Balto
Balto (
1922 –
March 14,
1933) was a
sled dog who led his team on the final leg of the
1925 serum run to Nome, in which
diphtheria antitoxin was transported from
Anchorage, Alaska to
Nome by
dog sled to combat an outbreak of the disease. The run is commemorated by the annual
Iditarod dogsled race.
In January
1925, doctors realized that a potentially deadly diphtheria
epidemic was poised to sweep through Nome's young people. The only serum that could stop the outbreak was in Anchorage, nearly a thousand
miles (
1,600 km) away. The only two aircraft that could quickly deliver the medicine had been dismantled for the winter; after considering alternatives, officials decided to move the medicine by
sled dog. The serum was transported by train from Anchorage to
Nenana, where the first
musher embarked as part of a relay aimed at delivering the needed serum to Nome. More than 20 mushers took part, facing a
blizzard with −53
°F temperatures and strong winds. News coverage of the race was worldwide.
On
February 2, 1925, the
Norwegian Gunnar Kaasen drove his team, led by the
husky Balto (named after
Samuel Balto), into Nome. The longest and most hazardous stretch of the run was actually covered by another Norwegian,
Leonhard Seppala and his dog team, led by
Togo. They came from Nome towards the end of the run and picked up the serum from musher Henry Ivanoff. The serum was later passed to Kaasen.
Kaasen did not consider Balto a particularly good lead dog, but Balto proved himself on the Iditarod trail, saving his team from certain death in the Topkok River. Balto was also able to stay on the trail in near
whiteout conditions in which Kaasen admitted he could barely see his hand in front of his face. After the mission's success, Balto and Kaasen became celebrities. A statue of the husky by
Frederick Roth was erected in
New York City's
Central Park in 1926.
Balto and his companions were bought by
vaudeville sideshow operators and toured the country for the next two years. Hearing of this,
Cleveland, Ohio residents raised $2,000 to purchase the seven dogs and gave them a permanent home at the
Cleveland Zoo in March 1927. They received a hero's welcome, attracting more than 15,000 visitors on their first day in the zoo. Balto died in Cleveland on March 14, 1933, at 11 years old; his body was
stuffed and placed on display in the
Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
*
Iditarod background from the Iditarod Trail Committee*
"The story of the REAL Balto"*
Balto in the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History*
Balto at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History
