Had the diphtheria antitoxin arrived on the Alameda as planned, the Great Mission of Mercy in 1925 wouldn’t have been necessary. Nome’s Doctor, Curtis Welch, ordered a supply of the medicine to replace the 80,000 expired units he had on hand. It was expected to arrive on the Alameda, the last ship to make its way to Nome before the sea port froze solid. Unfortunately, the medicine wasn’t on the ship and Nome was without serum.
Diphtheria hadn’t been a problem in the recent past and perhaps wouldn’t be a problem during the winter of 1925. The medicine could arrive after break up and all would be well. We know the rest of the story and only through the heroic efforts of twenty mushers and dog teams was the City of Nome saved from a deadly epidemic.
When Henry Pitka made Ruby on January 29th he handed the serum to Billy McCarty Sr. Behind is leader dog, Prince, McCarty forged through a severe snow storm and bitter cold. McCarty covered the 29 miles to Whiskey Creek and handed the carefully wrapped 20 pound package off to Edgar Nollner.
Edgar, a twenty-one year old accomplished musher from Galena made his way to his home village with seven malamutes led by eight year old Dixie. There the serum was handed to Edgar’s brother George. Records indicate that George covered the distance of 18 miles to Bishop Mountain driving Edgar’s dog team. George made his run on January 30th.
Pictured is Pat McCarty, one of Billy’s sons. The sled he’s standing by and many others are hand crafted by Billy McCarty Jr. The McCarty’s live in Ruby.
