*Sf^v,
Haps:*;!
^
 
■t-t   ,
 
 
 
A
HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY
OF THE APPLICATION OF
NITROUS OXIDE  GAS,
ETHER, AND OTHER VAPORS,
TO
SURGICAL OPERATIONS.
BY HORACE WELLS.
   HARTFORD:
 J. GAYLORD WELLS,
CORNER MAIN AND ASYLUM STS.
      1847. 
 
PREFACE.
  In answer to  a request, made by  several scientific and
medical societies of Europe, who have desired me to furnish
them  with the evidence of my priority of discovery of the
application of gas, or vapor, for the  performance of surgical
operations, I have obtained testimonials and affidavits suffi-
ciently  numerous  and satisfactory,  as I believe, to establish
the fact beyond  a doubt.

  I have forwarded the original papers to Dr. C.  S. Brewster,
of Paris, (No. 11 Rue. de la Paix,) who will have charge of
them  until this question is settled.

  The following pages contain a correct copy of those papers,
which prove, conclusively, that I made known this discovery
in November, 1844, which  date is nearly two years prior to
that given by Drs. Jackson and Morton.
                                   HORACE WELLS.
  Hartford, March 30, 1847. 
 
HISTORY, &c.
TO THE  EUROPEAN' AND AMERICAN PUBLIC:

  I propose,  in the briefest manner possible, to give,  in
the  following pages,  a  true  and faithful history  of the
discovery which  is  at  present  causing an unparalleled
excitement throughout the whole medical world.   I refer
to the administering of exhilarating gas, or vapor, to prevent
pain in surgical operations.  It is  very unfortunate  that
there should  be more than one  claimant for the honor of
the discovery; but so it is: and  the only alternative now
is, for the man who considers himself entitled to thia honor
to present his proofs, that a discriminating and impartial
public may " give credit to whom credit  is due."

  Reasoning from analogy, I was led to believe that sur-
gical operations might be performed without pain,  by the
fact, that an individual,  when much excited from ordinary
causes, may receive severe  wounds without manifesting
the least pain ; as, for instance, the man who is engaged
in combat may have a limb severed from his  body,  after
which he testifies, that it was attended with no pain at the
time:  and so the man who is  intoxicated with spirituous
liquor may be severely beaten without his manifesting
pain, and his frame, in this state, seems to be more tena-
cious of life than under ordinary circumstances.  By these
facts I was led to enquire if the same  result would not 
follow  by' the inhalation of exhilarating gas, the effects
6f which would pass off immediately, leaving the'system
rione the worse for its use.  I accordingly procured some
nitrous oxide* gas, resolving to make the first experiment
on myplf, by having a tooth extracted, which was done
without any painful  sensations.  I then performed  the
same  operation for twelve or fifteen others, with the like
results.

  This was in the  fall of 1844.  Being a  resident of
Hartford, Connecticut, I  proceeded to Boston,  in Decem-
ber of the  same year, in  order to  present my discovery
to the medical faculty;  first  making  it known to  Drs.
Warren, Hayward, Jackson, and Morton : the last two of
whom expressed themselves in the  disbelief that surgical
operations could be performed  without pain,—both admit-
ting that this modus operandi was  entirely new to them ;
and these are the individuals who now claim to be the
discoverers!

  By invitation  of Dr. Warren, I addressed his  medical
class upon the subject.  I embraced the opportunity, and
endeavored to establish the principle that the system, when
wrought up  to a certain degree of nervous excitement, by
any means whatever,  would thus be rendered insensible
to pain, and would admit of surgical  operations  being
performed without  any disagreeable sensations.   In proof
of this theory,  I related  my experience in  extracting
teeth under the influence of nitrous oxide gas, stating that,
with one or two  exceptions, all  on whom I had operated
(numbering twelve or fifteen) assured me that they expe-
rienced no  pain whatever; and, in further proof of the
truth of this principle, I cited analogous  cases, as, the man 
                         [7]
who is excited  by passion, or he who is much intoxicated
by liquor; stating, that individuals  under these  circum-
stances uniformly testify, when wounded, that such injuries
were inflicted  without pain.  I slated, also,  that I was
making use of nitrous oxide gas  simply because I con-
sidered it more harmless than any thing else which could
be used  for this purpose; assuring them that the  same
result  would  follow, let the nervous  system be excited
sufficiently in any manner whatever.   I remained several
days in Boston in order to have an opportunity of admin-
istering  the gas  to a man who was expecting to have a
limb amputated, but the operation  was postponed.   I was
then invited to extract a tooth for a patient in presence of
the medical class, which operation  was performed, but not
with entire success, as  the gas-bag was removed too soon;
and  as the man said he experienced  some pain, the  whole
was denounced as an imposition, and no one was  inclined
to assist  me in further experiments.

