Crawford W. Long and the death of pain
...cking the doors so that the two Quaker spinster landladies would hear nothing of our private ether jags. I informed them I had no apparatus for preparing or preserving the gas, but that I had a medicine (sulphuric ether) which would produce equally exhilarating effects; that I had inhaled it myself, and considered it as safe as the nitrous oxide gas. One of the company stated that he had inhaled ether while at school, and was then willing to inhale it. The company were all anxious to witness its effects… Spring of 1841, For several months now I have held “ether frolics” in the offices of my practice in Jefferson, Georgia. Two or three evenings a week, several of the fellows of the town have gathered to experience the influence of ether on their behavior and manners that come with the affect that the drug induces. During these past months I have become quite the entertainer, but I have also been acting as a scientist for my own endeavors. I have recently noticed that when my friends were intoxicated, they received without wincing, falls and blows that should have produced severe pain. After the initial intoxication I questioned them of what they remembered during the ordeal, and if they felt any pain when they so full-heartedly struck random objects about the room including themselves. Most of them developed a kind of amnesia, and apparently so have I, because when I wake in the morning I find bruises on my body that I have no recollection of obtaining… Marvelous! I question my self now, why had I not made this connection before. The months I have spent in observing my friends and myself, and the years I have been surrounded and lectured on about topics such as laughing gas, have impacted and resulted on my ideas and conclusions about ether. A common drug that has been used in minute quantities for nervous ailments, due to its strong taste, is in fact what, for hundreds of years surgeons and physicians such as myself have been searching for, and in fact if I am correct ether might result in “the death of pain”. March 30, 1842, The first patient to whom I administered ether in a surgical operation was one of my good friends Mr. James M. Venables who then resided within two miles of Jefferson, and at present lives in Cobb county, Ga. Venables, whom I have known since my early years at the village academy, and who has attended an ample amount of “ether frolics” organized by myself, and others in our circle, complained of two little tumors on the back of his neck. One evening as the faction of my good fellows sported through the entrance of my office, James complained of his affliction. After a quick examination I determined that the two tumors present on the back of his neck should be removed. As I reached for my knife, with no intention of excising the cyst, I noticed James was overcome by anxiety and fright, which the other boys teased him about several days after the ordeal. Early this morning before the village academy opened, I called on my dear friend since the night before he agreed for me to operate on him, and remove his tumors. Last night James also agreed for me to test out ether on him during one of the excisions, and for his compliance I agreed to perform the procedure for a meager tow dollars instead of the customary forty dollars. As James entered my office, he looked tired, anxious and worried; as I later found out he had lain awake all night worrying about the possibility of using ether to stop the excruciating pain he perceived during the procedure. The operation was scheduled in the afternoon as soon as school was out. Several of Venables’ classmates begged to be allowed to view the experiment, because I saw no harm I agreed, but in order to lend the proceedings an air of respectability; I insisted the principal of the academy be present. Before we began I had reassured Venables of the numerous incidents when ourselves and others were intoxicated with ether; had fallen and felt nothing. Also I had placed a white sheet over the couch I had in my office, this is where I was to operate. After several minutes of comforting and trying to restore little of his confidence I had an assistant hold a towel over Venables face with several drops of ether, constantly splashing additional during the procedure trying to evoke as little pain induced noise as possible. I was fortunate to be able to supply the ether, due to the simple fact that I had ran out the previous night with hope of a new bottle arriving in the next day or so. Soon I was to entertain several young ladies, who were excited to see the effects of this drug, this is why I had previously written a close friend of mine Robert H. Goodman who has just moved to the metropolis of Athens, Georgia, in order to trouble him for additional supplies of ether, consequently using this exact bottle to perform my first experimental...