Togo and Balto, dog heros of the “Great Race of Mercy”

The Iditarod is a race, 1150 miles, but officially it is 1049 miles, since Alaska is the 49^th state.  The race starts in Anchorage and ends in Nome, it starts on the first Saturday in March and is approximately a 10 day race.  The first race was run in 1973, the 100th anniversary of the purchase of Alaska by the United States from Russia.

So what is the meaning of this race in history?

This race commemorates the “Great Race of Mercy,” a real race against time to save lives threatened by diphtheria — a contagious disease that affects the throat and lungs, that was threatening the lives of many children.  Many of the affected were Inuits who had no immunity to this disease.

Serum was located in Seattle and flown to Anchorage, then shipped to Nenana, but that was as far as it could go.  Airplanes engines would freeze and some planes had open cockpits.  A relay of dog teams was the answer. 

It took 5 1/2 days — 127 1/2 hours and 674 miles to get the needed serum to Nome.  This was a trip that normally takes 3 weeks.   Even though there were 20 musher teams and over 100 dogs, two dogs standout in name and fame, Balto and Togo.

Balto was the lead dog of the final relay team with Gunnar Kaasen as musher.  Balto was a young dog,  and not a speedy racer.  If Kaasen had known the storm and blizzard was so bad, he would not have chosen Balto as lead dog. There was such storms, creating new snow, and winds, creating white outs.  It was often hard to see the dogs or your hands.  Temperatures were often 50 degrees below zero.

Balto, a black huskie, owned and raised by Seppala, was the  lead dog for Gunnar Kaasen, who covered the final two legs of the serum run.

Balto and Kaasen and the team of dogs arrived February 1, at Safety Shelter, 21 miles from Nome, but the next driver, was sleeping, thinking Kaasen was being held up by the storm.  However the team was progressing so well and the conditions were letting up,  Kaasen decided to work the last relay.

February 2, daybreak, 5:30 AM, they arrived in Nome.  The serum had arrived.

Balto became famous immediately, but one dog, deserves great honor as well, Togo, also a Siberian Husky, a 12 year old when he was part of the serum run.  He was led by Leonhard Seppala a very seasoned musher, the best in Nome. They covered the longest distance and the most hazardous leg of the run, a round trip of 261 miles, delivering the serum, a total of 91 miles, almost double of any other team.

Togo, a Siberian Huskie, lead dog for Leonhard Seppala

Original plans were for the two to do half of the entire relay, but Governor Bone of Alaska wanted to speed up the delivery and added extra teams so the travel would be non-stop.

After the race, Balto and Kaasen toured the west coast for a year after the race and made a 30 minute movie, “Balto Race to Nome.  A short time later the dogs were sold to a vaudeville producer and became part of a sideshow until Cleveland business man, George Kimble rescued them with $2000 raised from school children, other sources and much coming from the Western Reserve Kennel Club.  In March 1927 Balto and the dogs arrived to the Cleveland Zoo, to live out their lives.  Balto lived to age 11 years.  He has a bronze monument of his likeness in New York Central Park, and his body was forever preserved and on display at the  Cleveland Natural History Museum.

Balto,the sculpture by Fredrick George Richard Roth in New York’s Central Park

Balto is housed permanently in the Natural History Museum of Cleveland

In October 1925, Seppala and his team too went out on tour, and ran many local sled races, easily winning them.  Seppala sold most of his team to a kennel in Maine.  Togo lived to age 16, and acer his death, Seppala had Togo preserved and now he is displayed in Alaska, in the Iditarod Museum.  Many Siberian Huskie dog trainers and owners can trace their dogs lineage back to Togo. 

Both Balto and Togo are dog heros and have definitely found their place in history towards helping man.  Balto the dog on the final team coming in, and Togo, the dog that traveled the toughest and the longest part of the journey, to getting the much needed serum to the children affected by diphtheria, in Nome, Alaska. 

smiles  : ) 

serum run to Nome

The Balto Story

Togo

Togo

Leonard Seppala