Background
Leonhard Seppala was born in the village of Skibotn in Storfjord municipality, Troms county, Norway. He was the oldest-born child of father Isak Isaksson Seppälä (of Swedish descent) and Anne Henriksdatter (of Norwegian Kven descent). When Seppala was two years old, his family moved within Troms county to nearby Skjervøy municipality on the island of Skjervøya. While in Skjervøy, his father worked as a blacksmith and fisherman, building up a relatively large estate. Seppala initially followed in his father's footsteps as both a blacksmith and a fisherman. However, he emigrated to Alaska during the Nome gold rush of 1900. His friend Jafet Lindeberg had returned from Alaska and convinced Seppala to come work for his mining company in Nome.
During his first winter in Alaska, Seppala became a dogsled driver for Lindeberg's company. He enjoyed the task from first run, which he recalled clearly for the rest of his life. He expressed pleasure in the rhythmic patter of the dogs' feet and the feeling of the sled gliding along the snow. While most drivers considered 30 miles (48 km) a long run, Seppala traveled between 50 miles (80 km) and 100 miles (160 km) most days. This also meant he worked as long as 12 hours a day. He kept his dogs in form during the summer by having them pull a cart on wheels instead of a sled. It was unusual then to keep sled dogs working when the snow thawed, or to spend as much time with them as he did.
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