   The excitement of this adventure  immediately brought
on  an illness,  from which I  did  not recover for  many
months; being  thus obliged  to relinquish, entirely,  my
professional business.   I  will  now, in a few words, state
how the names of Jackson and Morton came  into notice,
as being connected with this discovery.

   Dr.  Morton, who is a dentist in  Boston, was instructed
in his profession by myself, about five  years since,  and I
subsequently assisted in establishing him  in  the city of
Boston, and after I had  made  the  above  discovery, I had
frequent  interviews with him ; and he, being aware  that I
had relinquished my professional business in consequence
of a protracted indisposition, requested me to instruct him
       2a 
[8]
how to prepare the  gas  which I had been giving so suc-
cessfully in  Hartford, stating that he wished  to  make  a
trial of it in Boston.  As this interview was in Hartford,
I told him to request Dr. Charles T. Jackson (with whom
we were both  acquainted) to prepare him some  of it, as
he was a chemist.   Accordingly, Dr. Morton went to Dr.
Jackson  for the gas, who gave  him the ether, as  being
attended with the least trouble.   After one  or two teeth
were extracted, it was then introduced into the  Massachu-
setts General Hospital, where a capital operation was per-
formed  under  its influence with perfect  success; which
fact was immediately published in  the  principal news-
papers of the day, with  the names of Jackson and Mor-
ton (who had,  by a  written contract, entered  into a sort of
co-partnership  business in  this matter) as  the discoverers;
and Dr. Jackson, as I have since been informed, immedi-
ately sent letters to London and Paris, to be read  to the
several  Academies, where  he  takes  all  the credit  to
himself,  not even mentioning the name of Morton, his
partner by written contract, which contract was  signed and
executed on the 27th of  October, 1846.  In this agree-
ment, Dr. Jackson  acknowledges that Dr. Morton made
the discvoery " in conjunction " with himself, as the follow-
ing extract from the  paper signed by Jackson fully proves  :

   "To  all persons  to whom  these presents shall come:
Whereas, I, Charles T. Jackson, of Boston, in the State
of Massachusetts, chemist, have, in conjunction with Wil-
liam T. G.  Morton,  of said city, dentist, invented, or disco-
vered, a new and useful improvement in surgical operations
on  animals, whereby we are  enabled to accomplish many,
if not all  operations, such as are usually attended with
more or less  pain and suffering, without  any,  or with
very little,  pain or muscular action, to  persons  who un-
dergo the same," &c, &c. 
[9]
  After the fact came to the knowledge of Morton that Jack-
son had sent privately to Paris, he, as a natural consequence,
becams very indignant;  and each of these individuals now
deny that the other has had anything to do with the disco-
very which was at first claimed by both, " acting in conjunc-
tion."   I will  here make a quotation from  the  Boston
Advertiser,  of  March  6th, 1847,  which  contains  Dr.
Morton's  reply to Dr. Jackson.  Dr. Morton proceeds as
follows :

  "In the letter to  M. Beaumont, of Paris, from which
I have already made extracts, Dr. Jackson says:

  " 'Five or six years ago, I remarked the peculiar state
of insensibility into which  the nervous system was plunged
by the inhalation of the vapor of pure sulphuric ether,'  &c.

  " Previously to this, he had already stated, under oath,
in the  preamble to  the specifications, which bear date the
27th of October, 1S4G, that the same hath not, to the best of
his  knowledge and belief, been previously known.   Now.
Dr.  Jackson either did know, previous to this time, that
sulphuric ether would produce insensibility to pain, or he
did  not.   If he did, as  slated in his letter to  M. Beau-
mont, then I have  to remind him  of his oath, under  the
solemnity of which he states that,  according to the best of
his knowledge and belief, 'the  fact  had not  been before
known.''   But if he did  not, then  I remind him of his
statement to M. Beaumont, in which he says that he had
known it for 'five or six  years.'  And the  learned Doc-
tor  may take either horn of the  dilemma he  may prefer.

