Originally posted by normhead Oh, well that's different.
The true northerners have killed their dogs in many different situations, including when faced with starvation. It's part of life in the north.
BTW: I checked on this diphtheria outbreak in Nome (1925-26). Help was sought by the local doctor sometime in December when he realized that: 1) at least four children had died of diphtheria; 2) all of his diphtheria serum was past expiration and therefore worthless; 3) the last ship had departed and Nome was iced in for the winter; 4) locally at least 2,000 people were at risk; 5) more extensively upwards of 10,000 people were at risk if you include the native Alaskans, whose exact numbers were uncertain; 6) the number of deaths among the "Eskimo" children was not and is not known because the people traditionally just bury dead children in the snow, or set them out on the ice, but do not report such losses. The serum run had to be made in late December-early January in the face of a blizzard, sometimes white-out conditions, with wind bringing the estimated wind chill as low as -78F (
!!!). Several of the mushers lost fingers to frostbite, one getting his dogs up after his sled tipped over, another when the serum canister fell off the sled and he had to dig into the snow with bare hands to find it. Seppala did not make the last leg into Nome, but he covered more than double the miles of any of the other mushers (261). A second serum run was made later, including an attempt to use a plane, but that failed so again the serum was delivered by dog sled. At least three, possible seven children died (inexact information but I assume these were all Europeans, and the number is uncertain because no definitive determination of the cause death was made for those who died before the doctor realized the cause).
And I remember the last idea of the man who tried
To Light a Fire to save his life, but the dog sensed that something was wrong.