Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

58. trying to capture us for scientific experiments. Now they came out suddenly with very long “black-snake” whips, which they whipped towards us the ends wrapping around our legs and rendering us helpless. The [sic] took us into the building. It was early morning before first light, but the place was brilliantly lighted. We came into an enormous room; along the sides were little rooms, with walls of glass; in which men in white hospital uniforms were at work; there were arms & legs, and joints on little stands – it came to me that the purpose of their research was to make artificial blood. I was wrong tho; we were led before the scientist who was at the head of the institution. He sat in a rocking chair, and seemed at first glance rather kindly looking. But he was a true fanatic. He told us that he was endeavoring to dissect a human being, and then put it together again, and have it live and act as before. He said that he already successfully done so with a man, but that he was now hopelessly insane, having been made so by the terrific pain (as all the cutting had to be done while the “specimen” was conscious). He told us that it was our privilege to serve as experiments. He said that only just now he had severed the little finger of a