  " It is not known that Dr.  Jackson^ever made more than
one experiment in inhaling ether; and then he used it as an
antidote to the vapor of chlorine, which he had accidentally
breathed, but from  his own statement, in the  Advertiser,
it did not answer the purpose — the deleterious  effects re-
turning with the return of consciousness.   But, supposing
he  had known of it six years or  six months  before  Dr.
Morton applied it in practice, is it not inexcusable in him to 
[10]
have  withheld  from suffering humanity this inestimable
boon so long—a boon by the gift of which such an incalcu-
lable an amount of misery might have been saved ?   Or is
it within  the limits of probability,  that if he  had been so
long in possession of a discovery which, if made known,
would in four  months call  down blessings  on his head
from  ten thousand  hearts,  and from  all civilized lands,
and which, from present prospects, would make him to be
remembered and cherished by the side of Jenner by all
coming generations, and to all coming time—I say, is it
probable, had he known of this noble gift, that  he would
not have  been more zealous in publishing it to the world ?
If he did  make this discovery, is it not a remarkable coinci-
dence that Dr. Morion should have made it at  the  same
time,  and still more remarkable, that Dr.  J. should leave
to another the honor to make his discovery known ?   But
to settle this whole matter,  and it might  have been done
in the outset,  to the satisfaction of any candid mind: —
After Dr. Morton began to use the ether in his practice,
and for some weeks, it is well known to a large number of
our  most respectable  citizens, that  Dr. Jackson clearly
and  distinctly repudiated and washed his hands of the
whole thing.  He, on many occasions, as it is well known
to his friends, disclaimed all connection with the discovery
or use of ether in surgery.  A gentleman of high standing,
asked  Dr. J., in presence of  several others, if he ' knew
that, by the inhalation of ether,  such  a state of insensi-
bility could be produced as that the knife could be applied,
and the patient feel no pain ?'  Dr. J.  replied :

  '•'No; nor Morton either, nor any one else.   It 4$ a
humbug, and it is reckless in Morton to use it as he does.'

  " In speaking to  two other persons, at  different times,
on this subject,  he said:

  " ' I do n't  care  what  he  [Morton]  does  with  it,  [the
discovery,] if he does not drag my name in with it.'

  " At another time, he said, he' did not know how it would
work in  pulling teeth, but  he knew  its effects  at college
upon the  students, when the faculty had to get a certificate
from a physician that it was  injurious, to prevent them 
[11]
from  using it.'  Many other  statements, on this point,
can be given, but it is deemed wholly unnecessary.  The
above, and  other statements even  stronger,  can be veri-
fied by affidavits."

   When it was announced in the Boston papers that Drs.
Jackson and Morton claimed this  discovery, the citizens
of Hartford were taken by surprise, for it  was well known
here that I had put in practice the same more than two
years  before, and  not only  this, but it  was  generally
known that 1 had long  since made a  journey to Boston
exclusively on this business, in  order to present it  to the
medical faculty.  Dr. P. W. Ellsworth, a son of the Hon.
W. W. Ellsworth, Ex-Governor of Connecticut, who was
acquainted with the circumstances above  mentioned, im-
mediately published an article in the Boston Medical and
Surgical Journal, stating those  facts  that came under his
personal observation—which accord perfectly with what
1 have already  stated.  Dr. E. E. Marcy,  of this city,
also published  an article in the Journal of Commerce
about the  same time, stating that he was knowing to my
making the discovery,  and going to Boston in 1844, when
1 had an interview with Dr.  Jackson, who said that he did
not believe that surgical operations could be performed
without pain, when I informed him of the discovery I had
made.  Dr. Marcy quoted Dr. Jackson's language to me,
and  in his (Jackson's)  reply, he does not  deny that I had
this interview with him, but simply says  that he did not
use the words which are credited to him in the  quotation
marks.   He does not deny but that the substance of those
words were said by him'; and, furthermore, he cannot deny
this.

  This letter of  Dr. Jackson, in reply  to Dr. Marcy, re-
quires still further notice.   He says that he had merely 
[12]
 heard that I had tried some experiments with nitrous oxide
 gas,  but had never heard that they were successful. Now
 I am fully persuaded that Dr. Jackson does not remember
 the circumstance  of his being  informed and assured in
 November, 1844, that my operations were uniformly suc-
 cessful, with but one or two exceptions; butsuch was the
 case, and  the individual  who  informed him of this  fact
 will  make the statement under oath, if necessary.  Dr.
 Jackson was then informed that I had operated on  twelve
 or fifteen patients by the use of nitrous  oxide gas,  without
 causing the least pain, in but two instances.

