1969

What has three eyes, three ears, one big fin half way down its back, two legs, one big tooth in front, is silvery-green in color and stretches for 24 feet? Well, in 1969,the people of Cobden, 60 miles northwest of Ottawa, dont know either, but they claim it exists and theyve named it Hapyxelor, the monster of Muskrat Lake. And by the way, in case you were wondering, it eats fish and is considered friendly. Long considered a local leg end, Hapyxelor showed up in a recent report by a firm of consulting engineers working on a development plan for the Muskrat River.

The report mentions the recurring story” of sightings of a reptile or monster somewhat larger than a canoe which has never been identified. A previous reference to the monster was made by Indians during the 16th century in stories told about the “strange thing which roamed the waters of Muskrat Lake. Dick Heyda, owner and operator of Champlain Storyland at Renfrew, near Cobden, did some research on the monster and created a 28-foot plastic model. Mr. Heyda read about the consulting company report and after searching around got his description from Cobden fisherman and trapper Donald Humphries. Mr. Humphries, an ardent outdoorsman, had spent a lot of time on Muskrat Lake and the model was constructed from what he said he saw there one evening last year.

He told me he saw something like an eye emerge from the water and it seemed to rotate, Mr. Heyda said. A little later an enormous beak came out of the water and then the whole body. – He said it was about 24 feet long, had three eyes, three ears, one big fin half way down its back, two legs, a big tooth in the front and was silvery-green in color. The monster had a quick snack of cattails and then, after hearing Mr. Humphries sneeze, perked up two of its ears end slithered back into the lake.

1969

Westmeath Township’s Muskrat Lake monster metaphorically reared its ugly head from the surface of the 10-mile-Iong lake again last week when a boat was unexplainably upset during dead calm. At long intervals, over period of many years sightings of Mussy the Muskrat Lake monster have been reported by residents of Westmeath Township, which has been “dry” since prohibition days. Last week’s phenomenon was witnessed by foreign observers in the persons of James ‘Shear, of Leavenworth, Kansas, and Russell Rauch and Earl Andrews, both of Slatington, Pennsylvania.

Shear was bound for Eckford’s Bay when, for no apparent reason, his small boat capsized. He was rescued by Rauch and Andrews. They told their story to Mrs. Elsie McBride, a long-time resident of Muskrat Lake’s south shore. This was no illusion,” said Mrs. McBride. “Can an illusion spout Water in the air? She said something in the lake “blew off steam.” As recently as last week, it was speculated by Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Wilson, of RR 3, Cobden that “a long, deep ripple they saw near the middle of the lake was Mussy’s wake. Variably estimated at lengths up to 16 feet, she has been said to have an alligator head and upside-down legs like those of a cricket or grasshopper. A fact-finding group from Carleton University’s geography department, having read early reports of monster sightings at Muskrat Lake, noted in its report to Renfrew County Council in 1968 that the lake, though only half as large, was the same shape as Scotland’s largest body of fresh water, famed as the home of Nessle the Loch Ness monster.

1976

Mussy the Muskrat Lake monster may not have the international reputation of Nessy of Loch Ness but here’s a sea serpent with a history or at least a legend dating back more than 350 years. Since first described in Champlain by Indians, Mussy is said to have been sighted at least five times on this 10-mile-long lake about 75 miles west of Ottawa “Alligator head” and “grasshopper-like legs” are the terms most often used to describe the monster which is said to be about 20 feet long.

Until recently Mussy was heard from infrequently on the surface of Muskrat Lake. But in 1941 a man reported seeing “an object as large as the average horse” while fishing. The presence of such a creature in a lake so far from the ocean does not surprise some people at all.

Muskrat Lake was once part of the Champlain Sea a body of salt water that covered the Great Lakes and connected with the Atlantic Ocean. It receded about over 10,000 years ago leaving behind Muskrat Lake and whatever had been living in it. Though tiny in comparison the lake is 240 feet deep in parts. Rumor also has it that Mussy is amphibious. Don Humphries a nearby resident said he was paddling his canoe on a clear spring night in 1968 when he spotted the monster on shore.“It was out of the water scratching in the cat-tails with its snout apparently eating them”. But he said he startled it and it “quietly slid back into the Water without even a splash”.

1976

The legend of the mysterious monster of Muskrat Lake took another twist Monday with a report of “a green fin of some sort” cutting the lake’s surface and staying in view for about five minutes. The 10-mile-Iong lake has long been reputed to be the home of a local version of the Loch Ness monster. But Allan Childerhose doesn’t know exactly what he saw. The 16-year-old and his friend, John Hoad, 17, both from the Cobdon area, were on the shore of the lake about 8:30 p.m. Monday.

“We were playing catch with a basketball,” said Allan in a telephone interview. “I was in the water and he (John) was on shore. He heard a splashing sound, there was splashing like a boat . . . Hey, look at that out there.’ he said.” Allan turned to see an object moving along the water about half a mile from shore, causing ripples and the splashing sound.

