Editing Balto (section)

=== The serum run ===
{{Main article|1925 serum run to Nome}}

In January 1925, doctors realized that a potentially deadly [[diphtheria]] [[epidemic]] was poised to sweep through the young people of [[Nome, Alaska]],<ref name="Juneau19250127p8">{{Cite news |date=January 27, 1925 |title=Ten Diphtheria Cases at Nome; Four Are Dead |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/juneau-empire-ten-diphtheria-cases-at-n/145556089/ |access-date=July 31, 2024 |newspaper=Juneau Empire |location=Juneau, Alaska |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=July 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240731063936/https://www.newspapers.com/article/juneau-empire-ten-diphtheria-cases-at-n/145556089/ |url-status=live }}</ref> placing the city under [[quarantine]].<ref name="Boston19250128p13">{{Cite news |date=January 28, 1925 |title=Stricken City of Nome Is Under Quarantine |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-stricken-city-of-nome/145559994/ |access-date=July 31, 2024 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=13 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=July 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240731064022/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-stricken-city-of-nome/145559994/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Dr. Curtis Welch, the primary physician in Nome, transmitted via [[Morse code]] that the town's existing [[Diphtheria antitoxin|serum]], which was over six years old, was being depleted. Additional serum was made available in [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]], but the territory's only two usable aircraft had open [[cockpit]]s and were thus grounded for the winter.<ref name="h682">{{cite web |last=Thomas Jr. |first=Robert McG. |author-link=Robert McG. Thomas Jr. |date=January 24, 1999 |title=Edgar Nollner, 94, Dies; Hero in Epidemic |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/24/nyregion/edgar-nollner-94-dies-hero-in-epidemic.html |access-date=August 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |page=41:1 |archive-date=August 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240819045537/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/24/nyregion/edgar-nollner-94-dies-hero-in-epidemic.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After considering all the alternatives, officials decided to have the serum ferried via multiple [[dog sled]] teams<ref name="Evenin19250129p1">{{Cite news |date=January 29, 1925 |title=Old Serum Is Used in Nome Epidemic: Anti-Toxin of Five Years Ago Aids in Stopping Diphtheria Sweep |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-old-serum-is-used-in-nome/145560981/ |access-date=July 31, 2024 |newspaper=Evening Star |location=Washington, D.C. |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=July 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240731063936/https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-old-serum-is-used-in-nome/145560981/ |url-status=live }}</ref> over the "[[Iditarod Trail|Seward-to-Nome Trail]]".{{r|PlainD19850127p168}} The serum was transported by train from Anchorage to [[Nenana, Alaska|Nenana]], where the first [[Mushing|musher]] embarked as part of a {{Convert|674|mi|km|adj=on}} relay.<ref name="NewsTr19250129p22">{{Cite news |date=January 29, 1925 |title=Dog Teams in Race with Death in Far North |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-tribune-dog-teams-in-race-with/145560885/ |access-date=July 31, 2024 |newspaper=The News Tribune |location=Tacoma, Washington |page=22 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=July 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240731063937/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-tribune-dog-teams-in-race-with/145560885/ |url-status=live }}</ref> More than 20 mushers took part, facing a [[blizzard]] with {{cvt|−23|F|C}} temperatures and strong winds. Originally projected to arrive in Nome by February 6,<ref name="Boston19250130p14">{{Cite news |date=January 30, 1925 |title=Twenty Pounds Will Reach Nome Feb 6 |url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-twenty-pounds-will-rea/145561354/ |access-date=July 31, 2024 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=14 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> the date was moved up several times as the teams repeatedly broke land speed records.<ref name="IdahoS19250201p1">{{Cite news |date=February 1, 1925 |title=Seppalla's Dogs, Carrying Serum, in Homestretch: Crack Dog Driver Reported Nearing Bering Sea; Expected to Reach Nome Saturday Night With Anti-Toxin |url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-idaho-statesman-seppallas-dogs-ca/145562640/ |access-date=July 31, 2024 |newspaper=The Idaho Statesman |location=Boise, Idaho |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=May 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240511014121/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-idaho-statesman-seppallas-dogs-ca/145562640/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Dayton19250131p1">{{Cite news |date=January 31, 1925 |title=Canine Teams Are Near Nome with Anti-Toxin: Seppalla, Riding Behind Picked Dogs, May Save Diphtheria Victims |url=https://newspapers.com/article/dayton-daily-news-canine-teams-are-near/145562023/ |access-date=July 31, 2024 |newspaper=Dayton Daily News |location=Dayton, Ohio |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=August 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240819045540/https://www.newspapers.com/article/dayton-daily-news-canine-teams-are-near/145562023/ |url-status=live }}</ref> News coverage of the event, in particular the hazards posed to the dogs and the leaders,{{r|Boston19250130p14}}<ref name="Juneau19250202p1">{{Cite news |date=February 2, 1925 |title=Antitoxin Dog Carriers Held Up by Storms |url=https://newspapers.com/article/juneau-empire-antitoxin-dog-carriers-he/145556708/ |access-date=July 31, 2024 |newspaper=Juneau Empire |location=Juneau, Alaska |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=July 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240731063956/https://www.newspapers.com/article/juneau-empire-antitoxin-dog-carriers-he/145556708/ |url-status=live }}</ref> was relayed worldwide; newspaper headlines read; "Relief Nears Nome!",<ref name="Seattl19250130p2">{{Cite news |date=January 30, 1925 |title=Relief Nears Nome! |url=https://newspapers.com/article/seattle-union-record-relief-nears-nome/145561452/ |access-date=July 31, 2024 |newspaper=Seattle Union Record |location=Seattle, Washington |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=International News Service}}</ref> "Dog Teams in Race with Death in Far North"{{r|NewsTr19250129p22}} and "Seppalla&nbsp;... May Save Diphtheria Victims".{{r|Dayton19250131p1}}

[[File:Gunnar Kaasen with Balto.jpg|alt=Gunnar Kaasen crouched down next to Balto, a black Siberian husky with white markings on both his chest and feet. Behind them is a brick building with a wooden door supported by wrought iron.|thumb|[[Gunnar Kaasen]] with Balto, {{Circa|February 1925}}|175x175px]]

As the serum run progressed, additional teams were recruited{{Sfn|Schilp|2019|p=66}} as Alaskan governor [[Scott Cordelle Bone]] worried about Seppala's team experiencing fatigue.{{r|v458}} Kaasen was appointed to drive a team of Seppala's dogs originally set aside for company business during the run,{{Sfn|Ungermann|1963|p=65}} with Fox chosen by Seppala as the leader.{{sfn|Salisbury|Salisbury|2003|p=187}} Kaasen, however, chose Balto to co-lead alongside Fox,{{efn|Other records claim Kaasen chose Balto "unhesitatingly" to lead his team, even allowing Balto to room with him in the [[roadhouse (premises)|roadhouse]] in Bluff while the rest of the team, including Fox, were safely lodged in the roadhouse kennel.{{Sfn|Ungermann|1963|p=138}}}} a move Seppala later disagreed with as he felt Balto was not worthy to be a lead dog.{{Sfn|Schilp|2019|p=68}} Balto had been largely untried as a sled dog prior to the run,<ref name="PlainD19850127p168">{{Cite news |date=January 27, 1985 |title=People, Etc.: Remember Balto? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-people-etc-remember/150168757/ |access-date=July 30, 2024 |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |pages=4, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-people-etc-remember/150168775/ 23]:Magazine |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=July 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240731063938/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-people-etc-remember/150168757/ |url-status=live }}</ref> but Kaasen expressed confidence in Balto's abilities and likely identified with him.{{Sfn|Ungermann|1963|pp=138, 140}} The serum package was handed to Kaasen by Charlie Olson in [[Bluff, Alaska|Bluff]]{{sfn|Thomas|Thomas|2015|page=69}} at 10:00&nbsp;p.m. on February 1.<ref name="Juneau19250203p1">{{Cite news |date=February 3, 1925 |title=Kasson [sic] Gives Credit to Dog in Nome Race |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/juneau-empire-kasson-gives-credit-to-do/145556967/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240729134500/https://www.newspapers.com/article/juneau-empire-kasson-gives-credit-to-do/145556967/ |archive-date=July 29, 2024 |access-date=July 29, 2024 |newspaper=Juneau Empire |location=Juneau, Alaska |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/juneau-empire-kasson-gives-credit-to-do/145557035/ 7] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The blizzard quickly began to bear down on the team, causing them to become lost and confused. This prompted Kaasen to move Balto to the lead, yelling at him, "Go home, Balto."{{r|PlainD19330310p9}} Balto's ability to pull heavy freight allowed him to steadily navigate the team through the storm;{{Sfn|Ungermann|1963|pp=144–145}} at one point, Balto stopped in front of a patch of ice on the Topkok River that broke underneath him, saving Kaasen's life along with the entire team.{{Sfn|Schilp|2019|p=68}}{{Sfn|Ungermann|1963|pp=145–146}}{{r|PlainD19850201p76}} Kaasen suffered frostbite after his sled flipped and the serum package fell into the snow, forcing him to search bare-handed for it.{{r|NG20200519}}{{Sfn|Schilp|2019|p=68}}{{Sfn|Ungermann|1963|p=152}}
[[File:Balto and Gunner Kaasen - February 2, 1925, Nome, Alaska.webm|thumb|273x273px|[[Newsreel]] footage from [[Gaumont (company)|Gaumont]] of Gunnar Kaasen and Balto's team arriving in Nome; this was a staged recreation filmed later in the day.]]
