 Proudly we hail! From New York City where the American stage begins, here is another program with a cast of outstanding players. Public service time has been made available by this station for your army and your Air Force to bring you this story as Proudly we hail Crawford Williamson Long, the first doctor in America to use ether in a surgical operation. Our story is entitled country doctor and concerns a young man, a very very young man at the time, who made a startling discovery that revolutionized medical practice in every part of the civilized world. We'll bring you his dramatic story from the rocky cliffs of Korea to the pine covered hills of Georgia in just a minute. Right now an announcement. Registered nurses, here's a chance to be of service to your country during one of the most critical periods in America's history. As you know, our army has expanded rapidly due to the tense international situation. And urgently needs more nurses to help safeguard the health of our soldiers. You'll be a commissioned officer with good pay and liberal allowances and you'll have priceless opportunities for furthering your professional career. You'll have the benefit of working with some of the finest medical equipment in the world and the chance of learning the newest techniques in the medical profession. Get all the facts today. Write or wire the Surgeon General, United States Army, Washington 25 DC. Do it now. And now your army and your Air Force present the proudly we hail production country doctor. In Yongdong Po and the outskirts of Seoul Korea, there's an evacuation hospital. Two long lines of canvas army cut stretch the length of a warm oversized room. If there's any suffering, it isn't apparent. The soldiers know that they're destined south to Busan, to Japan or even stateside. They know that they've been given the best of care that medical science allows. A few steps down the hall from the ward is an immaculate operating room. A surgeon enters and looks at the unconscious figure lying on the table. Now what is it this time Harry? Compound fracture of left leg with loss of tissue. It was given a half-grain dose of morphine, a pint of blood at the Mobile Hospital unit up front. We're all set to go as soon as you wash out. Okay. Any sign of his regaining consciousness? I just gave him a shot of sodium pentothal hill. Slept through this like a baby. Oh, good old Anastasia. I wonder why the Lord didn't give us the power to put people to sleep before he did. I guess the stuff was always there, but we never found it. Maybe so. Did I have to tell you, Harry, that I knew a guy who knew the guy who discovered Anastasia? No. Where? Down south. A father used to be a traveling salesman working out of Athens, Georgia. One day it took me along with him. Our first stop was a little country store on Jefferson, a few miles north west of Athens. There was an old carter inside the store. He said, take a liking to me. I could hear him now. Pull up that keg and ails there, my friend. Sit down. Rest your hands and feet. My name's Ed Crimmins. I reckon I've been living in northeast Georgia, bowels, longs, anybody around. Ninety-four next birthday. Yes, sir. Seven years old when the war between the states ended. Mm-hmm. You ever hear Teller Crawford Long, the fellow who used to say? A lot of folks say that pain, but why let it conquer us when we can conquer it? We have the weapon now to triumph over pain. Yeah, he was a smart one, all right, that Crawford Long. I was round when he was still going strong. Mm-hmm. He used to wave at me from his horse and bug in corner by my name. Of course, I was pretty young, even when he died. But I used to hear people tell us how he'd graduated from the University of Georgia, that is. Went up north to medical school and was going great guns as a surgeon in New York by the time he was 23. But it didn't stay long. You know, he came back to Georgia in the spring of 1841 when he was only 25. He used to run a stagecoach from Columbia, South Carolina to Athens in those days. All was a right, smart crowd of people needed to. Hey, here it comes. Here it comes now. She's ahead of time. Yeah, but look who's driving. See, Quaid. No wonder. Who the hell are you? Glad to see you too, Crawford. How long have we since circumstances with the fight? Ah, so do I. What happens in the best of families? Those three valises of mine, boy, bring them over here. Hey, you get a point. Hey, by the way, Crawford, you know Caroline Swain here, don't you? Please meet you, Miss Swain. Pleased to meet you. Well, you used to stand in line to dance with her when we was in college. Stand in line to... What? Caroline Swain, of course. I'm sorry. That's