In 1925, children in an Alaskan town were facing a deadly disease. Their lives depended on these dogs—and time was running out.
Learning Objective: Students will read a play to learn about a historic dogsled relay and its importance. They will also recognize how text features support and add to information in the main body text.
H1: Welcome to the small town of Nome, Alaska.
H2: We’re taking you back to 100 years ago, when Nome was one of the most isolated places you could live.
H1: Back then, no roads led to Nome. Supplies like food and medicine came by ship.
H2: But for seven months each year, the sea near Nome turned to solid ice.
H1: And the weather was too cold for airplanes. So the only way for Nome to get supplies in winter was by . . .
H2: Dogsled!
H1: Dogsledding was dangerous. Dogsled drivers, known as mushers, and their dogs often got lost in storms and froze. Some fell through the ice and drowned.
H2: The mushers’ lives depended on their dogs.
H1: When a terrible disease struck Nome in January 1925, the fate of the whole town lay in their hands . . . and paws!
ART by Viktor Miller-Gausa
Scene 1
Helen and Albert’s house, January 22, 1925
N1: A horrible illness is spreading through Nome.
N2: Two children have died, with more becoming sick.
N3: Albert lies in bed, his face hot and sweaty.
N1: His sister pats his forehead with a damp cloth.
Helen: You’ll feel better soon, Albert.
Albert: What if it’s the sickness those kids had?
Helen: Maybe it’s just a bad cold.
N2: Mama and Papa enter with Dr. Welch.
Dr. Welch: How long has Albert’s throat been sore?
Mama: Four days. And his fever won’t go down.
Dr. Welch (to Albert): Open your mouth and say “Ah.”
Albert: Ahhhhhh.
N3: Dr. Welch takes Mama and Papa aside.
Dr. Welch: Albert has diphtheria (dif-THIHR-ee-uh), I’m afraid.
Mama: Is there medicine?
Dr. Welch: I ordered antitoxin last summer, but it never came.
Papa: Can Albert get better without it?
Dr. Welch (looking grim): The sores in his throat will make it hard for him to breathe.
Mama: Oh no! How can we help him?
Dr. Welch: We need the antitoxin. I’ve told hospitals across the country we’re desperate. We could be facing an epidemic.
N1: Helen runs over.
Helen: Albert has to get better!
Dr. Welch: I’ll do everything I can for Albert and for the rest of the town.
The Granger Collection
NOME, ALASKA
The area where Nome is located has been home to Alaska Native peoples for about 10,000 years. In 1925, 455 Alaska Natives and 975 White people lived in Nome—and they worked together to get the medicine the kids needed. Most of the dogsled drivers were Alaska Natives.
An Alaska Native woman fishing through a hole in the ice, early 1900s (inset).
Scene 2
Town Hall, two days later
N2: Town leaders hold an emergency meeting.
Mark Summers: Good news! There’s antitoxin in Anchorage.
Dr. Welch: How can we get it here?
Summers: Airplane would be fastest, but the plane engines are frozen.
Dr. Welch: Then how?
Summers: We’ll put the medicine on a train to Nenana, then use a dogsled team to bring it to Nome.
Dr. Welch: But Nenana to Nome is nearly 700 miles. Taking rests along the way, a dogsled team would take three weeks to make that trip! There must be a faster way.
Summers: How about a relay of dogsled teams, handing off the medicine to each other? We’ll send teams out from Nenana and Nome, to meet in the middle so we don’t lose time.
Dr. Welch: Great idea!
Summers: Leonhard Seppala’s team is the fastest. Let’s have him do the longest stretch.
Dr. Welch: We’ll find other mushers to wait at rest stops along the trail.
Design Pics Inc/Alamy Stock Photo
The dog in front has the most important job—it leads the other dogs. That’s why it’s called the lead dog.
Every dogsled team has a musher, or driver.
A LONG HISTORY
Researchers believe that humans have been traveling by dogsled for more than 9,500 years. For centuries, dogsleds were key to survival for people living in areas like Alaska, providing a way to transport both humans and goods over long distances.
Scene 3
Leonhard Seppala’s house, later that day
N3: Summers hurries to Seppala’s home.
N1: He finds him and his wife in the yard with dozens of huskies barking loudly.
Leonhard Seppala: Dogs, quiet!
N2: He gives the dogs bowls of salmon, which they gobble happily.
Summers: Leonhard, we have an emergency. We need you to dogsled 300 miles east to Nulato.
Seppala: That’s nearly halfway to Nenana. What’s in Nulato?
Summers: The medicine that will save these sick children. Another musher will be heading west from Nenana to give it to you.
Constance: That’s a dangerous trip.
Summers: Yes, but Leonhard knows these trails best.
Seppala: Not as well as my lead dog, Togo.
