good conditions. And the conditions in Nome were far from good.
Diphtheria, which often struck children in the past, begins with a flu-like fever and a sore throat. The disease quickly progresses to a very serious stage and is often deadly. Today children are given a simple injection to prevent them from catching the disease, but in 1925 the only cure was an
antitoxin serum
.
In Nome, there was just enough serum to treat a few infected people. Without it, many people would die.
Dr. Curtis Welch was the sole doctor in all of Nome. He knew he had to get help!
There were no telephones in Nome, so Dr. Welch sent out an urgent plea for help by telegraph. Soon, all of America was waiting and listening for word of the sick and snowbound Alaskans.
A large supply of the antitoxin serum was found on the other side of Alaska in acity called Anchorage. The medicine was transported by train to the town of Nenana. That was as far north and west as the railroad tracks went.
Nenana was still quite a ways from Nome—650 miles! With winter at its worst, there were no passable roads out of Nenana. And the two local airplanes, which made summer flights, were unusable. As Dr. Welch tried frantically to help his patients, the situation grew worse and worse.
How could the serum get to Nome in time?
The workers of the Northern Commercial Company—the mining company that used dog teams for its mail system—had an idea. They thought that their mail system was the answer to the problem of transporting the serum.
The Northern Commercial mail system worked like this: the mail traveled a variety of paths and was transferred from dogsled to dogsled until it reached its destination. The sleds ran frequently, and the paths were well known to the dogs and mushers alike. Even in January’s severe weather conditions, an experienced musher and team could travel the mail routes.
The biggest problem was timing. A package dropped off at the train station in Nenana usually took about a month to arrive in Nome by dogsled.
Many people in Nome were already infected with diphtheria, and more were coming down with it every day. Most of the sick people were children. A month was simply too long for them to wait. The medicine had to reach them much more quickly.
The Northern Commercial Company did not waste a minute.
All over Alaska, the very best mushers and those with the strongest and fastest dogs volunteered. The idea was to set up a giant relay course across the state. If enough drivers and dogs were ready and waiting, the precious cargo could travel from one sled to the next without stopping for more than a moment!
Almost every town had a musher who wanted to join the relay. For a driver and team to run their best, each team could cover only a short distance. A tired and overworked team would slow everything down—or worse, become lost. It was decided that the serum would be passed from team to team as often as possible.
The landscape of Alaska provided a natural road. Nenana was connected to thewestern coast of Alaska by two rivers; the Tanana and the Yukon. The first teams would follow these rivers, sledding directly on the ice whenever possible.
Detailed instructions were sent by telegraph to all the participating mushers. Each group of men and dogs was told where and when to be waiting. When the sledding team carrying the serum arrived at a transfer point, the crate of antitoxin would be moved to the new sled in mere minutes. The fresh team and musher would then speed toward the next transfer point.
Failure was unthinkable—dozens of lives were at stake!
CHAPTER THREE
Nome: Gathering the Teams
In Nome, musher Gunnar Kaasen was listening when the call for help went out. He had an experienced, powerful team, and he trusted them with his life.
He knew that Leonhard Seppala was joining the relay teams. Seppala had more reasons than most for joining in the race against time. Years before, his own daughter had caught diphtheria. Seppala had
Diphtheria, which often struck children in the past, begins with a flu-like fever and a sore throat. The disease quickly progresses to a very serious stage and is often deadly. Today children are given a simple injection to prevent them from catching the disease, but in 1925 the only cure was an
antitoxin serum
.
In Nome, there was just enough serum to treat a few infected people. Without it, many people would die.
Dr. Curtis Welch was the sole doctor in all of Nome. He knew he had to get help!
There were no telephones in Nome, so Dr. Welch sent out an urgent plea for help by telegraph. Soon, all of America was waiting and listening for word of the sick and snowbound Alaskans.
A large supply of the antitoxin serum was found on the other side of Alaska in acity called Anchorage. The medicine was transported by train to the town of Nenana. That was as far north and west as the railroad tracks went.
Nenana was still quite a ways from Nome—650 miles! With winter at its worst, there were no passable roads out of Nenana. And the two local airplanes, which made summer flights, were unusable. As Dr. Welch tried frantically to help his patients, the situation grew worse and worse.
How could the serum get to Nome in time?
The workers of the Northern Commercial Company—the mining company that used dog teams for its mail system—had an idea. They thought that their mail system was the answer to the problem of transporting the serum.
The Northern Commercial mail system worked like this: the mail traveled a variety of paths and was transferred from dogsled to dogsled until it reached its destination. The sleds ran frequently, and the paths were well known to the dogs and mushers alike. Even in January’s severe weather conditions, an experienced musher and team could travel the mail routes.
The biggest problem was timing. A package dropped off at the train station in Nenana usually took about a month to arrive in Nome by dogsled.
Many people in Nome were already infected with diphtheria, and more were coming down with it every day. Most of the sick people were children. A month was simply too long for them to wait. The medicine had to reach them much more quickly.
The Northern Commercial Company did not waste a minute.
All over Alaska, the very best mushers and those with the strongest and fastest dogs volunteered. The idea was to set up a giant relay course across the state. If enough drivers and dogs were ready and waiting, the precious cargo could travel from one sled to the next without stopping for more than a moment!
Almost every town had a musher who wanted to join the relay. For a driver and team to run their best, each team could cover only a short distance. A tired and overworked team would slow everything down—or worse, become lost. It was decided that the serum would be passed from team to team as often as possible.
The landscape of Alaska provided a natural road. Nenana was connected to thewestern coast of Alaska by two rivers; the Tanana and the Yukon. The first teams would follow these rivers, sledding directly on the ice whenever possible.
Detailed instructions were sent by telegraph to all the participating mushers. Each group of men and dogs was told where and when to be waiting. When the sledding team carrying the serum arrived at a transfer point, the crate of antitoxin would be moved to the new sled in mere minutes. The fresh team and musher would then speed toward the next transfer point.
Failure was unthinkable—dozens of lives were at stake!
CHAPTER THREE
Nome: Gathering the Teams
In Nome, musher Gunnar Kaasen was listening when the call for help went out. He had an experienced, powerful team, and he trusted them with his life.
He knew that Leonhard Seppala was joining the relay teams. Seppala had more reasons than most for joining in the race against time. Years before, his own daughter had caught diphtheria. Seppala had
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