TUESDAY, APRIL nth.
With half of Nome at the start
ng post and the other half anxi
ous to get there, the five entries
in the ninth annual All Alaska
Sweepstakes race to Candle and
return crossed the starting line
on their long, cold journey over
the barren wastes to Candle and
return, at nine this morning. As
the teams lined up at one minute
ntervals before Queen Mary and
ner maids of honor, the eager
crowd rushed in to close quarters,
crowding and jostling the dogs
and drivers in their anxiety to see
;he speedy animals which, for
three long days, will fly over the
frozen trail until four hundred
miles will have passed beneath
their feet and they return once
more to the haven of rest at
Nome.
For some reason, the crowd
failed to give Went to any demon
stration as the furry racers sped
out on their long journey. One en
thusiastic individual shouted
loudly as Seppala shot forward
at the flag but aside from this
there was a subdued atmosphere
and even the dogs were quiet, as
if they felt that it was, indeed, a
long, long way to Candle. Ayer
was the first to face the line and
after the usual checking and
marking at the hands of the bust
ling officials, the olive flag in the
hands of Queen Mary trembled in
the air for a moment and then fell.
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! The great race was on. Ayer
: failed to see the flag and started
slow but, at the word, the tremb
[ ing dogs leaped forward and
. sped down .the Street at a dizzy
[ pace, the eager animals fairly tear
. ing up the brittle snow.
[ Ayer was scarcely more than
[ passed from vision before Seppala
• with his handsome Siberians came
. up and a minute later he too had
; flashed across the tape Bobby
t Brown, as lean and well trained in
. appearance as his rangy animals
I followed. Delzene, with a half
I dozen men hanging on the tow
. lines to restrain the eager rushes
. of the racers, came up and. amidst
, the usual hearty chorus of “Good
bye’s” followed the others. Last
i came the browned and bearded
Norseman, Kjedsted, with his
stocky animals. A few moments
at the line and he too was gone.
All made excellent time down
the coast.
Ayer arrived at Cape Nome, 13
miles away, at 10:21. At 11:09
he reached Safety and Solomon
at 12:30. His time was II min
utes ahead of that made by Allan
last year. Brown arrived at Sol
omon at the same time as Ayer,
making the distance in 3:30. Sep
pala was next in 3:35. Delzene
took 3:40 to make the 36 mile run
and Kjegsted 3:55- Ayer stopped
four minutes at the cape and Kjeg
sted pulled up for nine minutes at
Safety. Weather reports from
along the route indicate a fair trail
all the way to Candle. Along the
coast the weather is slightly low
ering but there is little hint of a
storm. At Council it is reported
windy but with brilliant sunshine.
Reports from along the route ear
ly said that Ayer had one dog in
the sled and four loose. It is also
reported that the dog carried was
injured by striking a horse team
before he was well out of Nome.
Four of the racers have reached
Timber as we go to press; Ayer
arriving at 3:31, Brown second at
3:35, Delzene third at 3:37 and
Seppala at 3:38. Ayer’s time up
ot this point is 6:36' All are well
ahead of the time made last year
up to this point.
Later—Kjegsted arrived at
4:13
WEDNESDAY
At no time since the first rac
ing team sped over the Sweep
stakes route has a contest devel
oped a greater interest than that
which is now in progress. In
spite of adverse trail conditions
the five entries are all making ex
cellent time and the end of the
first twenty four hours found
them well up to the speed marks
of last year. At 7:32 this morn
ing, both Ayer and Delzene, on
arriving at Haven, were but thir
ty two minutes behind the twen
ty two hours mark set by Allan
in the 1915 race. The others, with
the exception of Kjegstetf, were
also close up to the mark. Seppala
arrived one mintue after the lead
•rs at 7:33 and two minutes later
Brown also landed. Brown and
Ayer arrived at Council last night
at 5143 with their dogs in good
shape and everything fine. At
5 :54 Seppela pulled in and eleven
minutes later Delzene also showed
up. Kjegsted who had fallen
slightly behind in the furious
drive to Timber, did not appear
until 6:33. Ayer stopped for eleven
minutes and again set his face
toward the north. Four minutes
later Seppala sped after the lead
er and was followed by Brown
one minute later. The stay of Del
zene was also short and three min
utes after arrival he was again
on the long trail. Between Coun
cil and Boston, Ayer gained twen
ty minutes on his nearest oppon
ents, Seppala and DelzeVie. The
time of Ayer up to this point was
two hours and nine minutes faster
than that of Allan in the race of
1915. Ayer arrived at 8:21 and
twenty minutes later Seppala and
Delzene also appeared. Brown
followed four minutes afterward
but Kjegsted did not get through
until an hour later, arriving there
at 9:45
The running time of the five
teams up to this point, 104 miles
from the starting point was as
fJllo^j: Ayer 11:21, Seppala
11:41 , Delzene 11:41, Brown,
’ 11:45, Kjegsted 12:45. Ayer,
Brown and Delzene rested but
the other two continued on. After
a stop over of six and a quarter
hours Brown again struck out at
3 a. in. Ayer waited but little
longer, hitting the trail at 3124.
