Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-21

The surgeons were getting ready to
operate. The doctor administering an
anesthetic to the patient felt faint. A
13-year-old boy was in the operating
room. He stepped boldly TO the front.
took the place of the sick physician and
administered the anesthetic, under the
directions of the operating surgeon. The
boy was William j. Mayo, later to be-
come world famous as a surgeon.
Matters of medicine and surgery were
familiar to the youngster even at the
age OF ID. His father was DR.. William
H. Mayo, one of the best surgeons in
the West. His ancestors had been prom
inent in the profession for generations
in England, from which his father came
to this country in 1845.
Young Mayo had been brought up in
the world Of curing the ills of mankind.
1t wasn't unnatural that he was able,
under the circumstances, 10 serve as an
assistant at an operation when he was
only 49, His first patient recovered.
Since then he has cured thousands by
the skill of his surgery.
Had Early Ambitions.
The youngster had early ambitions to
be stage coach driver. He was born in
lie Sueur, Mimi, in 1861, but his father
moved to Rochester, In the same State,
when William was 2 years old Mime
sofa was in the wild West Of those days.
across the rolling prairieS. Indians
| roamed the plains Many of the pioneers
lived in crude sod huts.
Stage coach drivers were heroes to the
boys in Rochester. They were rough
characters, but the glamour Of adven-
ture hung over them in the eyes of
young Will and his playmates. They
dashed into the town, pulling up foam
/ flecked horses with flourish that was
highly impressive in juvenile eyes. They
we're a link with the great world outside
the little prairie settlement.
But like most OF us, who in our youth
dreamed of becoming f1remen, police
men, engineers, cowboys or stage coach
drivers, young MayoS ambition was
soon directed into other channels. His
| fathers practice covered much OF the
southern part of the State. The boy
often accompanied him on visits to pa
tients far out on the lonely prairie.
Witnessed Suffering.
| The youngster saw Indians living in
wigwams while on such trips. He held
the horses when his father made calls
in the sod hutS of the homesteaders, oc-
casionally assisting in the setting OF
broken limb. He witnessed suffering
and fortitude. He came to know the
| spirit of the pioneer that wrested liv-
| ing from the soil under the most try
| ing conditions and that brought about
the settlement and building up Of the
great West.
His environment tended to direct him
toward the study Of medicine. He made
up his mind when he was in high
school TO follow in the footsteps OF his
| father and so many of his ancestors.
After being graduated from the hieh
school in Rochester he attended Niles
Academy. From there he went to the
University of Michigan. He was grad
uated in medicine in 1883.
He had hardly returned to the old
| fashioned home which his father had
built in Rochester and in which he
spent his boyhood than he had an OPP
portunity to show the benefits OF his
| training. A tornado, one of those wind
storms so dreaded in the nat prairie
country, struck Rochester and wrecked
part of the village.
His father turned his home into a
| hospital The elder Mayo, the newly
made DR. William j. Mayo and his
| brother. Charles H. Mayo, then medi-
cal student, treated the injured. The
: sons assisted their father In several
emergency operations.
Excellent College Record.
DR.. William ]. Mayo made an ex-
! cellent record in college. So did his
| brother. Both learned medicine as they
| grew up. Dr. Will worked in a drug
store during his vacations. DR.. Charles
did likewise. furthermore they had the
direct benefit of the deep knowledge and
! wide experience of their father.
They had a good microscope when
they were in high school. Their father
| bought 10 specially for them and taught
them it's use. They studied with il
many Winter nights when a blizzard
roared outside the comfortable home
of the MayoS. Such training and ad-
vantages were most helpful when II
came time for them to take up seriously
the study of their chosen profession.
The first real practical experience DR..