"Wild Bill" Shannon - a prospector, freighter, trapper, brawler and former U.S. Army blacksmith - was the first musher in the relay to save Nome from the diphtheria outbreak in Nome. He was known as a “jack of all trades”. Shannon was a mail driver whom many thought had the fastest dogs in the area. He was a very skilled musher and had a very hot temper along with sharp wits and the willingness to take risks.
On January 27 at about 9:00pm he was given the 20 pound
(or 9 kg) box with the serum. Only a few people gathered to see him off on the start of the long journey. His destination was Tolovana where Edgar Kalland would take over.
By the time he left Nenana, the temperatures in Nome had dropped to 40 below zero – and it kept falling. He was going to be breaking the “rule of the 40’s” which was a rule warning against driving a dog team with temperatures lower than 40 degrees. It was a very dangerous temperature which left no room for any form of error. Any could mean even more extreme danger – or worse of all, death.
Shannon’s lead dog was a five-year-old husky named Blackie (whom you can read a little bit
here). Blackie was an extremely good sled dog. The other eight dogs on the team, however, all of which were two-year-olds, were a different story. The rest were inexperienced.
Trying to keep himself from becoming too cold, Shannon would run along side the sled as the dogs pulled the serum. He also began to pedal more and more frequently on the runners, all in an attempt to keep his blood flowing. Even with this precaution, Shannon still developed hypothermia. He even developed frostbite on parts of his face.
At 3:00am, Shannon arrived in Campbell's Roadhouse in Minto, There, he built a fire and rested for four hours before setting off again, this time without three of his dogs – Cub, Jack, and Jet – who had been injured from the cold. Later, these three dogs ended up dying from their injuries.
Shannon now had to set off with only six dogs. Finally, 16 miles later, Shannon reached the roadhouse in Tolovana, giving the serum now to Kalland.
Only a few years later, Shannon was killed by a grizzly bear.
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Resources :
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1925_serum_run_to_Nome>>>
http://www.mushhusky.com/subject-guides/11%20-%20A%20Tale%20from%20the%20Trail.pdf----
I really wish I could find more information on "Wild Bill". This alone took me about an hour and a half to shift through web-site after web-site searching for information. But I'm determined to find more one way or another!