   Dr. Jackson claims that  the nitrous oxide gas and the
 vapor of ether are essentially different in their effects when
 inhaled.  He asserts, in this letter, that sulphuric ether, as
 it is used in Boston, does not act as a stimulant, but has the
 reverse  effect.   In reply to this statement,  Dr. Marcy
 quotes an article from the Boston Medical  and Surgical
 Journal, where Dr. J. C. Warren,  of the Hospital, in  his
 report, proves that ether, as given in Boston, acts as a stimu-
 lant; but in order to prove,  even  to the satisfaction  of Dr.
 Jackson himself, that  he was  mistaken, I will quote his
 own language, from  an article published in the.   Boston
 Advertiser, of March 3,  1847.   He says:

   " We  are aware that ether ranks  in the  pharmaceutic
books  and dispensatories, as a diffusible stimulant,  and
that its fumes or vapor produce intoxication of short dura-
tion."
   The fact is, that  nitrous oxide gas  and the vapor  of
ether,  are  identical  in their  effects; first exhilarating,
then, when continued to excess, the  reverse effect follows,
acting as a sedative,  throwing the  person  into a deep
sleep or stupor. 
                         [13]

   This discovery does not consist in the use of any one
 specific gas or vapor, for anything which will cause a cer-
 tain degree of nervous excitement, is all that is required
 to render the system insensible to pain; consequently, the
 only question to be settled is, which exhilarating agent  is
 least likely to do harm?  I have confined myself to the
 use of nitrous oxide gas, because I became fully satisfied,
 from the first, that it is less injurious to the system than
 ether.   In the fall of 1H 14, after I had tried several experi-
 ments with nitrous oxide  gas with perfect success,—then
 wishing to use a substitute which would  be attended with
 less trouble  in its preparation,—I advised with Dr. E. E.
 Marcy, of this city, at which time we discussed the compa-
 rative  merits of nitrous  oxide  gas  and rectified sulphuric
 ether.   Knowing that both had the same effects upon the
 system, so far as causing insensibility to pain was con-
 cerned, the object of the discussion was to ascertain which
 would do least harm.  I had, previous to this, inhaled ether,
 as well as nitrous oxide gas, and found their effects upon
 the nervous system to be  precisely the same;  but  I found
 it very difficult to inhale the vapor of ether  in consequence
 of the choking sensation.  For this reason, and for the rea-
 son that Dr. Marcy and myself came to the  conclusion that
 nitrous oxide gas was not so liable to  do injury, I resolved
 to adhere to  this  alone.   Let it be  observed, however,
 that at this time, (November,  1844,)  while we had the
 subject under consideration, a surgical operation was per-
 formed at Dr. Marcy's office, under the influence  of sul-
 phuric ether, as is proved by affidavit.  The Doctor then
 advised me, by all  means, to continue the  use of  nitrous
 oxide gas.
  If the  question is asked, why so much time has elapsed
since  its  first discovery,  without its coming  into more 
[14]
general use, I can  only say, that I have used my utmost
endeavors, from the first, to influence physicians  and sur-
geons  to make a trial of it, assuring them that my opera-
tions were numerous, and perfectfully successful.  But all
were fearful  of doing some serious injury with it;  and
not wishing  to incur the responsibility of administering
this powerful agent without the co-operation of the medi-
cal faculty, and also for the reason that I was obliged to
relinquish my professional business in  consequence of ill
health, my operations have been somewhat limited.

   On making the discovery, I was so much elated respecting
it, that  I expended my money freely, and devoted my whole
time for several weeks, in order to present it to those who
were best qualified  to investigate and decide upon its
merits, not asking or expecting any thing for my services,
well assured  that  it was a valuable discovery.   I was de-
sirous that it  should be as  free as  the air we breathe; but
judge  of my surprise, after the lapse  of  many months,
when I was  informed that two individuals (Drs. Jackson
and Morton)  had  claimed  the discovery,  and had made
application for a patent in their own names.

   After making the  above statement, and  submitting the
following testimonials and affidavits,  I leave  it  for  the
public  to decide to whom belongs the  credit of  this  dis-
covery.
               Respectfully,
                              HORACE WELLS. 
TESTIMONY,
                           Boston,  March 23, 1847.

   We, the undersigned,  residents  of Boston,  Mass.,
testify, that in the  fall of the year 1844, while attending
lectures given by Dr. J. C. Warren, of the Massachusetts
General  Hospital,  the  students were informed by  Dr.
Warren, at the close of his  lecture,  that Mr.  Wells, of
Connecticut, was present, and would address  them upon
the subject of rendering  the system insensible to pain,
during the performance  of  surgical  operations,  by the
inhalation of exhilarating gas.  The students accordingly
retired to  an  adjoining room, where we were addressed
upon  this  subject by  Mr. Horace  Wells,  of Hartford,
Conn., who invited us  to meet in the evening  to witness
an  operation,  which operation  was performed in our
presence, while the patient was under the influence of the
gas.        THOMAS WM. KENNEDY, M. D.,
Office  corner of North Charles  and Livingston Streets, Boston.
                       P.  B. MIGNAULT, M. D.

