Seppala: Alaskan Dog Driver

Book Synopsis: The Incredible True Account of Leonhard Seppala and Togo's Life of Adventure in Alaska and the Far North.
Leonhard Seppala, a legend throughout Alaska, got his introduction to the dogsled as a musher for the Pioneer Mining Company during his first winter there. Where he was presented with his first team—a batch of puppies brought back from Siberia for use on an expedition to the North Pole by the arctic explorer Roald Amundsen and presented to Seppala when Amundsen canceled the expedition. It was with this pack of Siberian huskies led by Suggen that Seppala made history in the All-Alaska Sweepstakes race.
This was the golden age of the dogsled, and the All-Alaska Sweepstakes was the first notable race of its kind. A precursor to the Iditarod, the sweepstakes was a run from Nome to Candle, Alaska; then back to Nome, a journey of 408 miles along the Bering Strait.
In this no-holds-barred race Leonhard Seppala was a diamond in the rough. A diminutive in size, dominative in spirit Norwegian, he took his huskies to the finish without ever whipping them once, a concept that was unheard of in those days. With his faith in the dog’s love for running and his exceptional care and handling, Seppala went on to win the Sweepstakes three years in a row, as well as establishing the best time in the history of the race. He set a precedent that would continue to the modern age of dogsled races such as the Iditarod—a 1,049-mile race that commemorates the route of the 1925 serum run in which Seppala and his lead dog Togo played a crucial role.
During the bitter cold December of 1925, a horrific diphtheria epidemic gripped Nome. In this remote Alaskan outpost of 10,000 people, the mortality rate from the disease was predicted to be close to 100% and the only way to combat it was to receive antitoxins. If this wasn’t bad enough, the only method of transportation to Nome in the dead of winter is by dog sled, and the distance much too far for it to be done alone.
A relay of dog teams and drivers was quickly organized, and the 674-mile brutal journey to save a city was begun. From Nenana to Nome, normally a 30-day trip, the heroic mushers and dogs did it in six.
There is much to be said about the serum run and the truly exceptional dog “Togo” and his greatest and last run there. But it is best left to Seppala himself to tell the story.
Written in 1930, this biography of the exceptional man is the only first-hand account of his life.