A few lesser-known canine heroes of the Serum Run

Okay...today, I'm going to attempt to give you all some introductions, inasmuch as is possible from the historical record, of some of the OTHER dogs who did their part during the 1925 Nome Serum Run. These dogs have been pretty much forgotten by history, having been utterly blotted out under the shadows of Togo and especially of Balto.

The dogs, of course, would never have felt one was more deserving than another. Each did his or her part as assigned...whether as a lead dog, wheel dog, or other team member. They all did it to the best of their abilities, training and experience, and did so enthusiastically...against almost insurmountable odds. And it may surprise you what HAS been forgotten about these great dogs.

I don't have much, unfortunately. A few pictures here, some descriptions there. The text information I have taken from the book The Cruelest Miles, by Gay and Laney Salisbury. The pictures I have from various sources. I'll do each dog as a separate post.

FRITZ
The half-brother of Togo (probably had the same mother, but different fathers), Fritz was also on Leonhard Seppala's 20-dog Serum Run team. A team of such large size can certainly generate great speed and pulling power, and Seppala was the most famous driver, and breeder of Siberian huskies, in Alaska at the time.

Fritz was a white husky with brown/gray mottling on his head, and on his back (in a "saddle" pattern). He was larger than Togo, running more the typical size and weight for Siberians at the time (around 55-65 pounds). Fritz contributed much to the lines of the modern-day Siberian Husky breed (which is also, genetically, slightly different from the original "Siberian husky" breed...now called the "Seppala Siberian Sled Dog"), and like Togo fathered many puppies. And UNlike Togo, he remained with Seppala after his tour of the United States, and races in New England. (Togo was given to Elizabth Ricker, a friend Seppala made during the New England races, and a fellow musher and dog breeder. Some of the over 40 dogs Seppala brought with him, for the U.S. tour, ended up staying with Ricker, creating the eastern breeding line of "Seppala Siberian Sled Dogs" which still exist today in New England. Togo lived out his remaining few years with Ricker).

Fritz is also the only other Serum Run dog, besides Togo and Balto, to have been stuffed and mounted after he died. More on that in an upcoming topic.

Here are a few photos of Fritz, taken during or after the Serum Run:

1. Fritz, from a photo of some of Seppala's Serum Run team, including Togo, taken just after the Serum Run while still in Alaska:



2. Fritz with Seppala on the deck of a steamship headed to the U.S. for their 1926-7 tour of the U.S., which would include a sledding demonstration in Madison Square Garden, in New York City (and a presentation of a medal to Togo, by the then famous Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, to whom Seppala had provided a team of dogs for his Arctic expeditions), and some races in New England and also Toronto, Canada. Fritz and the other dogs seem to be fixated on some small pieces of ice sliding across the pitching deck of the ship near Seppala's left foot:



3. Fritz (at right) with Seppala and some of his other dogs during the U.S. tour in 1926 (I used to think Sepp was wearing a hat in this pic...but that, folks, is his HAIR. lol):



4. Fritz and Togo leading Seppala's team down a street during the U.S. tour (the main gang line, to which the dogs are attached, is probably being guided by a human assistant, which is why it appears to run off-camera. Probably to keep them running straight down the road):



FOX
There isn't much at all on Fox. And almost nothing in the book The Cruelest Miles. It is known that Fox was an experienced lead dog used by Seppala and his other drivers, and that he was in Seppala's kennels when word came of a need to expand the number of teams for the Serum Run (beyond using only Seppala and a few others). Gunnar Kaasen was instructed by Seppala (his mentor and fellow employee of the Pioneer Gold Mining Company, and fellow Norwegian) to assemble a team IF NEEDED for use by the mining company, or for any local emergencies, while he was gone.