  City of Boston:  On this  23d  day of March, A. D.
1847, the above-named  Thomas J. W. Kennnedy, M. D.,
and P.  B.  Mignault, M.  D., personally appeared  before
me, the subscriber, Mayor  of  the city of Boston,  and
made  oath  that the  above  certificate, by them subscribed,
is true.

 w^S ^n testimony whereof I subscribed the same and
 ft:«tf•-">#:     caused the city seal to be hereunto affixed,
            the day and year last within written.
                             JOSIAH QUINCY,
      Mayor of the city of Boston, Justice of  the Peace.
      2 
[16]
                        Hartford, March 26th, 1847.
  I,  the undersigned, resident  of Hartford,  Connecticut,
testify, that, in the fall of the year 1844, while  attending
medical lectures, given by  Dr. John C. Warren, of the
Massachusetts   General   Hospital,   the  students   were
informed by Dr. Warren, at the close of his lecture, that
Mr. Wells, of Connecticut, was present, and would address
them upon the  subject of rendering the system insensible
to pain during  the performance of surgical operations, by
the inhalation of exhilarating gas.   The students accord-
ingly retired to an adjoining room, where we   were
addressed  upon  this subject by  Mr. Horace Wells, of
Hartford, Connecticut, who  invited us to  meet in the
evening to witness an .operation,  which  operation was
performed in our presence,  while the patient was undei
the influence of the gas.

                CINCINNATUS A. TAFT, M. D.


State  of Connecticut,
    Hartford County, ss:

                   City of Hartford, March 27,1847.
  Then personally  appeared before  me, Cincinnatus A.
Taft, who signed the foregoing affidavit, and made solemn
oath  that the same was true.

  <W®&  Given under my hand and the seal of said city.
  IS                A. M. COLLINS, Mayor.
                          Boston, March 23, 1847.
  I hereby certify, that the following gentlemen attended
my Lectures  on Anatomy and  Surgery in the season of
1844-45, viz: Thomas Wm. Kennedy, P. B. Mignault,
and Cincinnatus A. Taft.
                          JOHN C. WARREN,
                   Professor of Anatomy and Surgery. 
[17]
                           Boston, March 23d,  1847.
  I  do hereby testify that Horace Wells,  of Hartford,
Connecticut, with  whom  I have  been  acquainted  for
several years, came to Boston in the year 1844, (I think in
November  or December.) and  informed me that  he  had
made a valuable discovery,  which enabled  him and others
to perform  surgical operations  without  pain.  He then
informed me of the  result  of  his  experiments, which he
assured  me were numerous, and perfectly successful.   I
accompanied  him to  a  hall in Washington street, where
a large number  of medical students had assembled,  as I
understood, to witness an  operation to be performed by
Dr.  H. Wells, upon  a patient while under the influence
of  exhilarating gas, which was the  discovery above
referred to.   The gas was administered, and the  tooth ex-
tracted under  its influence by the said  Wells, in  presence
of myself and  many others.  I am not able to say whether
the  patient experienced any  pain or not.  There  was
certainly no manifestation of it, yet some present expressed
themselves in the belief that it was an imposition.
   I  was  subsequently informed that  his  operations in
 Hartford, prior to 1815, were uniformly successful under
the influence of gas.
                           DANIEL  T. CURTIS,
                                 No. 23 Bedford street.

