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Those who raced unsuccessfully against him claimed he had hyp- notic powers of control over his dogs, so unbelievable was the per- formance of the teams he drove. He settled in the United States and went into partnership with Elizabeth Ricker at her Poland Spring kennels. They bred from Seppala’s existing dogs and also imported new bloodlines from Siberia. This eventually became impossible un- der Communist rule, but Seppala had done enough to get the Siberi- an Husky established in a new home.

The Nome to Anchorage Run In 1925, there was an outbreak of diphthe- ria in Nome, and the local doctor reported that his supply of serum was running out. Serum could be provided by a hospital in Anchor- age, but how would it to get there in the depths of winter in sub-zero temperatures and winds of 80 miles an hour? It was decided to transport the serum by train as far as Nenana, leaving a journey of 674 miles to Nome. The only possible trans- port was by dog sled, and it was estimated that the journey would take a team a mini- mum of 25 days. To cut down the time, a relay system was devised, with fresh dogs and drivers waiting at roundhouses along the route. Heroic feats were performed by a num- ber of dog sled teams, including Leonhard Seppala’s team, led by 12-year-old Togo, who completed the longest leg—84 miles in one day—in the worst conditions. The final section was completed

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