The history of King Philip's War

[ i» ]
But the Generals great importunity again perfwaded him,
to accompany him in a long March, into the Nipmiick Country,
141 tho' he had then Tents in his Wounds, and fo Lame
as not able to Mount his Horfe without two Mens affiftance.
In this March the firft thing remarkable was, they came
to an Indian Town, 142 where there were many Wigwams
pofe that Church here refers to an expe-
dition into the Nipmuck country in
March, 1676, which no other chronicler
had noticed. As Church dictated his
narrative, the chronology was correct.
The fight was on the 19th of December.
It was probably feveral days after that
date before Church, with the wounded,
was got over to Rhode-Illand. The
Conn, forces foon went home to recruit,
but the Mafs. and Plym. troops remained
in garrifon at Wickford, and
were re-enforced from Bofton, Jan. 10.
The Conn, forces (fee Maj. Palmes's
letter, Conn. Col. Rec. ii : 402) appear
to have reached Wickford again, 27
Jan., when the whole army feems to
have ftarted for the Nipmuck country
(whither the enemy were underftood to
have fled), 1600 ftrong. This corref-
ponds, very accurately, with the
month's interval of which Church
fpeaks, if he accompanied Gov. Winflow
on this firft march, in force, from
Wickford. Hubbard's account implies
that our men ftarted from Wickford, 27
Jan. [Hubbard's Narrative, 58, 60;
Arnold's Hijl. R.-I. i : 406 ; Drake's
Church., 65.]
141 Nipmuck \_Nip>iet~] was a name
given to the petty tribes, or clans, of
inland Indians fcattered over a large
61
extent of country, in Windham and
Tolland Counties in Connecticut, Wor-
cefter and Hampden Counties in Mafia-
chufetts, and the northern part of
Rhode-Ifland ; but their principal feat
was at, or near, the great ponds in
Oxford (Webfter), Mafs. From thefe
ponds they probably derived their name
of "Pond" or " Frelh-water " (jiippe,
nip) Indians. If the two names, or
forms of the name, are not identical
in origin, Nipnct belongs to the territory,
i.e. "at the frelb-water pond";
Nipmuck, to the tribe, (iiip-amaug)
"they fiih in frelh water"; but poffibly
" a frelh water filhing-place." This
diftinguilhed them from the Shore In-
dians, and the River Indians of the
Connecticut Valley ; their neighbors on
the weft. Snipjic (corrupted from
MiJJicnipf-ci) Pond, in Ellington, Conn.,
was the bound where the country of
the Nipmucks joined that of the River
Indians on the weft, and the Mohcgan
north-weft angle.
142 Suppofed to be Pumham's town
(fee note 127, ante) in a rocky fwamp
in Warwick, R.-I., — Warwick then embracing
moft of what is now Warwick
and Coventry. The diftance is ftated
as 20 miles from Smith's. [Baylies'
Mem. Plym. Col. iii : 104.]