Kitchen surgery and house calls in old Fort Smith

Medical practice in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries consisted largely of kitchen surgery and house calls. The practices of Dr. St. Cloud Cooper and other Fort Smith doctors reflected the standards of practice in Arkansas and the nation as the principles of aseptic surgery gradually gained acceptance. The doctor's black bag used on house calls still lacked the effective agents which became available during the mid-twentieth century, leaving the physician to rely on personal inner resources in order to perform a useful service.