divide curve

I'm interested in dividing a very long curve in non-equal segments.  Here's an example:

             x"                   y"                   x"                   y"                  x"                   y"

<--------------------><--------><--------------------><--------><--------------------><-------->

I need to be able to divide the curve as indicated above, but instead of just three times, a couple thousand times.  I have a non-linear, single-segment curve that lies in a plane.

Thanks for the help!