N3: Seppala ruffles the fur of a black, brown, and gray husky with intelligent eyes.
Constance: I don’t like this. There’s a storm coming.
Seppala: A storm won’t stop me.
Summers: Well, don’t cross the Norton Sound—it’s not safe. Go around.
Seppala: Togo and I will check it out.
Constance: You think you’ll save time with a shortcut, Leonhard, but you could fall through the ice.
Seppala: Togo could cross an icy sea blindfolded, right, boy?
Togo: Arf! Arf!
Constance: But Leonhard—
Seppala: People are counting on me. I won’t let Nome down.
Jim McMahon/Mapman ®
RACE TO NOME
The medicine’s journey began in Anchorage, now Alaska’s biggest city. The medicine was brought by train to Nenana, then relayed by 20 dogsled teams all the way to Nome.
Scene 4
Nenana, January 27, 1925, nighttime
N1: In dim moonlight, a train chugs into Nenana.
N2: The conductor hops off with a crate wrapped in thick brown cloth.
N3: He hands the crate to a man in a heavy fur coat, musher Bill Shannon.
Train Conductor: Here’s the medicine.
Bill Shannon: Got it.
N1: Shannon ties the crate to his sled and climbs on.
Conductor: You’re leaving now? In the dark?
Shannon: Yes. The next driver is already waiting in Tolovana.
Conductor: That’s 50 miles. The trip will take two days.
Shannon: I’ll do it in one push. I can stop and rest if I need to.
N2: Shannon’s dogs pull at their harnesses, barking.
Shannon: The dogs are ready. And so am I.
N3: Shannon shouts to his pack.
Shannon: Haw!
N1: The dogsled team flies down the trail.
Scene 5
Norton Sound, January 28, 1925
Shutterstock.com
N2: Far to the west, Seppala and his dogs reach the edge of a frozen bay—the Norton Sound.
N3: The ice creaks and moans as the sea churns beneath.
N1: Seppala gets off his sled, walking to the front of the pack.
Seppala: Togo, what do you think? Should we go for the shortcut? It will save us a day.
Togo: Arf! Arf!
Seppala: OK, let’s do it.
N2: In freezing wind, they begin to cross 42 miles of ice.
N3: The dogs’ paws slip and slide.
N1: Togo veers to avoid a crack.
Seppala: Good boy!
N2: They keep going.
Piemags/WW2Archive/Alamy Stock Photo (1941); National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution (Medicine)
DANGEROUS DISEASE
Diphtheria used to be a leading cause of death for children around the world. After an antitoxin and then later a vaccine were developed, cases of the disease decreased. Today diphtheria is extremely rare in the U.S.
The dogs rushed bottles of medicine like the one shown left to Nome.
A child receiving a diphtheria vaccine in 1941 (right)
Scene 6
The Nome Hospital, January 29, 1925
N3: Twenty-seven people are sick now.
N1: A nurse feeds applesauce to Albert.
N2: He winces as he swallows.
Dr. Welch: How are you feeling, Albert?
Albert (softly): Bad.
Dr. Welch: The antitoxin should come soon.
N3: Meanwhile, Helen is home with her parents, who are hunched over a newspaper.
Papa (reading aloud): “Dogsled drivers are traveling day and night to bring the antitoxin to Nome. More teams are joining to help.”
Mama: Wonderful!
Helen (reading over Papa’s shoulder): “Now the meeting point for Seppala’s dogsled has moved closer to Nome.”
Mama: How will Seppala know that? He was told to pick up the medicine farther east.
Helen: It says the mushers will have to find each other on the trail.
Papa: Heaven help them.
Scene 7
The trail, January 31, 1925
Shutterstock.com
N1: Heading east on the snowy trail, Seppala stomps his feet on the sled to keep warm.
N2: Going west, not far away, musher Henry Ivanoff struggles to control his dogs.
N3: They smell a reindeer and veer off the trail.
Henry Ivanoff: Whoa! Whoa!
N1: Ivanoff stops the dogs . . .
N2: . . . and sees Seppala’s dogsled speeding down the trail.
N3: Ivanoff runs through deep snow, waving his arms at Seppala and shouting.
N1: But Seppala can’t hear what he’s saying.
Seppala (to himself) : Sorry, no time to stop.
N2: Seppala’s sled is whizzing past.
Ivanoff: SEPPALA! STOP!
N3: Seppala slams on the brake.
Ivanoff: I have the antitoxin!
Seppala: I thought I had 100 miles to go.
Ivanoff: They added more teams. Here, take the medicine and head back toward Nome. Other mushers are waiting.
N1: Seppala turns Togo and the other dogs around.
Seppala: Come on, Togo!
Togo: Arf!
Scene 8
Thirty miles outside Nome, February 1, 1925
N2: With the weather getting worse, Seppala hands off the antitoxin to the next team.
