Indian Maiden of Lake Waha
Ten miles south of Lewiston, Idaho lays the beautiful shores of Lake Waha. Now a poplar fishing spot, Lake Waha holds a special significance to the local Nex Perce tribe, who once used it as the setting of 'spirit quests' for their young men. But this isolated lake holds a more ominous secret; the ghost of the Indian Maiden, who walks the lake's shores.
According to legend a young woman went out to forage for food with her baby strapped to a cradleboard, as was customary. She dug for roots along the shores of Lake Waha, and as the day became hot she stopped to rest and refresh herself and her child in the cool waters of the lake. That was the last the woman was heard from.
The next day her family searched the lake shore for her, but all they found was the cradleboard, now empty, and the woman's buckskin dress. Afraid a creature in the lake had seized her, they kept away from the waters.
Earlier, the lake had taken another victim. Legend says a Nez Perce man was out hunting, and managed to wound a buck along the shore of the lake, but did not kill it. The buck fled, running out into the shallow waters of the lake to wait him out. The man took off his moccasins and began to wade in after the deer, but soon he felt something pulling on the hem of his trousers. When he looked down, something like a large red crawfish was pulling at his pants, and more were coming.
He ran out of the water and grabbed his clothes, moving out of range of the shore before turning to see whether the deer was still waiting. Where the buck had been was only a foaming whirlpool with bits of fur floating in it. As he watched the whirlpool and the fur spread, until he ran from the site. This was the first time the people became afraid of Lake Waha.
The young Nez Perce woman (but never her baby) were long seen along the shores of the lake, and are still reported modernly. It is rumored that as you approach you can often see her sitting or strolling along the shore, and upon finding herself observed the woman runs into the water, where she disappears in a whirlpool, much like the deer ages before.
According to legend a young woman went out to forage for food with her baby strapped to a cradleboard, as was customary. She dug for roots along the shores of Lake Waha, and as the day became hot she stopped to rest and refresh herself and her child in the cool waters of the lake. That was the last the woman was heard from.
The next day her family searched the lake shore for her, but all they found was the cradleboard, now empty, and the woman's buckskin dress. Afraid a creature in the lake had seized her, they kept away from the waters.
Earlier, the lake had taken another victim. Legend says a Nez Perce man was out hunting, and managed to wound a buck along the shore of the lake, but did not kill it. The buck fled, running out into the shallow waters of the lake to wait him out. The man took off his moccasins and began to wade in after the deer, but soon he felt something pulling on the hem of his trousers. When he looked down, something like a large red crawfish was pulling at his pants, and more were coming.
He ran out of the water and grabbed his clothes, moving out of range of the shore before turning to see whether the deer was still waiting. Where the buck had been was only a foaming whirlpool with bits of fur floating in it. As he watched the whirlpool and the fur spread, until he ran from the site. This was the first time the people became afraid of Lake Waha.
The young Nez Perce woman (but never her baby) were long seen along the shores of the lake, and are still reported modernly. It is rumored that as you approach you can often see her sitting or strolling along the shore, and upon finding herself observed the woman runs into the water, where she disappears in a whirlpool, much like the deer ages before.
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