Alaskan Sled Dog Tales: True Stories of the Steadfast Companions of the North Country

The history of Alaska would be very different without the criss-crossing trails of thousands of dog teams, for the story of the Last Frontier was in large part written behind a team of sled dogs. 'Alaskan Sled Dog Tales' shares the important history of sled dogs in the Territory of Alaska, and how dogteams were an integral part of events such as the 1925 Serum Run to Nome, explorations of the land before there were roads or railroads, and the thrilling adventures of legendary mushers such as Leonhard Seppala, Harry Karstens, Jujiro Wada, ‘Iron Man” Johnson, Arthur Treadwell Walden, the 'Malemute Kid,' and many others. Included are stories such as Alaskan mail carrier Eli Smith’s epic trip to Washington, D.C., Alaska Nellie’s daring rescue of a lost mail carrier, the Rev. Samuel Hall Young’s 1913 trip over the Iditarod Trail, and Territorial Judge James Wickersham’s 1901 dogsled trip down the frozen Yukon River from Eagle to Rampart. Dozens of old photographs and postcards showcase the history, along with the entire booklet published by Esther Birdsall Darling in 1916, titled 'The Great Dog Races of Nome.' This thin but important booklet details the first eight years of the All Alaska Sweepstakes race, from 1908 to 1916, when the great race made household names of 'Scotty' Allan and Leonhard Seppala. And the dogs! From Baldy to Balto, Togo to Wolf, Chinook to Rembrandt, these are the dogs who blazed across Alaskan trails and into the history books. From the fiercely-argued conflict between sled dogs and reindeer, to the hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold the dog teams hauled along the Iditarod Trail and others, to the one time in sports history when Alaskan sled dogs raced in the Olympics, this book captures the fascinating stories of the brave and intrepid dogs of the north.