Nineteen minutes later Deizene
started. _'With dogs refreshed by
jtheir rest the uistance between
Boston and lish Kiver, six miles
or so was quickly covered. Brown
arrived at 3:50, 18 hours fifty min
utes out bum Nome, hive min
utes after Brown passed, Seppala
who had rested there for slightly
over six hours again struck out.
Ayer passed the station at 4:06
and Dclzene at 4:16, Kjedsted
who had also rested at this point,
departed after the leaders at 4:40
Although the leaders had depart
ed from Fish Kiver at separated
intervals they arrived at Flaven
140 miles from Nome within three
minutes of each other. Ayer and
Dclzene by a hard drive had over
come the start of Brown and land
ed at 7:32 a. m., 22:32 minutes
out from Nome. One minute
later Seppala appeared and two
minutes later Brown arrived. De
spite the unfavorable trail con
ditions all four were within thirty
five minutes of the best time last
year.
The going had been hard and
Ayer, Brown and Delzcne stopped
for periods ranging from forty
minutes to over an hour, but Sep
pala passed on after a stop of ten
minutes. Brown started again at
8:17 and wa* followed by Ayer at
8:46 and Dclzene at 8:50. Kjed
sted arrived after the others had
left, at 9:01. Ayer and Brown
both speeded up and arrived in
Gold Run, thirty six miles farther
on, at 1:50, one minute behind
Seppala who had driven straight
through. Delzcne arrived eleven
minutes later. One hour and
morning. At 6:33 a. in. Candli
reported that he too had arrived
The following comparative ta
ble gives the running and-resting
time of each contestant
Seppala—Total time 33:56:10
running time 27:02; resting tim<
6:54; average., iniles per hour
7-547
Ayer—Total time 34:50:15, run
ning time 24:42: resting time
10:8; average miles per hour
8.259.
Delzene—Total time, 34:57:30;
running time, 24:16; resting time,
10:41; average miles per hour,
8.412.
Brown—Total time 35:15; run
ning time, 26:30; resting time,
8:45 ; average miles per hour, 7.79
FRIDAY
After struggling over heavy
trails throughout the day, yester
day, Seppala arrived at Timber at
9:13 this morning on what may
he termed the last stage of the
long 408 mile journey to Candle
and return. Seventy two hours
and thirteen minutes had passed
since he started and iniles of snow
covered valley and upland lay
behind. Starting forth from Can
dle on the return journey at 6:40
a. m., after a rest of eleven hours
and forty minutes, the tough lit
tle nmsher wore down the lead of
his nearest opponent, Brown, and
finally overtook him at Gold
Run. From that time on he was
lie-/,- headed. Pausing only for
the briefest rests, he pressed
steadily onward toward Council,
where he again gave his tired ani
mals a chance to rest their weary
limbs. After leaving Brown at
Gold Run at 11:09 'le sped down
ihe white windswept trail, arriv
LEONARD SEPPALA: TWICE WINNER OF THE ALL
ALASKA SWEEPSTAKES WITH HIS FAMOUS SIBERIAN
TEAM. _
twenty minutes behind the latter
came Kjedsted at 3:21. Up to the
hour of going to press tlte teams
had all departed on the last leg of
the journey to Candle.
THURSDAY
The first half of the 1916 Sweep
takes ended at 6:56:10 last eve
ning when Seppala, winner of last
year's race, crossed the mark at
Candle 54 minutes ahead of his
nearest competitor, Fred Ayer,
Seppala’s time was 33 hours, 56
minutes, 10 seconds for the 204
mile trip Bad weather prevailed
throughout the latter stages of
the journey and the time made is
one hour, 27 minutes and ten sec
onds behind that of last year.
Fifty four minutes after Seppala
came Ayer, the man who had led
the np:e throughout the greater
portion of the distance bui who
finally fell behind on the long 64
mile stretch between Haven and
Candle. Four of Ayer’s dogs were
very tired. Seven minutes after
Ayer, Delzene came in. Accord
ing to the reports his dogs ap
peared to be in good shape though
somewhat more fatigued than the
stout little Siberians of Seppala,
which had come through in fine
condition. At 8:15 I’obby Brown
arrived, also with four very tired
animals. Kjegsted did not at
tempt to reach the half w’ay post
last night, having stopped at an
igloo eight miles from Candle
where he remained until this
mg at Haven, 36 miles nearer
home, at 4:38. After resting for
eight minutes he again pressed
forward. Boston, 104 miles from
Nome was reached at 9:32 last
evening. At 9:36 he was again
on the road, this time with Coun
cil as his stopping point. The in
tervening 19 miles were covered
at 1 :24 a m. anti the furry racers
were given a well merited rest un
til 6:48 this morning.
