The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-10
SAW FIRST ETHER OPERATION
MAINE DENTIST RECALLS THE COMING OF THE ANAESTIIETIC
AND THE AWE WITH WHICH 1T WAS REGARDED.

HnaIlN ucclded TO make an experiment.
He first intended to use members o.
his family as subjects, but decided to
let them experiment on him. He
gave them a small amount of the fluid
To pour on u handkerchief and in
strurlcd them to place it at his nos
trils. Almost Immediately he became
unconscious and in alarm n seized
a pail of water INT dashed it Owe the
physician. He awokc and exclaimed
that he had G i'll the midst of a
most delightful dream. Later he re-
peated the experiment upon other
members of his family with success.
He told others of his tests. but
nobod yscemcd to appreciate he sig
%nit1cancc. Little was known Of the
virtues of common ether then. and it
was considered a dangerous drug ut
the best. His success. however, with
tho anaesthctic interested DR.. War
rem and the famous operation at the
Massachusetts general hospital was
the result"
DIR. Warren had not told the physi-
clans who attended the trial OF his pain
destroyer what the agent was which
he employed, but DR.. Chapman's keen
sense of smell revealed the secret to
him..
II detected the odor, which was IA
miliar to me from having been much
about drug stores and l Immediately
purchased a two ounce bottle of ordi-
nary sulphuric ether and fastened
back to Lynn to tell my employer
about the successful experiment with
the new discovery. | decided to try
the effects on him and was surprised
at his Willingness to become a sub
lect. l seated him in q chair II APP
piled q saturated towel to his nose.
He became unconscious SO quickly that
would gladly have given every earth
ly possession ! had to have restored
him to consciousness for, mind you. it
was only a guess on my part that DR..
Morton.s new discovery was nothing
more than sulphuric ether. 1 got my
victim IL of the chair and on the
floor and then 1 threw a bucket OF
water Owe him. Then he opened his
eyes and in a dazed sort of a "a an
srily exclaimed: What the devil are
YOU trying to do? Why didn't you let
me alone" l was just having the most
delightful dream of being in a garden
where there were the most beautiful
flowers and / wanted to stay among
them when you had to go and spoil
it ALL
W We're satisfied that we had dis
covered DIR. Morton's secret. We wait
ed for a patient to come in and that
night we We're rewarded when in walk.
! cd a big. burly fellow with an aching
tooth. He was a strapping man, but
that pain had brought him to COM
plete submissiveness and when We
told him that we had something that
would put him to sleep he told US to
an old bruiser and ! had to pull and
pull before the roots would let go.
but when it was once out there were
no bounds to h Victims joy and the
best of it was that he hadn't known
anything about 1t and had suffered no
pain.
THAT settled bushes for me. I
knew that DR.. Morton's discovery
would become universally used in and
around Boston, so | left at once for
DamariscOtta, where [ opened an office
and advertised the extraction of teeth
without pain. People were inclined
to ridicule the idea and business came
slowly at first. One day Il few friends
We're in the office when a young wo-
man entered suffering from q tooth
ache. She wanted the tooth pulled at
once. My callers decided to leave. but
insisted that. they stay. for I want
ed them to watch my experiment, so
| applied the ether and pulled the
tooth. When she recovered she vas
50 overcome with joy that she jumped
out of the chair and kissed me. I
had pulled her tooth and she had not
suffered an atom OF pain. My friends
who had witnessed the experiment
could not help going cut on the street
and spreading the Jews broadcast.
"Old DIR. Moses Call. we'll known
throughout Lincoln county. heard
about tho case n came to see me,
DR.. Call while very successful in his
practice. believed there was no real
way to alleviate pain when operations
were necessary. He came to my of
flee to tax over the new discovery.
He was i~ncredulous and talked depre-
rhtinglE about ii a good deal until
he finally told me he had a patient. a
Young girl who was suffering all the
fortunes imaginable from an ingrow-
ing toenail. lie told me that the toe
was in bad condition and that her life
would shortly he in danger unless tho
nail was removed but owing to the in
tense suffering of the girl he hadn't
even the heart to torture n more.
lie asked me To accompany him on a
visit to her and to make an applica-
ton of the now discovery. ] did so.
The girl passed into Inconsistencies.
pr. Call looked at her and then with
out further ado pulled out his forccps
and with a quick movement grabbed
that nail and in a iiffy it was out. The
girl made no movement and it was
some little time before we allowed her
to come to. When she did she told
us of h beautiful dream she had en-
pcrienred and we realized that she
know nothing about the operation.
That meant my reputation had
been established. for from the news
scattered broadcast by my friends who
had witnessed the pulling of that tooth
and DIR. Calls wonderment and pleas
ure over that nail operation. I had