More about the All Alaska Sweepstakes, the 100th running of which starts
at 10 a.m. THIS WEDNESDAY, March 26 …
- In the race’s early years (1908-1917), it was dominated by Scotty
Allan and Leonhard Seppala. Each of them won the race 3 times (Allan in
1909, 1911, 1912; Seppala in 1915, 1916, 1917), and both men were
amazing dog drivers.
- Scotty Allan’s reputation for success in the Sweepstakes led the
French army to seek his help in 1915 in the war against Germany. Allan
gathered up 400 sled dogs (including 106 from Nome & area villages) plus
harnesses, sleds and other supplies and took this “K9 Corps” to the
mountains of eastern France, where the teams hauled the wounded to field
hospitals, transported ammunition, and helped lay communication lines.
- Long after World War I put a vice on Alaska’s economy and ended the
Sweepstakes, Seppala was asked to lend his legendary dog driving skills
to the 1925 Serum Run. The original plan was for Seppala to head from
Nome to Nulato, pick up the serum from a musher who had brought it from
Nenana, and then hustle it back to Nome. Ultimately 20 dog teams
participated in the express delivery, but Seppala’s team still had the
longest leg and his trip involved crossing Norton Sound twice.
- There are 16 dog drivers, including some current day mushing heros,
entered in the All Alaska Sweepstakes race this year!
[Source for the historical info: The Cruelest Miles, by Gay & Laney
Salisbury]