William Goosak

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William Goosak (originally rather Ilya Gusak , Илья Гусак or Uiljam Gusak , Уильям Гусак) was a Russian fur traders , that of the 1908 precursor in Siberian Husky from Siberia to Alaska brought where the breeding of this sled dog race later by Leonhard Seppala was founded.

Fur trader

As a trader, Goosak transported skins over long distances. For this he used sled dogs from the Siberian region. The dogs from Goosak's dog-sled team came from different Siberian tribes that had bred dogs in north-east Siberia since ancient times as draft animals, for hunting and as herding dogs. These included, for example, the dogs of the Chukchi ( Chukotskaja Jesdowaja ), Kamchadals , the Jukagiren ( Yakutian Laika ) and Koryaks .

At the time, large, long-legged, and strong pull dogs, precursors of the Alaskan Malamute , were used in the transportation business in Alaska . In contrast, Goosak's dogs from Siberia looked petite and Goosak was smiled at and his dogs were disparagingly referred to as "rats".

Goosak first came to Alaska in 1908 at the latest. The gold rush in the area between Sitka , Nome , Klondike River , Fairbanks and Iditarod attracted seekers of fortune from all over the world and made it necessary to transport goods, materials and people with the help of sled dogs. Due to the conditions in the far north, freight transport was a problem that could only be solved by dog ​​teams during the long winters. Harsh demands were placed on these dogs. Goosak knew that dogs from the Anadyr region could run up to 9 miles an hour for 11 hours straight.

Success in the All Alaska Sweepstakes sled dog race

In 1908, the All Alaska Sweepstakes sled dog race, which had developed from smaller local races, took place in Nome for the first time . It was 408 miles (657 km) from Nome to Candle and back. Goosak also registered a team for the race in 1909. To do this, he again brought dogs from the area he knew. Goosak's dogs, led by Louis Thurstrop, took third place in this demanding race, which earned him fame. His sled dogs, small and light, had proven capable; in the later years, dogs of this type dominated the race.

The third place did not bring Goosak any financial gain. He had to sell dogs in order to travel back to Russia. From 1910 the animals sold formed the basis for the breeding of the Siberian Husky by Leonard Seppala, a gold prospector and musher from Norway .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Лорна Демидофф, Майкл Дженнингс: Герои белого безмолвия. (Russian)
  2. ^ A b Horst Rodenbeck: Sled dog races in Alaska. Lehmanns Media, 2009, ISBN 9783865413062 , p. 135.
  3. ↑ a b c d Gay and Laney Salisbury: The cruelest miles. WW Norton & Co, p. 67, ( online )
  4. ↑ a b Beverly Pisano: Siberian Huskies. TFH Publication, 1995, ISBN 0-7938-1052-3 .
  5. ^ Siberian Husky Club of America: The Siberian Husky: A Brief History of the Breed in America on shca.org
personal data
SURNAME Goosak, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian fur trader
DATE OF BIRTH 19th century
DATE OF DEATH 20th century