all right, Crawford. How are you? Well, five years can do things to some people. Folks in New York who raven over Fannie Campbell should get a look at you. Oh, no. Hey, Crawford, I didn't want to write you that letter. But, you know, I've taken over a lot of father's law practice. And when I looked over your daddy's accounts, I just didn't know anything else to do. So my family's in a pretty bad way. Yeah, pretty bad. I didn't know if you could get away. Why shouldn't I be able to get away? Well, one of the most promising young surgeons in New York. That's what we've been hearing. Shucks. Hey, boy, get those two big boxes off the back of their mind, too. What'd you do? Bring everything you own? Practically. But you won't have to stand along in a month or so to get everything straightened out of you. You know, Jean, I was looking out of the stagecoach windows as we were coming from Anderson. The streams, deep blue hills in the distance, the big white clouds up above that never seem to move, the smell of southern pine. And red clay and sagging fences. It's still beautiful. I don't see why people break their necks to get to New York. I'll take this. What? You don't mean you're staying, Crawford? That's right, Caroline. What about your patients up north? Oh, they'll get by. There are hundreds of doctors in New York to take care of my list of embolies. Down here, it's different. There aren't enough doctors to go around. But your future, Crawford? My future's in the hills of Georgia. I made up my mind before I even left. This is home. And the more I see of it after five years, the more I like it. I'm staying here. Yep, that's how they said it was. That's how come Crawford Long hung out his shingle in Jefferson. He had just a few miles away from Athens. And like he said, he didn't like the patients. No, sir, some paid, but more of them couldn't afford to. That didn't make no difference to the duck. Every day you could see him riding his horse over the red clay hills going to somebody's help. Well, that same fall they had a fair somewhere around these parts. I guess most everybody went to it except the duck, and he was too busy. Anyway, Yankee come along and set up a great big tent right smack in the middle of the midway. Seems he had a fella hooping and hollering out thunder. Ladies and gentlemen, are you downcast? Are you sad? Well, get ready to wipe those tears out of your eyes, my friends, because in just five minutes from now, that sadness is going to turn to gladness. In just five minutes from now, you're going to witness one of the most phenomenal demonstrations of the 19th century. Yep, you guessed it. We have it right here. Laughing gas, the wonder of the age, the gas that that great English poet Robert Southy calls the atmosphere of the highest heaven. In just five minutes from now, we're going to administer 20 gallons. Count on it. Five, 10, 15, 20 full gallons of this precious vapor to the first 10 volunteers to come on stage and experience the most delightful sensations they've ever known. And as for the rest of you who'd rather look on, you'll laugh, you'll scream, you'll howl, you'll see your friends and neighbors singing and dancing, maybe even crowing like chickens or standing on their heads. All for the small price, 25-cent submission charge. Step right up, ladies and gentlemen. On stage or in the audience, you can't lose. It's scientific, it's educational, it's side-splitting with no danger to anybody. Now, don't push, don't shove. Just a quarter-part of a dollar to witness the wonder of the age. Hooray! Hooray! Shit had gone with us last night, Crawford. It was the dog on the side I ever did, so yeah, many cogs sang Yankee Doodle and sounded like a scree-tow. And Grandpa Lamar kept throwing his arms around it and trying to kiss her. They call it stuff, laughing gas. I know, nitrous oxide. Yeah, what? Nitrous oxide's a chemical compound. Does anybody want any more tea or cake? Oh, not I think. Uh, take these plates out, Liza. Yes, sir. The man who gave the lecture said it was a brand-new discovery. The wonder of the age. Don't believe everything you hear, Caroline. It's been around for years. But what's it used for, Crawford? Outside 10 shows. Well, I tell you, Gene, it's a favorite indoor pastime in every medical school in the country, sniffing nitrous oxide. Sir Humphrey Davion England tried it on himself any number of times. All he discovered was that he had tremendous ideas, made wonderful discoveries while he was under its influence. When it wore off, it couldn't remember what they were. Well, sir, I wish my wife let me volunteer last night. Me too. I'd take a chance on anything. You got any of the stuff, Crawford? Not a bit, Jeff. I'm not running a tent show. That's too bad. You'd probably take in more money. And you'd most likely make an exhibition of yourself, just like those folks last night. Well, at least we'd keep it to ourselves and set it running around in public like those folks last night. