Just 12 days before this, on January 21st, the town doctor said a diphtheria epidemic was imminent. The hospital’s serum had expired and the Nome ports were iced over and unusable. The only way to get serum to Nome was by dog sled. A combination of 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs got serum from the Port of Seward, Alaska to Nome – a distance of more than 670 miles. And they did it in less than six days. It remains one of the most storied acts of heroism in Alaskan history and it saved dozens of lives – and, it quite possibly saved the town of Nome as well.
One of the goodest of all the good dogs: Balto, with musher Gunnar Kaasen. Kaasen was snow blind and exhausted when he and his team, led by Balto, arrived in Nome on February 2, 1925. The blizzard conditions were so intense that Kaasen could not see the trail, forcing him to rely on his Balto's instincts to guide them the final 53 miles.
A b/w photo of the sled dog Togo. We've all heard the term "super-human" to describe going above and beyond the physical and mental limits of endurance. Togo was super-canine. As a lead dog, he repeatedly made decisions that saved the serum run and he lead his team over more than 260 miles. Togo was 12 years old at the time.
On this day in 1925, a team of sled dogs – led by the dog Balto and mushed by Gunnar Kaasen – delivered the desperately needed diphtheria serum to Nome, Alaska.
#Heroic #History #OTD #Goodest