In the meantime the others,
with the exception of Brown, who
had withdrawn after leaving Gold
Run, were not idle. - They too,
were wearing down weary miles
some distance behind the leader.
After resting at Candle for twelve
hours and forty minutes, Ayer
started on the return trip at 8:05
a, m yesterday morning and was
followed 3 minutes later by Del
zene. Both# arrived at Gold Run
at 11 138. Delzene pulled out
again at 12:26 with Ayer follow
ing four minutes later. At
Haven they were still together,
Delzene arriving at 5:02, three
minutes in advance of Ayer,
Meanwhile Kjegsted had pulled
out from Candle at 12 sharp and
reached Gold Run at 4:50, At
5 :32 he again hit the trail, arriv
ing at Haven at 12:20 last night.
Delzene and Ayer stopped for a
few minutes at Haven and then
sped on. to Boston, arriving there
at n: to and 11:20 respectively.
Delzene departed at 4:06 and
Ayer at 4:20. Dezene arrived at
Council at 7:19 and passed on.
. He was then 32 minutes behind
■ beppala who had departed at 6:47
■ Aver reached Council at 8:01
Ayer remained at Council but
, 13 minutes, departing at 8:14
• on the road to Timber. Delzene
arrived at Timber at 9:42, twenty
nine minutes after Seppala passed
through. Ayer reached the same
point at 10:38, one hour and twen
tv five minutes behind the leader.
I he total time of the teams up
to this point were: Seppala 72:13,
Delzene 72:42; Ayer 73:38.
Seppala covered the 31 miles
between Timber and Solomon in
rapid time and landed in the coast
town at 1 :25 p. m. with his dogs
in fair shape for the last thirty
six miles to Nome. Reports from
'olomon at that time said that he
had one dog on the sled and two
were limping slightly. He did
not stop.
Delzene remained at Timber
'.wenty five minutes before again
passing on. Ayer departed from
Timber at 10:55.
Delzene arrived at Solomon at
2:04, thirty-nine minutes after
Seppala ami was followed by Ayer
at 2:59. At 3:15 Seppala arrived
at Safety, 22 miles from Nome.
Latest reports state Kjegsted ar
rived at Boston at 12:52 and de
parted at 1:32. Seppala was re
ported to have passed Safety with
8ATURDAT
The great Sweepstakes is over.
In a driving finish that for speed
astonished even the oldest dog
fans, Leonard Seppala, winner of
the 1915 race and hero of many
a trail exploit that will live in dog
racing history, crossed the tape
at 5:38:05 last evening winner of
one of the closest and most inter
esting contests ever held over the
408 mile course to Candle and re
11. His time for the round trip
was 80 hours, 38 minutes and 05
seconds. This was slightly more
than the time made by the hardy
iittle musher last year, at which
time he run the course in 78:44:57.
Trail conditions were different
this year, however. In the north
the storm king raged along the
> aowv path and the racers were
. impelled to battle their way
through one of the worst storms
1'f the winter along many miles
of the course. This was not ap
parent to the tense and anxious
crowds standing in eager antici
pation before the bulletin boards
at Nome. The mere report “blow
ing at C andle’ gave no hint of
what those hardy men were facing
in their heroic struggle over the
northern uplands. Words cannot
adequately tell of the howling
wind, the whirling snows, the
stinging frosts that beset the
hardy quintet fighting their way
tiling the barren trail.
Only those who have know the
inr; of the northern blizzard can
guess the things that they endur
ed as they forced their way for
ward or realize the heroism of
their task. Seppala’s reference to
it was contained in the casual
remark that it was blowing pret
ty bad and he could scarcely see
the length of his dog team. That
was all. Considering the nature
of the difficulties encountered by
the racers, the tim*:- Though
slower than last year ud hours
behind the famous record of John
Johnson, is truly remarkable.
Most remark- Lie of all, however,
is the time made by the winner
in coming from Council to Nome.
Throughout the long 85 mile jour
ney, the longest miles of all, he
averaged considerably over seven
miles per hour. Coming along
the coast, he astonished the
watchers at Nome by continually
arming at the reporting stations
far ahead of the expected time
After passing Solomon, 36 miles
from the finish, he made no stop
until he had crossed the line in
front of the green and gold dec
orated grand stand from whicTi he
had departed over eighty hours
before. Safety passed at 3:15,
the tough little Siberians wore
dow n the miles with amazing
strength and speed. The nine
miles between Safety and Cape
Nome were passed in fifty min
utes and he was reported passing
the station at 4:05. At 5:14 the
telephone announced from Fort
Davis, 3 1 2 miles from Nome,
that the hero had passed the last
signal station on his course and
(Coatiaua* oa Pi«* Two.)
* * 1 ' ‘' . .4