   City of Boston:   On the twenty-third day of March,
 A.   D.  1817,  the   above-named  Daniel   T.  Curtis,
 personally appeared before  me, the subscriber, Mayor  of
 Boston,  and made  oath, that the foregoing certificate, by
 him subscribed, is  true.
  8fdc03< ln testimony whereof I have subscribed  the same,
  Rf'tf^k      {inQ"  caused  the city seal  to  be  hereunto
              affixed, the day and year last above written.
                              JOSIAH QUINCY,
       Mayor of the city of Boston, Justice of the Peace.
  I hereby  certify, that  Horace Wells, dentist,  has,  for
more  than two years, had  the reputation, in this  city, of 
[18]
having made a discovery which enabled him, and others,
to extract teeth without pain, by the  use  of exhilarating
gas.   I have conversed with  several  gentlemen, whose
reputation for honor and veracity places them above sus.
picion, who have  had these operations performed by the
said  Wells, in the fall of 1844; and they assure me that
the operation was attended with no pain whatever.  There
is no doubt  in  my mind that said  Wells  discovered and
made the first practical  application of this principle  in
surgical operations.  By comparing dates of the several
claimants, there can remain no doubt of this fact.
                                S. FULLER, M. D.
  Hartford,  March 25th, 1847.
                           Hartford, March 25, 1847.
   As attempts have been  made to  deprive Mr. Horace
Wells, dentist, of the honor of discovering the effects pro-
duced by certain gases in allaying pain, I feel  it my duty
to state the facts in the case.  Dr.  Jackson does not claim
an earlier discovery than the latter part of 1846, and even
then only suggested  to  Mr.  Morton  that ether  might
answer the purpose, and says that the first trials of Morton
were  successful, "proving exactly as I had predicted."
The first trial of Morton,  according to his own  (Morton's)
statement, was on the  30th Sept.,  1846.  Now, I hereby
declare,  that to  my full knowledge,  nitrous oxide  gas
was administered two years earlier  than this, viz., in 1844,
by Mr. Wells, and that many teeth  were  extracted without
pain under its influence;  and that  Mr.  Wells went to
Boston at that time, as I  was then informed, for the pur-
pose of introducing the gas to the attention of surgeons in
that city.   Moreover, in an article published  June 18th,
1845, in the Boston  Medical and Surgical Journal, I re-
ferred to it as a thing  well known and established—the
article being headed, " On the Modus Operandi  of  Medi-
cine," written to  show that many, if not all, local diseases,
are cured by specific stimulants.   Now, when  it is known
that Mr. Morton was instructed in his  profession by Mr.
Wells, and introduced into business by him, we can  easily 
•  [19]
trace the  manner  in which Mr. M. might have  derived
his information.   It  is to be  borne in  mind, also,  that
Jackson and Morton have, through the public prints, each
denied the other his claim — a  thing easily settled,  one
would think, if it  in justice belonged to either.  In my
own mind, there is not a shadow of doubt that the whole
merit of  the discovery  of  this  thing rests  with Wells,
and  with  him alone, although  others may have experi-
mented with ether before him.   The idea and its practical
application arc his,  and let the public concede that to him
which his generosity, unrestricted with patents, demand?
and which has been, as far as possible, wrested from him.
The claimants in  Boston I do not know, and should be
unwilling, in any manner,to injure their feelings,but I must
say that they are laboring under an hallucination  at least;
though  I  cannot but hope  they  may  be  able to  establish
some claim to originality—a task  somewhat difficult, as
the case appears to stand.  These statements are given, not
from any  personal  considerations,  but  simply as an  act
of justice; and I hope that the profession, after due delibe-
ration, will give a righteous  award.
                      P. W.  ELLSWORTH,  M. D.
   I take pleasure in certifying, that more than two years
since, at the request of Horace Wells, Esq., of this city, I
visited his rooms for the purpose of witnessing the extrac-
tion of a tooth from a man,  while  under the  influence of
the nitrous oxide gas.  The idea was novel to  me, and I
took occasion to be present during the operation.   The gas
was  administered by Mr. Wells,  and the  operation per-
formed without any apparent suffering on  the part of the
individual operated upon.  I afterwards questioned him in
regard to his sensations  during the extraction, and  he
assured me that he had not experienced the slightest degree
of pain.  At this time, the comparative merits of the gas
and of rectified sulphuric ether vapor, were discussed, and
I gave it as my opinion, that the nitrous oxide gas was the
safest, inasmuch as the  after-effects of this gas are not so 
[20]  '
unpleasant as  from the  ether  vapor.   I  also take  this
occasion to assert, from my positive knowledge, that the
ether vapor was administered very soon after this period
(and  prior to 1845,) for  the  performance of a surgical
operation.
  In conclusion, I beg leave to offer it as my opinion,  that
the man who first discovered the fact that the inhalation  of a
gaseous substance would render the, body insensible to pain,
during surgical operations, should be entitled to all the credit
or emolument which may accrue from the use of any substances
of this nature.  This is the principle — this  is the fact —
this  is  the discovery.   The  mere substitution of ether
vapor, or any other  article, for the gas,  no more entitles
one to the claim of a discovery than the substitution of coal
for wood in generating steam, would entitle one to be called
the discoverer of the powers of steam.
                             E. E. MARCY,  M. D.
  Hartford, March  27th,  1847.


State  of Connecticut,
     Hartford County, ss :
                   City of Hartford, March 27, 1847.
  Personally appeared  E. E. Marcy, Physician and Sur-
geon, resident in  this city, and made solemn  oath  to the
truth of the foregoing affidavit by him subscribed before me.

