Miniwashitu, also known as the Missouri River Monster, haunts the banks of the river as it courses through North and South Dakota. Though rarely spotted by humans, any sighting of Miniwashitu ends in tragedy. Those who Miniwashitu sees and lets escape with their life, are forever haunted by his horrible image and eventually go mad. They will writhe as though in a horrific pain, eventually seeking death to relieve them of their pain and insanity.
It is said by those who were still able to describe him, that Miniwashitu has qualities of both a serpent and a buffalo. While he has a reptillian look, he also has hooves and a red, shaggy coat of fur. Miniwashitu is a huge beast, towering over any man. Legend has it that he has only one eye, and above that piercing, evil eye, a single, sharp horn sits on his forehead. Along the spine of his back, is a bony, protruding ridge, jagged and sharp.
Stories of Miniwashitu predate European settlement in America, and stories are still told of him today. Miniwashitu travels upstream in springtime, breaking apart the ice on the Missouri River, keeping those who know of this monster far away from the dangerous banks.