Trailing about 30 feet behind and cutting the surface was the “a fin of some sort.” The two boys watched for about five minutes while it continued to move down the lake towards Cobden, on the opposite shore. The fin dipped up and down in the water. The sight left Allan Childerhose unnerved. “I felt a little weird … a strange feeling. I didn’t know what to make of it because it couldn’t be a boat,” he said several hours later. His father said the boy was still shaken by the sighting.

The fin moved down the lake about 400 yards and then, said Allan, sank out of sight near the outer limits of Cobden. The boy said it could not have been a scuba diver because of its shape and size. The two boys talked immediately to several nearby campers who said they saw “a strange wave” but nothing more definite. “They said they saw something moving out in the water.” Frank Stark and his wife Betty of Innswood Drive, Ottawa, also saw something in the water described by Mr. Stark as “two bumps with a space between them”.

It was moving in a southeasterly direction with no discern-able color, he said in an interview today. “The wife said it sounded like rowing or splashing. like someone swimming the butterfly.” He said the object was in sight for two or three minutes and then “it just disappeared.” There have been several sightings over the years of various phenomena in the lake, many of which have included detailed descriptions of a large aquatic animal. The creature, affectionately dubbed “Nussy” has never been photographed, but is said to dwell in the depths of the lake which reaches depths of 20 feet in wme places.

Muskrat Lake is located in the Whitewater Region of Renfrew County, in Ontario, Canada.

Samuel de Champlain 1613 Expedition

The Muskrat Lake region was originally inhabited by the Algonquin people. The first European explorer to discover Muskrat Lake and its surrounding area was Samuel de Champlain on June 7, 1613. At the time, Champlain was exploring the possibility of an alternative route to the Northern Sea (Hudson Bay) that would bypass the treacherous rapids along the Ottawa River. During his expedition in 1613, Champlain came upon a group of Algonquins led by Nibachis, close to the shores of a lake that Champlain named Lac De Nibachis (now modern day Muskrat Lake). After supplying Champlain with guides, Nibachis sent Champlain and his men seven leagues down the lake by canoe. According to Champlain’s records, the adventurers then portaged one league to modern day Lower Allumette Lake to meet with Chief Tessoὒat on what historians conclude to be Morrison Island. – Wikipedia

The Astrolabe

During his 1613 expedition from the Ottawa River to the North Sea, Champlain lost his astrolabe. More than 200 years later in 1867, the astrolabe was discovered by a 15-year-old boy named Edward G. Lee who was helping his father clear land on lot 13, concession 2, Ross Township. Currently, a local resort called Logos Land, just east of Cobden, is situated on part of this land. In 1943, the astrolabe was acquired by the New York Historian Society and later returned to Canada when purchased by the Canadian Government in 1989 for $250,000. The astrolabe is currently displayed at the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa. A stone monument commemorating the discovery was erected near Logos Land in 1952 – Wikipedia

What kind of fish are in Muskrat Lake?

The lake itself is known for its large array of fresh water fish species, such as lake sturgeon, walleye, lake trout, pike, bass, catfish and longnose gar.

Currently, Muskrat Lake is approximately 16km (9.9 mi) in length with an average depth of 17.9m (59ft). The deepest point on the lake is 64m (210ft) and is located just off McNaughton Bay

Mussie is a Plesiosaur-like creature living in Muskrat Lake in Ontario Canada. Mussie is described as a living Plesiosaur with a large body, a long neck, and large flippers which help it move through the water. In some depictions Mussie has been made to look like a walrus or a sturgeon and sometime even a three eyed Plesiosaur. The first written account of Mussie dates back to 1916 but some locals believe that Samuel De Champlain encountered it on his travels. In 1990 a tourist group offered a $1 million dollar reward to anyone who could capture Mussie alive. Click here for more.

1988

The Toronto author who spent last week searching for Mussie, the “sea monster” of Muskrat Lake, says he may end his search even though he claims to have found some evidence of a large animal. Michael Bradley, who plans to write a book about the hunt, says he made three “unusual” sonar contacts with large animals and may have actually seen Mussie break the surface. But local doubters have left him discouraged about the hunt, he says, and he may not continue his search next spring. “I don’t want to do any more with this. Bradley says the animal he saw was about 200 metres away from his boat at the deep, northern end of the long, narrow lake. “I thought I saw a back break (Citizen illustration) the surface twice,” he says, adding, “I don’t know yet if I have pictures.” He describes a two-metre, dull red animal that moved back into the water too fast for his photog may end rapher to focus.

“The sighting is probably worthless, but the sonar contacts are something else.” Bradley originally planned to trap the creature in August, but changed his plans to a photographic expedition when he decided the animal was probably a type of primitive, landlocked walrus that could drown if trapped. Bradley’s photographer, Carolyn Gray, took pictures of the fish finder screen when it showed any unusual sonar contact, and the author estimates the animal shown there is about four metres long. He has sent copies of the pictures to the sonar manufacturer in Oklahoma to try and verify that the image is not of a shoal of fish.

1989