shuman's head on it-took
q hand. Turning to Shuman's body
with his own (Flanagan's) head, he
growled:
"And it is the likes of yes that's
pokin' fun at the Irish race by mixin'
wild it's illigant talk yer beastly Dutch
spreken? Gott in himmel! Vas y
mean"
Shuman's Dutch body Qrish head
retorted:
"Mein friend. I kilt dat man NIT q
hammer. II you say another wort, ye
murtherin' 1rishman, Oil mash ye1
Dutch head wild dot beer glass!'
Flanagan's Irish body Dutch head)
looked at his companions Hibernian
features contemptuously.
80 v killed him wild a hammer, did
ye? I spoilt my mans skull wild q
sthick lacken a shillalah. Git out NIT
yourself!"
Reaching over the bar, he seized q
stone pitcher, his enemy meanwhile
raising a beer glass. Then the two
drew apart, each poising his weapon
and glancing at the other.
DR.. Scalpel on discharging his pa
tients $50 to speak) had directed one
Of his assistants to follow them to
watch their movements, notice their
idiosyncrasies and report to him. Al
this juncture the shadower rushed
into the Doctors vivisecting room and
excitedly Informed him that the men
were quarreling In a mixture Of Hi
bernian and German and he feared
they would do each other bodily harm
DR.. Scalpel, feeling that some of the
reunited parts might not yet have
sufficiently healed to warrant scrim.
mage, seized his hat and rushed out
with the informer to the saloon. he
found the Irish body dancing around
with the true motions of an angered
Hibernian, its serious German face
scowling, the lips occasionally mutter.
ing In the German language. The
German body was standing stolidly
In one place, its Irish face lighted with
enmity, the lips pouring forth tor.
rent of abuse in its native parlance.
Hi, you two! Stop thisv' cried the
doctor. If you throw those weapons
I'll not be responsible for the conse.
quences. The severed parts haven't YET
had time to strengthen"
He was too late. The stone pitcher
and the beer mug exchanged positions
each striking head. The Hibernian
Uranium rolled on the floor, the Ger
man head toppled and hung suspended
by such muscles as had firmly knit
Doctor Scalpel surveyed this finale