"Brave Hearts" Print

I like cold,snow ,frost. The history of my painting is known to many. Some will call my dogs Balto, some Togo, and they will be right. These adorable, brave and kind animals personify all the prototypes of the sled dogs of the heroes that saved children from death. In the winter of 1925, a diphtheria epidemic broke out in the small town of Nome, located just south of the Arctic Circle, on the western tip of Alaska. For some reason, the anti-diphtheria serum ordered for that year was not delivered. On the evening of January 22, the city doctor of Nome, Dr. Welch, the only certified doctor for many hundreds of kilometers around, reported on the radio air about the outbreak of an epidemic and asked for urgent delivery of a saving serum to Nome. By that day, four children had already died in the city, and about forty had obvious symptoms of diphtheria. By the decision of the governor of the territory, a relay race was organized, for the participation in which the fastest teams and the best mushers - dog drivers were attracted. Almost all of them were descendants of the indigenous people of this harsh land - Indians and Eskimos - and served as postmen in the US Postal Service. In those years, this profession was one of the most respected and highly paid in Alaska, and courageous and strong-willed people worked in it.