The legend of Pepie
Lake Pepin is the largest lake on the Mississippi River, over two miles wide and 22 miles long. It forms the natural border between Minnesota and Wisconsin and is located about 60 miles south of the Twin Cities. Surrounded by scenic bluffs and quaint villages, Lake Pepin is widely described as one of the most scenic spots in North America!
The native Dakota people that lived in the area refused to travel on Lake Pepin in bark canoes because of the large “creatures” that would rise from the depths of the Lake and puncture the thin bark skin of those canoes. They would only travel on Lake Pepin in more stout dugout canoes that were made by hollowing out a large log.
On April 28, 1871 “a lake monster is seen swimming in Lake Pepin” (Minnesota Almanac, published by the MN Historical Society). Since then, many people have reported sightings of an unidentified creature surfacing from the depths of Lake Pepin. The locals have given this shy and elusive creature a name; Pepie.
Over the years the question persist, what is Pepie? Because Lake Pepin is almost identical in size and geography to Scotland’s Loch Ness (which is 23 miles long and 1.5 miles wide), many people feel that Pepie is a relative of the famous Loch Ness creature dubbed Nessie.
Still others feel that the sightings might be surfacing schools of the huge game fish that are so abundant in the Lake.
Last I heard the reward was $30k!!