Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1909-01-01
: An Exchange Of Heads.
A Story Of the Future.
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Copyright, 1908. by American Press Asso-
ciation.l
It was fifty years ago, in 1908, that
the first experiments in transplanting
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
vntil 1915 that DR.. Therapeutics 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 a view to an exchange Of heads.
The prisoners gladly consented because
they would have chance to live again,
though under snapped 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. This brought 1t 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.
Ecalpele 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 Elan
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
saloon and shouted to the barkeeper,
Eye spalpeen, gimme"-he hesitated
and instead Of calling for 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, We heathen7 Fon
glass visky, said, und a 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 its illigant talk yer beastly Dutch
spreken? Gott in himmel! Vas y
meanY
shuman's Dutch body Qrish head
eetOrted:
''Mein friend, kilt dat man NIT q
hammer. II you say another wort, ye
murtherin' Irishman, OH mash yer
Dutch head wild dot beer glassl'
Flahagan's Irish body Dutch head
looked at his companions Hibernian
features CONTEMPORARY.
$50 y killed him wild q hammer, did
yer I spoilt my mans skull w4 q