Kaasen and his team arrived in Point Safety ahead of schedule,{{r|PlainD19850127p168}} but found the last team of the run was not ready and the [[roadhouse (premises)|roadhouse]] they lodged in was dark.<ref name="NomeN250207p1">{{Cite news |date=February 7, 1925 |title=Nome Mushers Figure In Race Against Time |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn87062013/1925-02-07/ed-1/?sp=1&st=image&r=0.064,0.296,0.934,0.558,0 |access-date=October 26, 2024 |work=The Nome Nugget |location=Nome, Alaska |pages=1, [https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn87062013/1925-02-07/ed-1/?sp=7 7]}}</ref> Ed Rohn, the leader of this final team,<ref name="Baltim19250202p1">{{Cite news |date=February 2, 1925 |title=Relays Stationed to Meet Seppalla: Diphtheria-Stricken Nome Expects New Plans Will Bring Antitoxin Today |url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-relays-stationed-to-m/145563207/ |access-date=July 31, 2024 |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |location=Baltimore, Maryland |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=July 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240731064439/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-relays-stationed-to-m/145563207/ |url-status=live }}</ref> was asleep at the time under the impression Kaasen had been halted in nearby [[Solomon, Alaska|Solomon]],{{r|k715}} a settlement Kaasen rode past without visibly recognizing due to the poor weather.{{r|NomeN250207p1}} Kaasen decided not to wake him up and continue on, knowing it would take time for Rohn to prepare and risk putting additional dogs in harm's way.{{r|NomeN250207p1}} Despite suffering from exposure and exhaustion,{{r|PlainD19850201p76}}{{Sfn|Ungermann|1963|p=153}} Kaasen and Balto traveled the remaining {{convert|25|mi}} to Nome, and arrived at Front Street on February 2, 1925, at 5:30&nbsp;a.m.{{r|Juneau19250203p1}}{{Efn|Discrepancies exist in the exact length of the run of Kaasen's team; it has ranged from 50, 53{{sfn|Schilp|2019|p=66}} or 55 miles{{r|NG20200519}} and as many as 60 miles.{{r|PlainD19750129p20}}}} While frozen solid, all 300,000 units of the antitoxin were intact, and Kaasen handed them over to be thawed for use by midday.<ref name="PlainD19250203p1">{{Cite news |date=February 3, 1925 |title=Dogs Reach Nome, Serum is Frozen: Doctor Will Try to Thaw New Supply |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-dogs-reach-nome-serum/150657026/ |access-date=July 29, 2024 |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-dogs-reach-nome-serum/150657086/ 5] |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=July 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240729134507/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-dogs-reach-nome-serum/150657026/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Thomas|Thomas|2015|page=70}} Four of Kaasen's dogs were partially frozen when they arrived;{{r|PlainD19880319p19}} one newspaper dispatch erroneously stated Balto and the majority of the team died several days later from frozen lungs,<ref name="PlainD19250209p17">{{Cite news |date=February 9, 1925 |title=Dog Hero of Mad Race to Save Lives in Nome Dies of Frozen Lungs |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-dog-hero-of-mad-race-to/150184901/ |access-date=July 29, 2024 |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |page=17 |agency=Associated Press |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=July 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240729200412/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-dog-hero-of-mad-race-to/150184901/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and was immediately retracted shortly after publication.{{r|v458}} Seppala reached Nome two days later and praised Kaasen for having continued on through blizzard conditions.<ref name="Juneau19250205p1">{{Cite news |date=February 5, 1925 |title=Seppala Reaches Nome |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/juneau-empire-seppala-reaches-nome/145557190/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240729134507/https://www.newspapers.com/article/juneau-empire-seppala-reaches-nome/145557190/ |archive-date=July 29, 2024 |access-date=July 29, 2024 |newspaper=Juneau Empire |location=Juneau, Alaska |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Kaasen gave all credit to Balto,{{r|Juneau19250203p1}} telling a [[United Press]] reporter, "I gave Balto, my lead dog, his head and trusted to him. He never once faltered&nbsp;... [i]t was Balto who led the way, the credit is his."<ref name="Stockt19250203p1">{{Cite news |date=February 3, 1925 |title=Balto, Lead Dog, Is Hero of Dash for Nome With Antitoxin; Frozen Serum Declared Unhurt |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/stockton-evening-and-sunday-record-balt/145563981/ |access-date=July 29, 2024 |newspaper=Stockton Evening and Sunday Record |location=Stockton, California |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=United Press |archive-date=July 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240729134508/https://www.newspapers.com/article/stockton-evening-and-sunday-record-balt/145563981/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After reaching Dr. Welch's office to deliver the serum, Kaasen tended to Balto, hugging him and purportedly{{r|k715}} repeating, "Damn fine dog&nbsp;... damn fine dog."{{r|PlainD19850201p76|u870}} On the [[United States Senate chamber|U.S. Senate chamber]] floor several days later, Washington Senator [[Clarence Dill]] recognized the efforts of everyone who helped with the serum run but cited Balto in particular, saying, "[t]his black Siberian dog, through the darkness and storm, crossed this icy desert and kept the trail when no human being could possibly have found the way."<ref name="PlainD19250208p11">{{Cite news |date=February 8, 1925 |title=Pays Tribute to Heroes of North: Senator Dill Sings Praises of Dogs and Indians in Race to Nome. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-pays-tribute-to-heroes/150184851/ |access-date=July 29, 2024 |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |location=Cleveland, Ohio |page=11 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The [[H. K. Mulford Company]], one of the manufacturers of the serum units, awarded Kaasen a $1,000 prize ({{Inflation|index=US|value=1000|start_year=1925|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}) alongside inscribed medals which were given to all the mushers.{{Sfn|Ungermann|1963|p=159}}