Serum Run Route From Nenana to Nome (Map provided by Iditarod National Trail Alliance)
As they waited for news that diphtheria anti-toxin had been located, Nome’s emergency Board of Health was creating a plan to get the much needed serum from the railroad terminus in Nenana to the desperate people of Nome.
While aviation enthusiasts were evaluating the available “airships” and looking for a pilot, the “better to be safe than sorry” camp was brainstorming a speedier than normal ground delivery.
Board of Health member, Mark Summers suggested a relay. He proposed sending the best dog driver from Nome to the village of Nulato, the approximate halfway point from Nenana to Nome, to meet a driver carrying the serum from Nenana. Summers, superintendent of a Nome based mining company, had an employee who fit the bill. Who was this man that Summers and the people of Nome – especially the parents, would place their faith in?
Leonhard Seppala, a spunky, athletic, forty-seven year old Norwegian had arrived in Nome during the summer of 1900 to search for gold by the invitation of one of the 3 lucky Swedes, Jafet Lindeberg. His search for gold didn’t pan out so Seppala took a job with Lindeberg’s mining company to pay off his passage from Norway.
During the winter of 1900, Seppala and three other mine employees were sent to check out a possible gold strike outside of Nome. They traveled by dog team. After searching for a month in dangerous blizzards and brutal low temperatures, the men found no evidence of gold so they headed back to Nome. On the way they encountered more life threatening conditions. Had it not been for the dogs, Seppala’s party might have perished.
After that initial experience with dogs, his career and life changed. In Togo and Leonhard, author Pam Flowers says, “Leonhard was impressed by how hard the dogs worked and how they always took their hardships in stride.” He became a dog driver for the mining company and In short, his life went to the dogs!
While working for the mining company, Sepp learned to run large dog teams while hauling passengers and supplies out to the mines and around the Seward peninsula. The work was hard and cold but the scrappy Norwegian loved the dogs and took pride in keeping them happy and healthy. Soon he earned the reputation as the best dog driver of the mining company.
By chance, Sepp was introduced to the Siberian Husky. Roald Amundson, a Norwegian explorer, was planning an expedition to the North Pole. He asked Jafet Lindeberg for help in securing a top notch dog team. Lindeberg went in search of and purchased several young Siberians and asked Leonhard to train the dogs. Sepp was more than happy to assist a fellow Norwegian, and support Amundson’s expedition to the pole by developing the team.
While training the Sibes, Sepp came to admire the character and ability of the smaller dogs. He soon realized that no other dog could equal the speed and stamina of the Siberian. According to the Cruelest Miles Sepp said, “There’s no limit to its endurance and willingness to give all it has got in the way of strength and speed when called upon in an emergency.”
Unable to secure funding, Amundson had to cancel the expedition and Lindeberg decided to give the Siberians to Seppala. Having fallen in love with the dogs from the time he began working with them, he was thrilled to take ownership of the team. With this turn of events, he would find his way into racing.
Sepp won the 400 mile All Alaska Sweepstakes, the oldest organized race in the world, three consecutive years – 1915, 1916 & 1917. As a racer and musher, Seppala gained iconic status for his own athletic ability and the bond he shared with his Siberians. He was regarded as the fastest musher in Alaska.
When most mushers of the day would consider a run of 30 miles a hard day’s work, Sepp often traveled fifty or even a hundred miles spending twelve hours on the trail. He had previously made the run from Nome to Nulato in four days averaging eighty-one miles each day. He then continued to Fairbanks completing the run in thirteen and a half days while carrying a passenger.
Setting new time records and winning many races was only part of what Sepp did in his mushing career. He transported U.S. officials and mine company employees across Alaska. He sometimes served as an ambulance for the sick or injured and there’s a story about him helping law enforcement capture a criminal. In one winter alone, he covered 7,000 miles by dog team. He was a mushing celebrity and became known as the “King of the trail.”
One can hardly mention Seppala without including Togo. The little dog that demanded a spot on Sepp’s team was loyal, intelligent, tenacious and had the uncanny ability to sniff out danger. Over the years, Sepp and Togo covered 55,000 miles of trail together. When Sepp was chosen by Nome, Togo, age of 12,å was chosen by Sepp to lead their part of the rescue efforts.
Shared in the Cruelest Miles, Seppala said, “I am proud of my racing trophies but I would trade them all for the satisfaction of knowing that my dogs and I tried honestly to give our very best in humanitarian service to our fellowman.” Their best would be for the children of Nome.
From the Cruelest Miles, “In 1925, the machine had not yet been built that could match the endurance, speed, and reliability of men and dogs.” Leonhard Seppala was one of twenty mushers who were called upon to transport the life-saving serum. Togo was one of 150 sled dogs that powered the serum 674 miles from Nenana to Nome.