  !*F« &  Given under my hand and the seal of said city,
  80ft«$       the day  and year aforesaid.
                          A. M.  COLLINS, Mayor.
  This is to certify, That during  the last  two  or three
years,  I have been familiar with the successful operations
of Mr. Horace Wells,  and other dentists of  this city, in
extracting teeth, without pain, by the aid of nitrous oxide
gas, and he, alone, was  regarded as the author of*  this
discovery.                  G. B.  HAWLEY, M. D.
   Hartford, March 27th, 1847.
       2b 
[21]
  I, John M. Riggs,  surgeon  dentist, of the  city and
county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, in the United
States  of America, being of lawful age, and duly sworn,
do depose and say:
  That on or about the  first of November, Anno Domini
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and forty-four, I was con-
sulted  by  Horace Wells, surgeon dentist,  of  the city,
county and  state as  aforesaid, as  to the practicability of
administering  nitrous oxide gas prior  to the performance
of dental or surgical operations.
  Thinking favorably of the  suggestion,  it  was decided
to make trial of the  gas in  question;  and on the day fol-
lowing,  per agreement, the  protoxide of  nitrogen was
administered to Horace Wells,  aforesaid, at his request,
and I extracted  one of his superior molar  teeth:  he mani-
festing no signs of suffering, and stating that he  felt no
pain during the operation.
   Encouraged,  and  gratified with the  success of the first
experiment, the aforesaid Wells and myself continued to
administer  to various  individuals the said gas, and to
sxtract teeth while under its influence, in the presence of
several gentlemen, until fully satisfied of its usefulness and
applicability in  surgical operations.   I further affirm that
the said Wells  avowed his intention  to communicate the
discovery to the dental  and medical faculty, and, in pur-
suance of that  intention, proceeded to  the city of Boston,
 State  of Massachusetts,  for that  purpose;  whilst  I con-
 tinued to use the said gas with great success—the patients
 assuring me they felt no pain.
                3                 JOHN  M. RIGGS.

 State of Connecticut,
     Hartford County, ss :
                    City of Hartford, March 27, 1847.
    Personally appeared John  M. Riggs, and made  solemn
 oath to the truth of the foregoing affidavit,  by him sub-
 scribed before  me.  Given under my hand, and the seal
 of said city, the day and year above written.
    «»*» Given  under my hand  and  the seal of said city.
    |^||                  A. M. COLLINS,  Mayor. 
[22]
  I, the  undersigned,  resident of Hartford, Connecticut,
do hereby testify, that,  more than two years since, I sub-
mitted to the operation of having a tooth extracted while
under the influence of nitrous oxide gas.  According to
the best of my recollection, this was in the month of No-
vember,  1844.   The gas was given,  and the  tooth ex-
traded by Horace Wells,  dentist,  of Hartford;  and I do
further testify that the operation  was attended  with  no
pain whatever.                         MYLO LEE.


State of Connecticut
     Hartford County,  ss

                   City of Hartford, March 26, 1847.

  Then  personally appeared before me, Mylo Lee, signer
of the foregoing affidavit, and made solemn oath that the
same was true.

  if s %  Given under my hand, and the seal of said city.
  !.««»                   A. M. COLLINS, Mayor.
  During the winter of 1844,1 learned that Dr. H. Wells,
dentist,  Hartford,  Conn., had  discovered  the mode  of
extracting teeth without pain.  This was accomplished by
administering to the persons operated  upon exhilarating
gas or vapor, which, it was asserted,  rendered the human
system insensible  to pain.   At first I was incredulous  of
the fact,  and received  the assertions of individuals familiar
with  the operation with a  degree  of distrust.   Being,
however, by invitation, a personal witness of the process
of extracting teeth without pain, under this new mode,
discovered  and practiced by Dr. Wells with so much
apparent success,  I was  induced to submit  to a personal
operation, that I might test its utility.   The Dr. was most
successful—extracting for me a large,  firmly-set bicuspid
tooth, without the slightest sensation of  pain.
  I also  witnessed, soon  after,  a repetition of the same 
[23]
process, by Df. Wells, upon several individuals, accompa-
nied, in every instance, with perfect success.
                                 F. C. GOODRICH.
  Hartford, March 27, 1847.
State of Connecticut,
     Hartford County, ss :
                    City of Hartford, March 27, 1817.
   Then personally appeared before  me, F. C. Goodrich,
of this city, who signed the foregoing affidavit, and made
solemn oath that the same was true.
  Sjpt^   Given under my hand and the seal of said City.
  fel                 A.  M. COLLINS,  Mayor.
                          Hartford, March 26, 1847.
  I hereby testify, that, more than two years prior to this
date, on being informed that Horace Wells, dentist, of this
city, had made a valuable  discovery, by which means he
could extract teeth without pain to the patient, which con-
sisted in the use of stimulating gas, or  vapor, I inhaled
the exhilarating gas, and, under its  influence, had six ex-
tracted without the least pain.   I would further state, that
for more than eighteen months from the time I first sub-
mitted to this operation by the  application of gas, I heard
no other name mentioned  as  the discoverer, except  that
of the above-named Horace Wells.
                         J. GAYLORD WELLS,
                                  184i Main street.
State of Connecticut,
     Hartford  County, ss :
                    City of Hartford, March 26, 1SI7.
  Then personally appeared before me J. Gaylord Wells,
of this city, who  signed the within deposition, and made
solemn oath that the same was true.
  »«v><^  Given under my hand, and the seal of said city.
  jg-41                  A-  M  COLLINS, Mayor.


