Meghan McCarthy - The Incredible Life of Balto

THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF

Copyright 2011 by Meghan McCarthy

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Childrens Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McCarthy, Meghan. The incredible life of Balto / Meghan McCarthy. p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-375-84460-7 (trade)
eISBN: 978-0-375-98888-2

1. Balto (Dog)Juvenile literature. 2. Sled dogsAlaskaBiographyJuvenile literature.
3. DiphtheriaAlaskaNomeJuvenile literature. I. Title.
SF428.7.M33 2011 636.73dc22 2009052707
The illustrations in this book were created using acrylic paint on gessoed paper.

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To Dad for bugging me incessantly to do a book about Balto. After many years, you finally wonso, thanks!

To my uncle Bill for dedicating so much time to this book by carving the wonderful cover and title page.

To my aunt Sheila and John for letting me use your kitchen table to paint.

To the Blue Rose Girls for your support. I dont think I could continue to make books without you guys!

To Kaila, my super assistant. I dont know how Ill function without you.

To my aunt Mary for being such a wonderful supporter of my books. Also, thank you for the entertaining dog stories. I will always think of them and laugh.

Lastly, thank you to my editor, Erin, and designer, Sarah, for not giving up on me, and to Kate, who stepped in at the last minute. Thank you to everyone at Random House for doing a wonderful job, as always.

In the remote town of Nome, Alaska, a child was sick. Dr. Curtis Welch was called to his bedside. The doctor had already seen several others sick with a deadly disease called diphtheria and had to hurry if he wanted to make them well again. But he needed medicine that he didnt havea serum. It was all the way on the other side of Alaska.

On January 20, 1925, Dr. Welch sent a telegram:
Nome calling Nome calling We have an outbreak of diphtheria No serum Urgently need help Nome calling Nome calling

A blizzard had swept through Nome, making it nearly impossible to get there. Although two enthusiastic pilots volunteered to attempt the flight, flying in freezing conditions was too dangerous. What would the townsfolk do?

Several days later, a telegram was sent back: Anchorage calling Anchorage calling 300,000 units of serum located in railway hospital here Could serum be carried to Nome by mail drivers and dog teams?

Could dogs carry medicine to save the people of Nome?

There was no other choice.

Dogs couldnt make the journey by themselves. People were needed to guide them. Those people were called mushers. The mushers and their dogs would take the medicine in a relayeach team running one part of the journey and then handing the medicine off to the next dogsled team.

Twenty teams spread along the route from Nenana (the serum had been sent there from Anchorage) and waited at their posts, ready to race to Nome.

It was fifty below zero when the journey began. Some dogs died on the way because their lungs burst from the cold.

A man named Gunnar Kaasen was chosen as the musher to run one of the last legs of the race and he picked a dog named Balto to be his leader. This was a surprising choice! Balto was inexperienced and not as fast as some of the other dogs. Nobody had ever thought he was specialuntil now.

Kaasen believed in Balto, and Balto proved him right. Balto led the team through blinding snow that pelted their faces. In some places, the snow was so deep that their thin legs hardly moved.

When Baltos team finally got to the checkpoint, the next team was fast asleep. Kaasen figured it would take too long to get them ready for the journey, so Kaasen, Balto, and the team bravely pushed on.

Exhausted and hungry, Balto used his amazing sense of smell to get back on the trail and lead his team onward. Eventually they saw the lights of Nome in the distance. They had made it! Balto delivered the medicine to Nome in record time! Fine dog, Kaasen said, and then collapsed.

Balto and his team were written about everywhere. Kids thought Balto was the greatest dog whod ever lived. He was a hero!