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I'll tell you what I do have. Sulfuric ether. Liza. Yes, sir. Fetch me the brown bottle that's sitting on my desk in the other room. You know the one that came from Philadelphia today? Yes, sir. And what's Sulfuric ether, Crawford? Oh, it's used for a lot of things, Gene. But I remember one afternoon in the University of Pennsylvania, the student working beside me in the laboratory dropped a beaker of it on the floor. It broke and spilled all over the place. By the time we got the mess cleaned up, we were both dizzy. Is this it, sir? Thanks, Elijah. Well, are you gentlemen still interested? I'm game. Me too. Gene? Caroline? No, sir. And none for me, Crawford. I reckon these napkins will fill the bill. Very simple. Just unscrew the top. Pour a little of the precious liquid on one napkin. Like this. Here you are, Jack. And a little on the other napkin. Ew, sure smells awful. I can smell it clear over here. Here you are, Albert. And you needn't worry about the pungent odor. You'll get used to it very, very quickly, I assure you. Won't notice a thing. Maybe you better sit down. No, I'm all right. So am I. Now hold the napkins over your mouth and nose. Pew. That's it. Now breathe easily, deeply. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Look out, Jim! Is he gonna be all right, Crawford? I hope so, Gene. There's lacerations from the broken glass. No deep cuts. But he should have shown some reaction when I dusted on that alum. Well, he didn't. Oh, not so much as a twitch. Crawford, I think Albert's coming, too. Oh, that wipe Jeff's face with that wet towel again, wouldn't you, Gene? Yeah. I'll see what's doing with Albert. He was moving a minute ago, Crawford. Yeah, what's doing? Come on, Albert. Come on, come on, come on. Wake up. Come on. What? Oh, Crawford Long. What you doing here? Well, it happens to be my office. You've been asleep for the past 15 minutes. Oh. How do you feel? Kind of sick. You don't hurt? Well, uh-uh. I just feel kind of sick. No, no, not bad. You just kind of... Well, you should hurt. Take a look at those legs of yours. Hey, they're all bruised. How'd that happen? You did it yourself, Albert. You tripped over that chest of drawers over there. Crawford, Jeff's coming around. All right, Jeff. Everything is all right. Let's swing around here. Come on, let's sit up. Hey, what happened? You've been having a little snooze. What's this white powder stuff on my arm? Don't rub it off. That's alum. You fell into that long floor mirror and knocked it over. The floor mirror? Oh, God, I sure did, didn't I? I'm sorry, Crawford. I'll pay you for it. I'll get you a new one. I'm not interested in mirrors right now. All I want to know is whether you are in pain or not. Pain? No, why? You sure? You're positive? Sure, I'm sure. No pain. Deep sleep. What's the matter, Crawford? Is anything wrong? Well, Crawford, tell us what's wrong. Wrong? There's nothing wrong, Caroline. Far from it. The matter of fact, we may have something here. You are listening to the proudly-behaved production Country Doctor. Our story will continue in just a moment after this important message. Our army has expanded tremendously to meet the challenge of the forces of aggression, which are threatening the peace of the world. And there is an urgent need for professional women to fill the ranks within the women's medical specialist corps. The occupational and physical therapist and the dieticians who comprise the corps have never had a greater opportunity to serve where they are needed most. Right now, there are only a few hundred of these highly trained specialists serving throughout the army and the Air Force, despite the fact that the need for their services has never been more acute. To the women of this profession, your army and Air Force offers not only the opportunity to fulfill a patriotic duty, but a commission as an officer in the army or the Air Force of the United States. And with that commission goes the pay, the privileges, the security, and the opportunities for continued study that is available to every officer. The opportunity for a lifetime career is great, but the need is greater. So, if you are a qualified occupational or physical therapist or a dietician, here is your chance to serve your country in an hour of great need. Right or wire, the Surgeon General United States Army or the