 Speck was in the midst of a camping trip to Fort Shantok, Connecticut, when he met up with several Mohegan young men---Burrill Tantaquidgeon, Jerome Roscoe Skeesucks, and Edwin Fowler---who introduced him to Fielding.This encounter sparked a lifelong friendship with the Tantaquidgeon family.Speck interviewed Fielding, recording notes on the Mohegan language that he shared with his professor, John Dyneley Prince, who encouraged further research.