Who Was the True Hero?

Leonhard Seppala Shaktolik to Golovin 91 miles Lead dog: Togo At 48 years old, Leonhard mushed a team of Siberian Huskies. Togo, a 12-year-old husky was his lead dog. He had left Nome with the intent of intercepting the serum at Nulato. He wasn’t aware that the relays had sped the serum along the trail. Leonhard had left Isaac’s Point on the north side of Norton Bay that morning. Having traveled the 43 tough miles with a tail wind, he almost passed Henry Ivanoff outside of Golovin. They passed the serum on the trail and Seppala now turned his team around and headed back up the trail into the wind. The temperature was -30 degrees below zero as he faced a strong wind and darkness. To save valuable time, Leonhard risked the 20 mile sea ice crossing between Cap Denbigh and Point Dexter in a blinding blizzard. He relied on Togo to keep them safe and on the course, and he was not disappointed. On the North shore of Norton Bay, he stopped at an Eskimo sod igloo where he had spent the previous night. He put the dogs in the kennel and fed them well. Then took his sled inside and warmed the serum and himself, hoping the storm would lessen. Early Sunday morning the temperature was -30 degrees below zero with a raging wind. Once again, he headed out in conditions that otherwise would not have been tempted unless it was a matter of life or death. When he reached Dexter’s Roadhouse at Golovin, his dogs dropped in their tracks from exhaustion. The serum was now 78 miles from Nome, and it was Charlie Olson’s responsibility to take it to Bluff.

Charlie Olson Golovin to Bluff 25 miles Lead dog: Jack, team of 7 malamutes. Charlie had left Gunnar Kaason at the Olson Roadhouse and traveled to Golovin to await the serum. Charlie left Golovin at 3:15 Sunday afternoon with the temperature at -30 degrees below zero and an estimated 40 mph wind. He was hit by gusts more than once that hurled him, sled and team off the trail. His dogs started getting stiff due to the cold. He stopped and put blankets on each dog to keep them from freezing and suffered with freezing fingers, as he had to remove his mittens for the task. Despite the storm, Charlie arrived at Olson’s Roadhouse about 7:30 p.m. where Gunnar Kaason was wondering if Charlie had held up to wait out the storm or not.

Gunnar Kaason Bluff to Nome 53 miles Lead dog: Balto Gunnar was sent from Nome to wait for the serum at Bluff, while Ed Rohn was sent to Pt. Safety. A snowstorm had made chest deep snow drifts and glare ice on the trail. For miles he was unable to see the trail and relied on Balto to get them through. A message was sent to Solomon for Kaason to wait out the storm there. However, the storm was so severe that Kaason did not see Solomon as Balto kept them on the main trail that passed to the south. It wasn’t until miles later that Kaason saw landmarks that told him they had passed Solomon. While crossing Bonanza flat, his sled was flipped by the wind. After righting the sled and untangling dogs, he found that the serum wasn’t in his sled. He searched on his hands and knees in dark blowing snow until he found the package and resumed. After crossing Bonanza he had covered the last 12 miles to Safety in 80 minutes, arriving sometime after 2:00 a.m. Sunday. Ed Rohn was asleep in the cabin, expecting Kaason had held up at Safety to wait out the blizzard. Kaason decided not to wake Ed Rohn, who was suppose to take the serum the final leg into Nome. The worst of the trail was behind him. The dogs were running well, so he began the final 21 miles run to Nome. He arrived in Nome around 5:30 a.m., covering the last 53 miles of the trail in seven and a half hours.

On February 2, the initial serum shipment arrived frozen without any harm and was used to stem the epidemic. The conditions were often brutal with blinding snowstorms and temperature dropping as low as -64 degrees Fahrenheit. Five days later, a second larger shipment of serum traveled the same route, and the epidemic was ended.

Balto was hailed as a hero, went on tour of the United States, and was memorialized with a statue in Central Park in New York City. Seppala always felt that his lead dog, Togo, didn’t get enough recognition for his 260-mile effort. Who do you think is the true hero? State your claim and use 3 pieces of evidence to support your claim.