Surgeon General United States Air Force, Washington 25 D.C. Remember, you are needed now. You are listening to Proudly We Hail and the story of Dr. Crawford-Williamson Long of Georgia. We return you now to the general store in the village of Jefferson for the second act of Country Doctor. Back against that sack of beans, my friends, if we're to make you any more comfortable. See that big mulberry tree short piece down the road and the building across from it? That was Crawford-Long's office. It's a museum today. And over on this side, you can't see it from inside here, is Jim Venable's old place. He was about Doc's age, too. Well, sir, one afternoon in March 1852, the Docs started owing to Athens to see his lawyer friend Gene Hightower. He had a brand new buggy and another horse by that time. Elijah, his house boy, was driving, but they'd no sooner swung round in front of Venable's than Doc saw the very man he was looking for. Gene, hold up a minute, Elijah. Whoa, boy, whoa, whoa. Gene! You wait here, Elijah. I'll be right back. Yes, sir. Gene! Oh, howdy, Crawford. I was on my way into town to see you. Well, I was just going across the road to see you. Howdy, Jim. Howdy, Crawford. Well, what brings you out to Jefferson this time of day, anyway? I had some legal matters to take up with Jim here. Oh, good. You can kill two of your clients with one storm. Put up the horse and buggy, Elijah. Yes, sir. The only trouble is that Jim doesn't seem very legally disposed today. Don't feel good. What's the matter with you? I don't know. I just don't feel good. Maybe it sees two big lumps on the back of my neck. They don't hurt you, do they, Jim? No. They shouldn't. But they don't look good, Doc. They make me feel embarrassed and take my mind off my work. Well, it's your own fault, Jim. I've told you time and time again. I'd be more than happy to cut them out, but every time you get to the point... All right, Doc. Cut them out. Let's get the job over and done with it. When? Right now. It's a rather short notice. If Gene has to get back into town... Oh, don't y'all mind me. I have all the time in the world. You'll do it then, Crawford, right away? All right. Lock up your place. Why should I lock it up? You're not going to kill me, I hope. I'll try not to, but it might hurt a little. Well, I don't care. You've got the usual shot of whiskey in your office, I reckon. All right, George, I haven't at that. No? Glad you mentioned it. I used the last drop in an operation yesterday. Well, it won't hurt too much, will it, Crawford? You don't have to do the whole job today. Maybe just a part of it. Maybe old man Pearson has some tucked away somewhere he usually has. Maybe he'll lend us a bottle. Hmm. That's an idea. Well, come on. Let's go see old man Pearson. Let's try him out. There's nothing to lose. No, wait a minute, Jim. I have a better idea. No, Crawford, you're not going to give him that. Yes, Gene, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Since you have all the time in the world, you can help. I need it. Come on, let's go. Don't you want me to lie down on the table or something, Crawford? No, just sitting in a chair by the window here, Jim. I guess we're about ready to start. Hand me that towel beside you, Gene. You want it for the stuff? Mm-hmm. As soon as I get the top off of this bottle, there we are. What's that funny smell? Ether. Oh, what's Ether? Oh, some stuff that smells funny. You won't smell it very long. Now, listen, Jim, I'm going to hold this towel over your nose and mouth. It's my neck, not my nose. Yeah, I know, I know. All I want you to do is breathe in slowly and deeply. Will you do that for me? Well, I'll try. All right. Now... Wait a minute, Jim. Take it easy, Jim. Don't squirm. I'm not hurting you. All right. Hold his shoulders, Gene. All right. Now, keep breathing easily, Jim. That's it. How do you feel now? I'm dizzy. Dizzy. Dizzy. Floating away. Floating. Floating. Floating. All right, Gene, one more piece of that gauze here. Thank you. And that's that. Jim ought to be coming out of it any moment now. The only thing I ever saw. They teach you this in school, Crawford? School hasn't even thought of this, not yet. And I'm not going to tell them about it until I'm sure I'm on the right track. Well, let's see how our patient's doing. Come on, Jim. Let's wake up. It's all over. Wake up. Wake up. Let me alone. Take your hands off. Crawford, Jim. Crawford long. Yeah. I must have fainted you. No, you didn't faint. You were going to fix up my neck. That's right. Well, why don't you go ahead and do it? Get over with it. It's done. It's over, Finny. You can forget your embarrassment from here on out. Well, I don't