Samuel Balto
Encyclopedia
Samuel Johannesen Balto was a Norwegian
- Sami
explorer and adventurer. The legendary sled dog Balto
was named after Samuel Balto.
in Finnmark
county, Norway
. He had worked as a lumberjack
, as well as in reindeer herding and fishing
. Balto was recruited by Fridtjof Nansen
for Nansen's Trans-Greenland Expedition in 1888. Balto participated in the first recorded crossing of the interior of Greenland, together with Nansen and four other expedition members of the Jason (Ship)
.
In 1898, Balto emigrated to the United States
, and eventually became a gold miner at Nome, Alaska
during the Klondike Gold Rush
. Samuel Balto stakes three claims at a site called Balto Creek. In 1900, he led a large group of Sami hired as reindeer
herdsmen during the Manitoba Expedition in Alaska
. Samuel Balto, together with 113 other people from Finnmark were hired by Sheldon Jackson
to be involved in the introduction of reindeer
in Alaska
. Jackson promoted a plan to import reindeer from Russia
to introduce reindeer husbandry to the Inupiaq as a solution to their loss of subsistence resources. Emigrants were responsible for transporting goods and mail from Nome to gold mining workers up the Yukon River
valley in the central parts of Alaska. Samuel Balto signed a two year contract as a reindeer herder.
The sled dog
Balto
, who became famous during the 1925 serum run to Nome
, which transported diphtheria
medication across the U.S. territory of Alaska
to combat an epidemic
, was named after Samuel Balto.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
- Sami
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
explorer and adventurer. The legendary sled dog Balto
Balto
Balto was a Siberian Husky sled dog who led his team on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which diphtheria antitoxin was transported from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nenana, Alaska, by train and then to Nome by dog sled to combat an outbreak of the disease. The run is commemorated by the...
was named after Samuel Balto.
Biography
Samuel Johannesen Balto was born in KarasjokKarasjok
Kárášjohka or is a village and municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Karasjok.-Name:Karasjok is a Norwegianized form of the Sámi name Kárášjohka...
in Finnmark
Finnmark
or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...
county, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. He had worked as a lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
, as well as in reindeer herding and fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
. Balto was recruited by Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...
for Nansen's Trans-Greenland Expedition in 1888. Balto participated in the first recorded crossing of the interior of Greenland, together with Nansen and four other expedition members of the Jason (Ship)
Jason (Ship)
Jason was a Norwegian whaling vessel laid down in 1881 in Rødsverven, Norway, the same shipyard which later built Ernest Shackleton's ship the Endurance...
.
In 1898, Balto emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and eventually became a gold miner at Nome, Alaska
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
during the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
. Samuel Balto stakes three claims at a site called Balto Creek. In 1900, he led a large group of Sami hired as reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
herdsmen during the Manitoba Expedition in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. Samuel Balto, together with 113 other people from Finnmark were hired by Sheldon Jackson
Sheldon Jackson
Sheldon Jackson was a Presbyterian missionary who also became a political leader. During this career he travelled about 1 million miles and established over 100 missions and churches in the Western United States. He is best remembered for his extensive work during the final quarter of the 19th...
to be involved in the introduction of reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. Jackson promoted a plan to import reindeer from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
to introduce reindeer husbandry to the Inupiaq as a solution to their loss of subsistence resources. Emigrants were responsible for transporting goods and mail from Nome to gold mining workers up the Yukon River
Yukon River
The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...
valley in the central parts of Alaska. Samuel Balto signed a two year contract as a reindeer herder.
The sled dog
Sled dog
Sled dogs, known also as sleigh man dogs, sledge dogs, or sleddogs, are highly trained types of dogs that are used to pull a dog sled, a wheel-less vehicle on runners also called a sled or sleigh, over snow or ice, by means of harnesses and lines.Sled dogs have become a popular winter recreation...
Balto
Balto
Balto was a Siberian Husky sled dog who led his team on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which diphtheria antitoxin was transported from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nenana, Alaska, by train and then to Nome by dog sled to combat an outbreak of the disease. The run is commemorated by the...
, who became famous during the 1925 serum run to Nome
1925 serum run to Nome
During the 1925 serum run to Nome, also known as the "Great Race of Mercy," 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs relayed diphtheria antitoxin by dog sled across the U.S. territory of Alaska in a record-breaking five and a half days, saving the small city of Nome and the surrounding communities from...
, which transported diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
medication across the U.S. territory of Alaska
Alaska Territory
The Territory of Alaska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 24, 1912, until January 3, 1959, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alaska...
to combat an epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
, was named after Samuel Balto.
Other sources
- Jackson, Sheldon Alaska and Missions on the north Pacific Coast (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. 1880)
- Nansen, Fridtjof (tr. H.M. Gepp) The First Crossing of Greenland (London: Longmans, Green and Co. 1890)
- Salisbury, Gay; Laney Salisbury The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race against an Epidemic (New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2003) ISBN 0-393-01962-4.
