Dogs to the Rescue

 

By Suzanne Norquist

Every year, the Iditarod dog sled race begins on the first Saturday of March and can take three weeks to complete. So, the race is in full swing now.

https://iditarod.com/# gives all kinds of information about the race.

Siberian huskies are often used as sled dogs because of their thick, double coat and muscular frame. I have two of the rambunctious canines. Mine wouldn’t know what to do if they were hitched to a sled. They are more like lapdogs. Still, they require two walks and average 25,000 steps per day. Walking my furbabies in the snow prompted me to explore the history of dog sledding.

The oldest archeological evidence of dog sledding has been dated to around 1,000 A.D. As far as researchers can tell, it began with native people in northern Canada. Early sleds used fewer dogs and pulled minimal cargo, possibly firewood and other supplies. Human survival in the Arctic north may not have been possible without this form of transportation.

The late 1800s and early 1900s were nicknamed the “Era of the Sled Dog,” possibly because non-native people began settling in Arctic areas.

The Yukon’s Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1800s drew prospectors north to inhospitable areas. And in the early 1900s, they moved into the Alaskan interior. Dog teams carried supplies and mail to places other forms of transportation couldn’t reach.

Denali National Park has maintained a team of sled dogs since 1922. Their website is full of fun dog pictures with profiles of all the dogs. There are even dog team trackers.

https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/meet-the-sled-dogs.htm

The diphtheria epidemic in Nome, Alaska, in 1925, brought international attention to this form of transportation. A relay of dog teams carried life-saving serum seven hundred miles over the frozen Arctic terrain. It took six days for the serum to reach Nome.

Two of the most well-known sled dogs, Balto and Togo, led teams in this effort. Disney immortalized both Siberian huskies in movies. Balto led the team on the 53-mile final leg of the relay.

Although Togo led teams 264 miles of the journey, his contribution wasn’t recognized until much later. A movie telling his story was produced in 2019. After the run, kennel owner Leonhard Seppala’s dogs and their descendants were in high demand. (On a side note, my dogs are Seppala huskies, part of the working dog line, as opposed to the show dog line.)

The Iditarod race honors the dogs and mushers from that critical, life-saving run. The route runs from Anchorage to Nome, roughly one thousand miles.

Racing existed before the serum run and has likely always been a casual sport. Formal events took place as early as 1850. In 1908, the first dog sled race took place in Nome.

In 1967, dog sled teams participated in the first Iditarod race. Events were well attended for the first few years, then interest waned. So, organizers revised the route, making the race longer and more grueling in 1973.

The existing trail runs from Anchorage to Nome. First, the dogs run 20 miles along the Alaskan Highway, giving people a chance to watch them. Then they are loaded into trucks and driven to the first part of the race.

Other countries have similar dogsled activities. For example, Norway's race, the Finnmarkslopet, started in 1981. It includes two races, one 310 miles and one 620 miles.

Today, snowmobiles and other means of transportation have largely replaced dogsled teams. However, the dogs still lead the pack in a few remote areas. A Danish military special forces team patrols with dogsleds, as do the rangers in Denali National Park. Remote parts of Greenland still use dogs as their primary form of transportation.

As the dogs race this March, it’s fun to remember the history they represent.

 

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”Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection

Four historical romances celebrating the arts of sewing and quilting.

Mending Sarah’s Heart by Suzanne Norquist

Rockledge, Colorado, 1884

Sarah seeks a quiet life as a seamstress. She doesn’t need anyone, especially her dead husband’s partner. If only the Emporium of Fashion would stop stealing her customers, and the local hoodlums would leave her sons alone. When she rejects her husband’s share of the mine, his partner Jack seeks to serve her through other means. But will his efforts only push her further away?

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Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas, “A Song for Rose” in A Bouquet of Brides Collection and “Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.

She authors a blog entitled, Ponderings of a BBQ Ph.D.

 

The Unsung Heroes of the 1925 Diphtheria Epedemic

On this day in 1925, the town of Nome, Alaska received the much needed serum that dozens had risked their lives for. This serum was dispatched in response to an epidemic that was killing many children in the village. Most of us have heard this story as the daring rescue of a musher named Gunnar Kaasen and his lead dog Balto, but that isn't the full story.

Map showing the distance between Nome and Nemana

Curtis Welch was the only doctor in the town of Nome and the surrounding area. He was staffed with 4 nurses at a 25 bed hospital. What first appeared to be tonsillitis quickly developed into diphtheria and began claiming the lives of many children. By the end of January, there were 20 confirmed cases, and 50 more at risk. In a district of around 3,000, that is an alarming number, especially knowing how contagious the disease is. The doctor set up a quarantine and sent the following telegram begging for help. 

An epidemic of diphtheria is almost inevitable here STOP I am in urgent need of one million units of diphtheria antitoxin STOP Mail is only form of transportation STOP I have made application to Commissioner of Health of the Territories for antitoxin already STOP There are about 3000 white natives in the district.

Gunnar Kaasen and Balto

The people in Nome, especially children, were in great need of the antitoxin, however the only way to get the medicine from the city of Nenana, where it had arrived by airplane, was to transport it by dog sleds. The problem was that 674 miles of harsh wilderness laid between the dying children and the serum, and time was running out. That would be a tough journey for dog sledders even in the best conditions, and there was a ground blizzard making it a deathly challenge. 

Contrary to popular belief, Balto and Gunnar Kaasen did not travel the entire way. In fact, they were just one of 19 sled teams that traveled the average distance of 55 miles. Each of these teams, and their dogs, were vitally important to the success of the relay. However it was Balto who received the commemorating statue in Central Park. Why? Because Balto and Kaasen made the last leg of the journey. 

Although there were 19 teams that traveled an average of 55 miles, there were 20 teams involved in the relay. Time Magazine wrote:

Togo

“the dog that often gets credit for eventually saving the town is Balto, but he just happened to run the last, 55-mile leg in the race. The sled dog who did the lion's share of the work was Togo. His journey, fraught with white-out storms, was the longest by 200 miles and included a traverse across perilous Norton Sound — where he saved his team and driver in a courageous swim through ice floes.”

Togo was the lead dog for a team led by Leonhard Seppala. Seppala is recognized as one of the best mushers of all time. Originally from Norway, he immigrated to Alaska and became a dog sled racer. He also began to breed dogs and is known as the man who introduced Siberian Huskies to the American public. Not only was Seppala a talented and experienced musher, he was brave, daring, and fast. He and his teams had won the All Alaskan Sweepstakes for 3 years in a row.  It was Seppala and his team led by Togo that made the greatest part of the serum relay-about 267 miles. The true fame of the rescue belongs to them, not Balto. 

The story of Togo and Seppala is portrayed very well in the new Disney film, Togo.

After the serum relay in 1925, Togo and Seppala recovered from the journey and lived happily for several years until Togo was euthanized at age 16. Seppala had him custom mounted. Togo's form is now kept in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Headquarters museum in Wassilla, AK. 

Leonhard Seppala

  As for Seppala, he enjoyed sled dog racing for many  years until he died at the age of 89.

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Amber Schamel is the author of Solve by Christmas, and the two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award for historical fiction. She writes riveting stories that bring HIStory to life. Her passions for travel, history, books and her Savior results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".  She lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado as a very happy newlywed. Amber is a proud member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Visit her online at www.AmberSchamel.com/ and download a FREE story by subscribing to her Newsletter!