N3: Finally, the medicine reaches musher Gunnar Kaasen.
N1: His dogsled team is led by a big brown dog named Balto.
N2: The dogs race through the snow.
N3: But soon a blizzard roars.
N1: The trail disappears in a blur of white. Icy flakes whip Kaasen’s face.
Gunnar Kaasen (shouting): Haw!
N2: Suddenly, the wind flips the sled onto its side.
N3: The dogs whine, tangled.
N1: Kaasen fixes the sled.
Kaasen (panicked): Where’s the antitoxin?
N2: He desperately searches the snow.
Kaasen: Oh no! After all this . . .
N3: Just then, Kaasen feels the edge of the crate.
N1: Flooded with relief, he lifts it onto the sled.
Kaasen: Now it’s up to you, Balto!
Balto: Woof!
N2: Balto pulls bravely into the storm.
N3: When they reach the next rest stop, everything is dark.
Kaasen (to himself) : The next driver must be asleep. It will take too long to get his dogs ready.
N1: Kaasen looks at Balto.
Kaasen: Can you make it to Nome?
Balto: Woof! Woof!
Scene 9
Nome, February 2, 1925, early morning
N2: Just before dawn, Helen hears barking.
N3: She rushes to the window and sees Kaasen and his dogs flying by.
Helen: Mama! Papa! They’re here!
N1: Kaasen stops the sled near the hospital.
N2: He jumps down, patting Balto.
Kaasen: Good boy!
N3: Kaasen lugs the medicine inside.
Kaasen: Here you go, Doc.
Dr. Welch: You came through the storm? And the antitoxin is fine? Incredible! You did it!
Kaasen (shaking his head): The dogs did.
George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images (Leonhard Seppala); Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Balto); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)
HERO DOGS
After the medicine arrived in Nome, Gunnar Kaasen’s lead dog, Balto, was celebrated as a hero. There’s even a statue of Balto in New York City (right). But Leonhard Seppala (left, with Togo) thought that it was his lead dog, Togo, that truly deserved the glory. After all, Seppala’s team covered a much longer and more dangerous route than any other team.
Epilogue
H2: Hundreds of lives were saved because of 20 mushers and their amazing dogs.
Shannon: Going from Nenana to Nome by dogsled usually took 25 days. We did it in five and a half.
Seppala: Togo was already 12, an old dog, when he made the trip.
Kaasen: It was our toughest journey ever, but I knew Balto could do it.
H1: The truth is, Nome couldn’t have been saved without the speed and courage of these dogs.
Write Now
Imagine you are a journalist in 1925, reporting on the dogs that brought the lifesaving medicine to Nome. Write a news article explaining what made their trip dangerous and why it was important. Use details from the play and the text features.
This play was originally published in the December 2024/January 2025 issue.
Click here for great ideas for using Storyworks as a whole class, in small groups, or independently!
Click here for great ideas for using Storyworks as a whole class, in small groups, or independently!
1. Preparing to Read
Build Background, Preview Vocabulary, and Set a Purpose for Reading
Build background knowledge about Alaska and the 1925 antitoxin run to Nome by showing the Background Builder Slideshow.
Preview challenging vocabulary from the play with our Vocabulary Slideshow, then let students play our new online vocabulary game, Know the Words, located in the Resources tab. Follow up before or after reading with our Vocabulary Skill Builder. Highlighted words: antitoxin, blizzard, churns, epidemic, fate, isolated, relay, sound, stretch, veers.
Call on a volunteer to read the Up Close box on page 22.
2. Reading the Play
Assign parts and read the play aloud as a class.
Click here for great ideas for reading as a whole class, in small groups, or independently! Students can also listen to our Read-Aloud with Spencer Kayden.
Close-Reading Questions
1. In the prologue, what details do we learn about Nome, Alaska, in 1925? How are these details supported by the images at the top of page 24? (setting, text features) We learn that Nome is a small town located far from other towns. In the winter, it’s very cold there. In the left-hand image at the top of page 24, it appears that Nome is not very busy and doesn’t have paved roads. This photo supports the idea that Nome is small. In the right-hand image, we see a woman wearing many layers of clothing and fishing through a hole in the ice. This photo gives us an idea of how cold the area is during wintertime.
2. What is a relay? Why do the town leaders decide to use one to transport the medicine? (key details) A relay is a system in which something is passed along from one person to another in order to get it to a destination. The town leaders decided to use a dogsled relay to transport the medicine because the distance between Nenana and Nome is very far. It would take too long if just one dogsled team made the trip.
3. In Scene 3, read the conversation among Mark Summers, Leonhard Seppala, and Constance. What do we learn about Seppala’s character from this conversation? (character) We learn that Seppala is willing to take risks in order to save as much time, and as many lives, as he possibly can, even if it means putting himself in a dangerous situation. He takes his responsibility very seriously, and he will do whatever it takes to get the job done. Also, he has great trust in his sled dog Togo.