  A little more than two years since, I learned that Dr. H.
Wells, dentist, of this city, had made  the discovery that
by the use of an exhilarating gas or vapor, he could render 
[24]
the nervous system  insensible to pain under severe sur-
gical operations, and that he was  using it in his practice
with success.  Having an opportunity to witness its effect
upon several persons, during the  operation of extracting
teeth, I was  so delighted and surprised with its manifest
success, that I desired a trial of it upon myself.  The gas
was accordingly administered, and two carious teeth were
extracted from my lower jaw, without  the least suffering
on my part;  though ordinarily, owing to the firmness with
which my teeth  are fixed in my jaw, I suffer extreme pain
from their extraction.
                          WM.  H.  BURLEIGH,
                         Editor of the " Charter Oak."
   Hartford, March 25,  1847.

State of Connecticut,
     Hartford County, ss:
                   City of Hartford, March 26, 1847.
  Then personally  appeared  before  me, William H.
Burleigh,  signer  of the  foregoing affidavit, and  made
solemn affirmation that the same is true.
  IviFs 8  Given under my hand and the seal of said city.
  &*»*                  A.  M. COLLINS, Mayor.
To WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN :
   We, the undersigned, physicians of the city of Hartford
State of Connecticut, U.  S. A., do hereby certify, that
we know,  and have conversed  with the persons whose
names are appended to the above affidavits, viz., Wm. H.
Burleigh, J.  G. Wells, F. C. Goodrich, Mylo  Lee,  and
place implicit reliance upon the statements made therein,
by each of them, to wit: that  the  operation  of extract-
ing  one or  more  teeth  without  producing  any  pain,
whatever, was performed upon  each of them,  by Horace
Wells, surgeon dentist, of this  city, at or about the time
specified by them respectively, in their several affidavits
above referred to.
   We take pleasure, also, in expressing our entire confi-
dence in the integrity of the said Horace Wells, than whom 
[25]
no person in  our city is more  favorably  known, as a
gentleman of honor and integrity.   We know, moreover,
that  he has for several years past successfully devoted
himself to subjects pertaining to  invention and discovery.
S. FULLER, M. D.
GEORGE SUMNER, M. D.
BEN.!. ROGERS, M: D.
J. B. BERESFORD, M. D.
II. ALLEN GRANT, M. D.
WM. JAMES BARRY, M. D.
E. E. MARCY, M. L).
C. A. TAFT, M. D.
DAVID S. DODGE, M. D.
P. W. ELLSWORTH, M. D.
GURDON W. RUSSELL,M.D.
G. B. IIAWLEY, M. D.
E. K.HUXT, M. D.
DAVID CRARY,  M. D.
JOHN SCIIUE, M. D.
HENRY LEE, M. D.
  I certify that the foregoing document is subscribed by
the principal  surgeons and physicians  of the  city of
Hartford, in the State of Connecticut, U. S. A.
                                ISAAC TOUCEY.
  Hartford, March 29th, 1847.
State of Connecticut, ss:
     Office of Secretary of State.
                                    I  hereby  certify,
                                 that  his  Excellency
                                 Isaac Toucey, (whose
                                 name, in his own hand-
                                 writing, is subscribed
                                 to the  foregoing cer-
                                 tificate,)  is Governor
                                 in and over the State
                                 aforesaid.

                                 In testimony whereof,
                                    I  have   hereunto
                                    set  my  hand and
                                    affixed the seal of
                                    said Slate, at Hart-
                                    ford, this 29th day
of March, A. D. 1847, and in the 71st year of the Indepen-
dence of the United States of America.
                    CHARLES WM. BRADLEY,
                                  Secretary of State.
 
 
 
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
NLM  DlDD15bfl  3
^«^

5&
NLM010015683