The Bear Lake Monster is a cryptid featured in the local folklore of Bear Lake, located on the Utah–Idaho border. The myth originated from articles written in the 19th century by Joseph C. Rich, a Mormon colonizer in the area, who claimed to report second-hand accounts of sightings of the creature. It seems he may have been inspired by the tales of the Loch Ness Monster from his native Scotland, thinking that America needed its own 'Nessie.' However, he later recanted these stories. In recent years, the monster has become a tourist attraction, with the last reported sighting occurring in 2007.

Here is an intriguing account of the 'Bear Lake Monster,' published in The Logan Republican (Logan, Utah) on September 18, 1907:

**Bear Lake Monster Appears**

*Leviathan Comes from Lake and Devours Horse While Men Shoot At It*

The Bear Lake Monster, described as a combination of a dragon, bear, and fish, measures twenty feet in length and possesses the roar of a lion. It has once again stirred the residents of the surrounding mountains. According to the Republican's informant, this monster appeared at the lakefront a few nights ago and killed a horse that was tied near a campfire. The owners, Messrs. T. R. Mooney and Fred Horne, fired several shots at the peculiar-looking creature, but their efforts were ineffective.

Several years ago, this prehistoric leviathan frequently surfaced in the lake, keeping the people of the valley in a continuous state of excitement. Camping parties were scarce, and residents were afraid to sleep at night for fear of being attacked by this ferocious monster. For those who remember the excitement of those earlier days, this account will hold special interest.

BEAR LAKE, Idaho, Sept. 12, 1907

Editor, Logan Republican:

We camped on the eastern shore of Bear Lake just after sundown. After getting our horses tied to a large tree near the water’s edge and fed, we started to prepare our supper. My partner, Mr. Horne, called my attention to something out in the lake about a half mile away. As we watched, it would sink into the water for a second, then out again. The lake being perfectly calm, we couldn’t account for the strange object, but it drew nearer to us and continued to sink and disappear under the water. Had it not been for this, we would have thought it a gasoline launch or some other vessel. It was now close enough for us to see that it was some water monster. We grabbed our 30-30 rifles and each of us fired at it, but could not see that we hit him, although he turned slightly to the south. Before we had time to fire again, he turned towards us. Our horses were now terrified, and one of them broke loose. We stepped back into the trees a few feet and both fired, and my God, for the growl that beast let, then started towards us like a mad elephant. We ran up the hillside a few rods to a cliff of rocks and then began to shoot as rapidly as possible. With every shot, he seemed to get more strength and growl more devilishly. The animal was now so close to shore that we couldn’t see it for the trees. We thought of our horse that was tied to the tree, and after reloading our guns, we ran down to protect him if possible. Just as we reached our campfire, which was blazing up pretty well, we could see that ugly monster raise his front paw and strike the horse to the ground. Then he turned and began to head for the deep water. In our excitement, we began to pour lead at him again, and then with a terrific growl, made a terrible swish in the water and sprang toward us. Before we could move, he grabbed the horse with his two front paws, opened its monstrous mouth, and crashed its teeth into it like a bull terrier would a mouse. After tearing the horse badly, he made an awful howl and then was gone, plowing through the water. But the sight I’ll never forget. It seemed to be all head, two large staring eyes as large as a front wagon wheel, nose and mouth like a great, large fish. Its arms seemed to come out on either side of its head, where the ears naturally would be. The hind legs were long and bent like those of the kangaroo. Then the hind end was like the tip end of a monster fish.

We walked to a ranch up the shore, a quarter of a mile, and stayed till morning. When we went back in the morning, we found the animal had come back again in the night and carried the dead horse off. He also broke off trees four and five inches through. Also tore large holes in the beach, and its tracks were like those of a bear, but measuring three feet long and nearly two feet wide. We could not tell if our bullets would go through his hide or not, but we noticed some of them would glance off and hum like they had struck one of his teeth, which always seemed to show. As there was so much blood from the mangled horse, we could not tell whether the beast of the lake was bleeding.

Yours respectfully,

T. R. MOONEY, FRED HORNE

Then there is this account published in The Montana Post (Virginia City, Montana Territory), April 23, 1869:

Utah papers have, during the last year, broadly discussed the existence of giant amphibious monsters in Bear Lake, Utah. However, we are not aware that a definitive conclusion has yet been reached. A belief in monsters of the name character in Saguache Lake, located in the San Luis Valley, prevails among a large portion of the Mexican residents in the vicinity, and has recently extended to the Americans. It is confidently affirmed that these animals, surpassing in size the largest alligators, have been repeatedly seen and have been known to devour grown cattle that were grazing on the banks of the lake. This story is not of recent origin. Mexicans, from the earliest settlement of the valley, have roundly asserted the existence of such monsters there. As the lake is remote from the settlements, the chances of observation are rare, except by herders. They are, without exception, implicit believers in the existence of these nameless monsters. The story is a curious one. A variety of amphibious animals that were once thought to be extinct may have survived in Bear or Saguache. Without announcing our full belief in the story, we may remark its prevalence is hard to account for, unless it has some foundation in fact.

NOTE: Saguache Lake is in present-day Colorado. There are several lakes in Saguache County, but none are now referred to as Saguache Lake. BTW, there are 32 newspaper articles in the Library of Congress about the Bear Lake Monster from 1836 to 1922. Here is the Bear Lake Monster website. Here is another excellent source. Lon

Some Logan, UT businesses used the Bear Lake Monster in their advertising.