4. The map on page 25 shows the route on which the medicine was transported to get it to Nome. Explain how the events in Scene 4 are supported by the map. (text features) In Scene 4, we learn that a train transports the medicine from Anchorage to Nenana. This is shown on the map by a hatch-marked line between these two locations. Then the medicine is handed off to a dogsled team in Nenana. This change from train to dogsled is shown by changing the hatch-marked line to a solid red line. Finally, we learn in Scene 4 that the next driver is waiting in Tolovana. Like Nenana and the other towns along the route, Tolovana is marked on the map with a yellow circle.
5. In Scene 6, how might Albert’s family be feeling? Explain why they feel this way (inference) We can guess that Albert’s family feels nervous because the situation in Nome is getting worse; there are now 27 people who are sick and need the antitoxin. Albert is also feeling unwell and needs the antitoxin to get better. At the same time, Albert’s family learns from the newspaper that the meeting point has changed for Seppala, and he doesn’t know it. They are nervous that the dogsled teams won’t be able to find each other on the trail and bring the antitoxin safely to Nome.
6. Describe a moment in the play when the medicine could have been lost. Why might the author have included this event? (author’s purpose) In Scene 8, the medicine might have been lost when Kaasen’s dogs are tangled after the wind flips the sled. The antitoxin falls into the snow and Kaasen has a hard time finding it. The author might have included this event because it increases the drama in the play. It also shows one of the many obstacles that were overcome by the mushers and their dogs as they transported the medicine safely to Nome.
7. Based on Scenes 7 and 8, what are some of the challenges of traveling by dogsled? (key details) Some of the challenges of traveling by dogsled include that the dogs can get distracted by smelling other animals such as reindeer, their ropes can get tangled, they take a while to prepare for a ride, and big winds and blizzards can make the trip dangerous and the trail hard to see.
8. Based on the Epilogue, what is important to know about the event depicted in the play? (summarizing) The Epilogue explains that the mushers and their dogs saved hundreds of lives by delivering the antitoxin safely. They were also able to deliver this medicine in almost 20 fewer days than the trip usually takes. Nome couldn’t have been saved without the heroic efforts of the sled dogs.
Critical-Thinking Questions
9. According to the caption “Hero Dogs,” Balto received the glory for delivering the medicine to Nome. Do you think this is fair? Why or why not? (supporting an opinion) Sample answer: Yes, Balto and Kaasen pushed through a blizzard and delivered the antitoxin much sooner than expected. Or: No, delivering the antitoxin was a team effort by all the mushers and dogsled teams, who together completed a 25-day journey in just five-and-a-half days. Also, Seppala’s team, led by his dog Togo, covered a longer and more difficult route than any other team—so if anyone deserves special recognition, it was Togo and Seppala.
10. Choose one of the text features in the play. Explain how it connects to what we learn in the play and what additional information it provides. (text features) Answers will vary.
3. Skill Building and Writing
Featured Skill: Text Features
Distribute or digitally assign the Text Features Skill Builder (available on two levels), which will guide students to respond to the writing prompt on page 27.
Differentiate and Customize
To guide students in understanding where the places mentioned in the play are located—and to emphasize the great distance traveled by the dogsled teams—project the map on page 25. Pause at the beginning of each section and when a location is mentioned, ask students to indicate where (approximately) on the map the event takes place.
This play shows how animals can have jobs that help humans. Share two additional Storyworks stories from the archive that deal with this topic: “Dogs to the Rescue” and “The Pigeon Hero of World War I.” Divide students into two groups and instruct each group to read one of the texts. Afterward, have each group present what they learned.
Have the students listen to the read-aloud of the play (found online) before reading the play together as a class. The read-aloud will model fluent reading and expression.
Can't-Miss Teaching Extras
Delve into other stories about animals that saved the day with “Dogs to the Rescue” and “The Pigeon Hero of World War I.” And explore the history of the special relationship between dogs and humans in “The Amazing History of Dogs.”
Making deliveries to far-off parts of Alaska remains a challenge even today. Learn more in this fascinating article from The New York Times, “For Remote Alaskan Communities, a Lifeline Comes From the Sky.”
“The Sled Dogs of the Arctic Circle,” a compelling 7-minute video from PBS show Nature, shows viewers how the Inuits of the Arctic Circle rely on their dogs.
About 150 sled dogs helped get the lifesaving medicine from Nenana to Nome. Learn more about Togo, the lead dog for the longest part of the journey, at the National Park Service’s website. Like Balto, Togo has a statue in New York City.
Literature Connection
The Great Serum Race: Blazing the Iditarod Trail by Debbie S. Miller
Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson
Whispering Alaska by Brendan Jones
