Lake Timiskaming is a long, deep widening of the Ottawa River, more than 200 metres deep in places, with New Liskeard on the Ontario side and Ville-Marie on the Quebec side. Since the 1970s people on both shores have reported a large animal in it, nicknamed the Mugwump or Old Tessie. Witnesses describe a round head, protruding eyes, a humped back and no fins, and size guesses run from the size of a person to more than 20 feet.
The first written account came in 1979, when New Liskeard mayor Jack Dent wrote in the North Bay Nugget that the name came from an old Algonquin story, and that a lake monster could be good for tourism. A local newspaper then ran with the story for several years, sometimes inventing experts to quote.
The usual explanation is a large lake sturgeon, made to look even bigger by calm water, with floating logs, otters swimming in a line and boat wakes behind other sightings.
What witnesses report
- A round, animal-like head with protruding eyes
- A dark humped back and no fins
- A shape like a person-sized or bigger sturgeon
Famous cases
- 1978A couple see it swimming
Lake Timiskaming, New Liskeard, OntarioIn 1978 a married couple said they watched the creature swimming in Lake Timiskaming. They described a humped back with no fins and put its length at no less than 15 feet.
- 1979The mayor's newspaper story
Lake Timiskaming, New Liskeard, OntarioOn April 20, 1979, New Liskeard mayor Jack Dent wrote in the North Bay Nugget that an unnamed source had told him of an old Algonquin story about a creature 'the length of four Indian braves' living in the lake. Weeks later The Temiskaming Speaker printed Chuck Coull's account of an encounter in the early 1960s, and local interest took off.
- 1982Ice fishers meet its eye
Lake Timiskaming, New Liskeard, OntarioIn 1982 two ice fishers said a black, glistening head rose in their fishing hole. It had protruding eyes, and one of them seemed to be sizing the men up.
Seen the Mugwump?
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