With no way to reach Seppala on the trail once word came down of the need for more teams, Kaasen was left to choose pretty much as he wanted to. He selected either 12 or 13 dogs (having only Seppala's instructions to use Fox as a lead dog, but nothing else) for the team. However, Kaasen had previously observed and taken an interest in Balto, on several occasions while working for the gold mining company with the dog teams. And even though Balto had never had a chance to serve as a lead dog, Kaasen saw some potential in him that Seppala apparently did not. Against Seppala's explicit instructions, he assigned the inexperienced Balto as the lead dog, and gave Fox the co-lead position behind him. And so history went. The names of seven of those dogs are preserved in the historical record, and are the same dogs that ended up staying down in the U.S. (when the team visited there following the serum run) - Balto, Fox, Sye, Billy, Tillie, Old Moctoc, and Alaska Slim.

Fox was a black and white Siberian husky (with some brown on his coat, apparently, though it is impossible to tell from black & white photographs). There are only two clear pictures of him that I could find...

1. Fox (at left), alongside of Gunnar Kaasen and Balto, during the U.S. tour. Possibly during Sol Lesser's film shoots (detail from a larger photo):



2. Fox, his head concealed behind Balto's tail, in the co-lead position of Gunnar Kaasen's team, probably shortly after the Serum Run while still in Nome. Here you can get a better idea of his body markings. This could also be during Sol Lesser's first film shoot, done in Washington state (apparently) because there was still plenty of snow, and mountains (which approximated the Alaskan countryside)...I say that because of the line of trees in the background, which would have been a rather unusual site up in Nome:



3. Fox, at right, standing with Balto (detail from a larger picture):



4. Fox, standing behind Balto, in harness, just after the serum run:



BLACKIE & HIS TEAM
Blackie was the lead dog for "Wild Bill" Shannon. The first musher, who picked up the serum from the Nenana train station, and started the run. Shannon's team was nine dogs strong...most of them rather inexperienced. Shannon, on the other hand, was a hard-bitten, experienced driver. Lanky and fair-haired, the book The Cruelest Miles refers to him as a "jack of all trades". Like so many other men in the Alaskan territory, he mastered quite a few of them too (out of necessity). He was a mail driver, miner, trapper and a fearless dog sled driver, who was known to have the fastest dog team in his area. All that, combined with a hot temper, sharp wit, and willingness to take risks on the trail, probably brought about his nickname of "Wild Bill".

Blackie was a five-year old black-coated husky, with a white cross marking on his chest. Shannon had once boasted that Blackie was the grandson of a timber wolf, but it was unlikely (and historical research proves otherwise...see this topic for details as to why: http://togoseppala.proboards105.com/index.cgi?board=balto&action=display&thread=1184828140). Shannon had adopted Blackie after serving time in the army, doing some service as a blacksmith in the Alaskan interior. Over the years, Blackie had been his lead dog in mail and supply deliveries, and a companion while Shannon ran trap lines in the woods. The two had become good friends, and intimately aware of each other's strengths, weaknesses and quirks (the common bond between lead dogs and drivers, as I have said before). The eight other members of the team were all very young and inexperienced, however, and would need close monitoring by Shannon. These were Solly, Jimmy (a grandson of Blackie), Princess, Cub, Jack, Jet, Bear and Bob. All of them were Shannon's own dogs.

The details of their run are contained in The Cruelest Miles, and I will not type it all here, but suffice it to say that Blackie too demonstrated his skills and experience, and even saved the lives of the team on at least one occasion. Similarly, four of the dogs would end up suffering as the result of the hard conditions and their inexperience. Cub, Jack and Jet were left behind part of the way through Shannon's run at one of the roadhouses along the route (Johnny Campbell's roadhouse at Minto). The three dogs, and Bear, were bleeding from the mouth, and utterly exhausted. Shannon left the three, but read in Bear that he could possibly carry on a bit longer, and so would secure him in the sled basket if things got worse for the dog. After resting (and trying to dethaw from some severe frostbite), Shannon went on. On his return trip, he picked up Cub, Jack and Jet, and returned home (with all four dogs in the sled basket). Cub, Jack and Jet died shortly afterwards. No historical record exists of Bear's fate, but it is probable that he never ran again.

Such sacrifice...by dog and musher. And all of it practically forgotten...