understand, Crawford. The last thing I remember, I sat down here in the chair and you put a cloth over my face. Now you say... You didn't feel anything, did you? No. How do you feel now? I don't know. Maybe my arm feels a little numb. You'll get over that in the next few minutes. Then I can go back to work. If you don't, you'd better lock up that place of yours. You mean that's all? All except the bell. Two dollars. I'll send it to you on the first of the month. Well, what do you know? I don't know just what we do know, Gene. I'm going to try to find out. But I know one thing. We do have something here. Well, sir, short time after, Crawford long up and mad with Caroline Swain, where everybody expected the wood. The up and coming young surgeon, and she, the niece of the governor of North Carolina. Boy, howdy. They say that wasn't sure why something. But it didn't slow down the dark. No, sir, he kept right on plugging along. Yeah, shouldn't have let this toe get infected, son. When you did, you should have come to see me right away quick. Now, I'm going to put this towel over your face. I want you to keep breathing slow and deep. Easy, easy. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in. Then there was Pete Vincent, and he had something wrong with his head. The doc operated, and when he come to, he'd turn here one day, sir. You say you're all through, doctor? You're not after suffering all these years. I don't believe it. I didn't feel a thing. It's a miracle. That's what it is, a miracle. Old Doc Long stayed the job he cut out himself until the very day he died. Yeah, you could tell his horse and buggy my love. Or if you couldn't tell the horse and buggy, you could tell who it was with the chin whiskers waving in the breeze. I used to stand by the side of the road and wait from the pass. I'd wave to him. Howdy, Doc Long. I did win. You behaving yourself? And then I'd watch the dusty buggy go up the red play road through the cotton fields and all the hills going to help somebody else. And that's the way I heard it when I was a kid, Harry. Doc Long never tried to take credit for what he did, but he certainly blazed a trail. I sure saved this soldier plenty of pain, Doc. Yes. Medicine's come a long way since they used to give patients a slug of whiskey to work. Sulphur drugs, penicillin, all different kinds of anesthetics, depending upon what's wrong with you. Not to mention helicopters to fly you back from Sniper Ridge. Crook and I could get you to the hospital down the street back home. Better than that. Why not climb into one of the mobile hospital units and bring the hospital to the patient? Maybe someday we'll be sending death on that holiday. Hey, a boy's coming out of it, Doc. Good. It's about that. Everything's okay, Corporal. Oh, I got clobbered. How bad am I hit? Oh, not bad. Just a fracture. Oh. I don't remember a thing after they carried me back to the mobile unit. No. Thanks to Doc Long and the men who followed him. Well, I don't think I know that. I don't think he was in your outfit, but you can thank him just the same. Just put on a splint, Harry. Light traction for the time being. Fly him back to Tokyo. Okay, Doc? And don't worry, Corporal. He'll soon be as good as new. Registered or graduate nurses. Answer your country's call for service in the Army Nurse Corps. The need is great, and the need is urgent. There just aren't enough nurses to handle the nursing requirements of our greatly expanding Army. And you, as a nurse, can appreciate perhaps better than anyone else. The fact that an Army's efficiency is largely dependent upon the state of its health. So here's your opportunity to be of immeasurable service to your country at a time when the need is great. The Army Nurse Corps has plenty to offer you, too. The pay is good and the allowances are liberal. You'll be in a job that challenges the best that's within you and you'll have endless opportunities to grow in your professional capacity. The Army's vigorous medical research program has developed many new medical techniques and you'll learn how to apply them. But most of all, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you are serving at a time when you are needed most. So make your decision to serve now. Write or wire the Surgeon General, United States Army, Washington 25 D.C. This has been another program on Proudly We Hail, presented transcribed in cooperation with this station. Proudly We Hail is produced by the Recruiting Publicity Center for the United States Army and United States Air Force Recruiting Service. This is Kenneth Banghart speaking and inviting you to tune in the same station next week for another interesting story on Proudly We Hail.