Pam Smith, age 10, of McAdenville, North Carolina, for her question:

Is there a lake Chargoegaeopnanchaug_gagoeechaubunagungamaue?

There is indeed such a lake    but once is enough to spell out its astonishing name. Its serene waters nestle in the lush Connecticut Valley of New England and the strange little lake is big enough to have several small islands. Its history is linked to the Pilgrims and the American Indians they found there.

The people who live near this lake rarely if ever use its full name. They call it Lake Chaubunagungamugg    and goodness knows even this shortened name is a lot longer than any lake deserves to have. It was found and named by the Nipmuc Indians, ages before the New World was discovered by Columbus. These Indians were thoughtful people and great lovers of nature. To them, the lovely lake was a sacred place. They believed that kindly spirits dwelt on the small islands standing out in the serene water. In the 17th century Pilgrim missionaries traveled far a field to greet the Indians. In 1674, one of them came upon the Nipmucs and became the first. white settler to report seeing their sacred lake.

To find Lake Chaubunagungamugg you would travel north from Gastonia to the Connecticut River in New England. Follow this wide, green river valley northward and step from the state borderline of Connecticut into Massachusetts. Now find the town of Webster, nestled amid miles of rich, green stretches of valley. If you hike around the countryside, you will find dozens of quiet little lakes, many of them with unpronounceable names. The lake " we want is close to Webster. In the town you can rest a while there in Beacon Park. This park marks the site of an ancient Nipmuc village.

The missionary who found the Nipmucs was John Eliot. In 1631, at the age of 27, Eliot sailed from England to become a teacher in the church at Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was soon preaching his missionary message to the Indians who lived around Boston. In 1651, he organized a whole village of Indian converts at Natick. From there he traveled farther a field, carrying his Christian message to the Indian tribes of New England. One of the last groups he met was the Nipmuc Indians of Lake Chaubunagungamugg.

The Nipmucs greeted the missionary kindly, listened and became converted to his teach¬ing. Under his direction they organized a village    on the very spot that now sleeps quietly under Beacon Park in the town of Webster. This was one of 100 villages that Eliot organized for more than 1,000 of his converts. But not all the Indians agreed with his policies. Some who had been friendly changed their minds about the white settlers. They felt that the land could never be shared fairly. One of these graves was a Wampanoag named Metacom    known to the settlers as King Philip. From a swampy hideaway in xhode Island, he quietly organized a rebellion.

The so called King Philip's War began in 1675. In that year, 52 of the 90 Pilgrim settlements were attacked and nine of these completely demolished. The peaceful villages established by Eliot fell apart and his converts scattered. Today, all evidence of the fierce fighting is buried    but not forgotten. The village of the so called Praying Nip¬muc Indians is remembered in Beacon Park and their sacred lake still bears the name they gave it    even though people use a shorter form of this name.