BACKGROUND
The resident Nipmuc, Nashoba People prospered within the safety
and confines of the Nashobah Plantation from 1654 through the next
20 years. Reference History of Littleton - 2 for
further info. However, this was not true for the other Nipmuc and
Wampanoag People. With the ever expanding settlements and
encroachment of the English on "Indian" lands, tension grew to the
point of rebellion.
Massasoit (c.1581 - 1661) the "great sachem" (chief) of the
Wampanoag Confederacy held allegiance of seven lesser Wampanoag
sachems and lived in the southeast portion of todays Massachusetts
and Rhode Island.
Upon arrival of the English Colonists and establishment of
Plymouth Plantation, Massasoit and the Wampanoags formed a friendly
but an increasingly uneasy trade relationship with the colonists.
This relationhsip continued for nearly forty years until the
cultures clashed beyond recovery.
Massasoit's 2 oldest sons, Wamsutta and Metacomet went to
Plymouth Plantation and requested English names and were given
Alexander and Philip respectively. After Massasoit's death in 1661,
Wamsutta (Alexander) became the "great sachem" or in English terms,
King Alexander. Sadly, King Alexander died under mysterious
circumstances after visiting with English colonial administrators
in Plymouth where upon Metacomet (Philip) became the "great
sachem", King Phillip.
King Philip continued the relationship with Plymouth, but with
"valuable" Wampanoag trade items becoming scarce, traditional
Wampanoag land were exchanged for iron tools and weapons. Of coarse
this further strained the relationship and as such King Phillip
began negotiation with other tribes against the interest of the
Plymouth Colony. Among the tribes forming an alliance with the
Wampanoags were the Nipmucs.
The King Philip War began and several "frontier" settlements and
families were attacked resulting in many King Philip victories.
Among these settlements were nearby Groton and Lancaster. Netus, a
Nipmuc sachem of today's Sudbury/Framingham area participated in
these battles. Of coarse all area English settlers were uneasy and
on alert.
Mary's Ordeal
One day the Shepard family living in what was then Concord
Village, now a part of Littleton also called Nashoba, was attacked.
Mary Shepard age 14 was stationed on nearby hill to watch for
Indians while her brothers Isaac and Abraham threshed grain in the
barn. Unfortunately, Netus's band snuck up on Mary from the north
and was captured. While Netus was watching over Mary, his band
killed Isaac and Abraham and burnt the barn and house.
Mary was then taken to "Nashaway" (Lancaster) having recently
been sacked by King Phillip and Netus. That evening, the ever
intrepid Mary "...in the dead of night she took a saddle from under
the head of her Indian keeper when sunk in sleep increased by the
fumes of ardent spirit (alcohol), put the saddle on a horse,
mounted on him, swam him across Nashawa river, and so escaped the
hands of her captors and arrived safe to her relatives and friends"
to relate her story.
The King Philip War concluded when Philip was ultimately killed
when tracked down by colony-allied Native Americans led by Captain
Benjamin Church and Captain Josiah Standish of the Plymouth colony
militia at Mt. Hope, Rhode Island. Philip was shot and killed by an
Indian named John Alderman on August 12, 1676. The war was nearly
over except for a few attacks in Maine that lasted until 1677.
To find the cache you must research the name of the hill Mary
was keeping watch on that fateful day. Once identified everything
will add up such that the solution to the puzzle below is
apparent:
*68250
*114952.2
Good Luck!
You can check your answers for this puzzle on
Geochecker.com.