-
Balto the Dog
- University of Virginia Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
R achel Poliquin Balto the Dog B alto (ca. 1914–1933) was a black Siberian husky and the lead sled dog on the final leg of a desperate journey in the winter of 1925 to carry the diphtheria antitoxin into the icebound town of Nome, Alaska. The extraordinary 674–mile (1,085–kilometer) run—throughblizzards,acrossafrozeninlet,andintemperaturesthatdipped belowminussixtydegrees—keptthenationenthralledforfive-and-a-halfdays. Children were dying in Nome, and it would be the heroism of men and dogs that would save them. Balto was one of more than 150 dogs, and his musher, Gunnar Kaasen, was one of twenty men who relayed the serum into Nome. Another far more celebrated driver and his legendary lead dog, Togo, were perhaps the real stars of the rescue run, but by a strange twist of fate, it was Balto and Kaasen who delivered the antitoxin to Nome and garnered all the fame. Balto became a media darling and a national hero. He starred in a short movie. He posed with the actress Mary Pickford. He has a bronze statue in New York’s Central Park (fig. 1). He is the hero of more than one children’s book, including Natalie Standiford’s The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto.1 And sixty-two years after his death, he had the leading role in the 1995 Universal Pictures animated movie Balto, which creatively retells the story of the “Great Race of Mercy,” as the Nome serum run has become known. Like many heroes and celebrities, Balto was honored in life because he exuded qualities that are admired in all animals—human or otherwise. Balto was strong, brave, determined, and an incredibly capable athlete. In the 1920s, Balto the Dog | 93 no machine had yet been invented which could compete with the speed, agility , environmental awareness, and endurance of a well-trained dog team. Sled dogs have never been mere tools of winter locomotion but are partners and frequently leaders of the sled. A good lead dog with his near sixth sense for dangerously cracked ice or hidden crevasses is often the only reason a human musher and the entire team survive. A dog’s incredible sense of smell can pick up a trail several feet below new snow in whiteout conditions. Certainly Balto saved Kaasen more than once on their race to Nome. When snowdrifts forced the team off the regular route, Balto found an unfamiliar path in the pitchdarkness of a blizzard by scent and feel alone. And several hours later, when the blowing snow was so thick that Kaasen could barely even see his dogs, Balto took complete control and navigated the team across the blinding landscape .2 As the New York Times reported on 3 February 1925, Kaasen gave all credit to Balto: “He said the last leg of the relay would have been unsuccessful if Balto had not been on the team.”3 After all, it is Balto, not Kaasen, who is memorialized in bronze. Fig. 1. The statue of Balto, 1925, by Frederick Roth, in New York’s Central Park. (Copyright Uris; freely licensed via Wikimedia Commons) [54.152.5.73] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:14 GMT) 94 | rachel poliquin In death, Balto continued to be venerated. But in addition to the movies, the monuments (there are at least three Balto statues), and the press coverage , Balto was honored by a memorial which is never—or only exceptionally rarely—considered for human heroes. After his death in 1933, Balto was skinned, stuffed, and displayed at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where he remains today, 3,500 miles (5,600 kilometers) from his hometown of Nome. Although the sun has bleached Balto’s preserved hide from its original jet-black to a subdued mahogany brown, he still exudes all the qualities of a good sled dog: alert, sensitive, willing, and ready. On the one hand, Balto was preserved because he was more than “just” an animal. He was a courageous and intelligent savior, accomplishing what no human could have done alone. In extreme winter conditions, a hard divide between master and beast does not exist for sled teams. Balto was a partner with sensitivities and skills far beyond human capabilities. The mission itself is inconceivable with any other species. Bulls or rabbits, gorillas or cats would hardly have been able to partner physically and emotionally with humans to accomplish such a heroic mission. And perhaps dogs are always more than “just” animals. They are our companion...