Free Balto and the Great Race by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel Page B

watched his little girl fight the raging fever and win. He knew what the parents inNome were going through. He had seen diphtheria beaten, and he was determined to see it beaten again.
    Seppala had already left Nome; heading east with the best of his dogs. He had left behind many of his other dogs, including a brownish black Siberian husky named Balto.
    Balto was a powerfully built, strong animal. He was very good at pulling loads on the sled. But Balto wasn’t known for his great speed. In racing, Seppala relied on his fastest huskies, the ones that consistently outran all other dogs. It was these he chose to make up his team.
    Gunnar Kaasen, on the other hand, thought much more highly of Balto. He had complete faith in the dog’s instincts and trusted him with his life. And now there were more lives on the line.
    Kaasen knew he could use Balto in his team while Seppala was away But Balto and Kaasen couldn’t help by staying in Nome. To help relay the serum, they would have to head east, where they were needed. The musher quickly volunteered to help.
    Word came back almost immediately. Kaasen, Balto, and the team would be expected in Bluff, a small mining town more than sixty miles east of Nome.
    Rumor had it that the first dog teams had already left Nenana and were making good time, but it was impossible to know for certain where they were. Once Balto’s team reached Bluff, they would be on constant alert, as the team carrying the serum would arrive there with no warning. Balto’s team would have to begin their dash to Nome with only minutes to prepare!
    Gunnar Kaasen harnessed Balto and his team to the sled as swiftly as possible. He did not put Balto in the lead position.

    When a musher found a good lead dog, he worked with him as much as possible.Kaasen knew Balto was a good dog and could pull as hard as any, but he didn’t think of him as a lead dog. For the lead position, Kaasen chose a dog who had led the team many times before.
    There are a number of qualities a dog must have to guide a sled and a team of dogs. A lead dog must know how to respond to commands and keep the team moving. He must be able to lead the team between trees and rocks without pulling the sled into them. He must be able to avoid sudden obstacles in the trail that the musher, on the back of the sled, cannot see.
    He must be able to assert himself over the other dogs in the team, so that he is followed without question. He must be able to find and stay on the trail, no matter how bad the weather. And most importantof all, a lead dog must have intuition—a natural inner knowledge of what to do. If Balto had all these skills and qualities, no one knew it—yet.
    Kaasen carried a change of clothes and several lanterns, along with food for himself and the dogs. He had made the trip to Bluff many times. However, he had never made the trip with such a sense of urgency.
    The streets of Nome were unusually quiet. Straining in their harnesses, eager to be on their way, the dogs seemed to understand that this was a special trip.
    Balto knew what was expected of him. In the past, Kaasen had sometimes noticed Balto acting with wisdom and understanding. But Balto had never seemed more aware of what was expected of him than on this day. It was as if he knew this racewould be the most important one of his life.
    As Balto and the team were preparing to leave, a special health board was appointed to help deal with the growing crisis. So far, four people had died. Three of them were children. The mayor had been told that the antitoxin serum would probably reach Nome in two weeks.
    Dr. Welch was not hopeful when he heard the news. Diphtheria was easy to catch. The doctor guessed that as many as eighty people might already have been exposed to it. The children who had been exposed were the ones most in danger. He could hardly bear to think what might happen to those eighty people in the two weeks they had to wait for the antitoxin.
    Mushers with years of