Last of the Mohicans

The Last of The Mohicans

Progressing Report by Madison Nef 

This report is going to be a little different than some of the other reports I have done. I am going to do this report as I read the book, describing my thoughts on the book.

The author of this book is James Fenimore Cooper. While he doesn’t go into depth about characters, he has very good dialogue. Here are the characters in the book.

Hawkeye (The Scout)

Hawkeye is a white Indian. During the book, he is referred to as “the scout” more often than he is by his true name. Though he is white, he was raised by Indians. He has learned to accept both the Indians and the British. His name means “Long Rifle”, which is suiting since he is very good with a rifle.

Uncas (The Young Indian)

Uncas is a young Indian archer who is very able with the bow and arrow. He is a Mohican Indian. He is called “the young Indian”. His character in the book was named after a well-known Mohegan sachem, or head chief. He is the son of Chingachgook, and he is the last of the Mohicans, meaning the last pure-blood Mohican born. His name means “Bounding Elk”.

Chingachgook (The Indian)

Chingachgook is the strong, brave father of Uncas. He is the last Mohican Indian chief. His name means “Big Snake”, because he can comprehend even the slightest movement very well.

Colonel Monro

Colonel Monro is a war officer for the British who is posted at Fort William Henry.  He is the father of Cora and Alice. He is the reason that the girls are traveling. He is very caring and gets worried about his girls very easily.

Duncan Heyward

Duncan is the escort to the two girls, Cora and Alice. He is very easily worried. He is known to have a strong attraction to Alice.

Alice Monro

Alice is the younger sister of Cora and the daughter of Colonel Monro. She is described as very beautiful, and more delicate than her sister. She is also more easily frightened and is very timid. She looks up to Cora a lot, at one point calling her “mother”.

Cora Monro

Cora is a dark haired, beautiful girl. She is the older sister of Alice, and the first daughter of Colonel Monro. She is more spunky and courageous than her sister, and she is like a mother figure to Alice. Magua, the enemy, has a liking for her and kidnaps her to take her for his wife. In the end, she dies with Uncas while trying to protect herself.

Magua (Sly Fox)

Magua, or Sly Fox, is the main antagonist in the book. He is a cunning former Indian who was humiliated by his tribe. He had been caught drunk, and was whipped in front of his tribe. Since it was Colonel Monro who introduced him to alcohol, he swore vengeance. However, he has a strong attraction to Cora, and kidnaps her to take for his wife. In the end, when Cora and Uncas die, it is said that they will be married in the afterlife.

The only character that I think Cooper really developed was Magua. He gave him a back-story and everything. He gave him a love interest, a good motive, and the perfect bad-guy spirit. Also, Magua is the only character in the book that I really understand. The rest of the characters are not ever developed.

Here is the plot:

The story starts out with the author describing the characters a little, mainly the sisters and Heyward. The story tells us that they are going to Fort William Henry with reinforcements because their father needs help- he asked for more troops and none are coming, and the fort might be taken over. Heyward is the girls’ escort.

However, Magua claims to know a shorter trail to the fort, and leads them away from the reinforcements and right into a trap, where they are ambushed by Huron Indians. Now, at the same time, Uncas, Hawkeye, and Chingachgook are also out in the woods, walking to the same fort to offer help. They see the other party getting ambushed, and run to help. They manage to save the troop, and offer to go with them to the fort, as they suspect that the Indians will be back with reinforcements.

As they walk through the woods, Chingachgook hears a noise and claims that it is a “four footed beast”. The “beast” turns out to be a horse and rider, whom they mistake for a foe and shoot down. The horse is killed, and the rider gets spooked. After drinking some water and regaining his senses, he introduces himself as David, a psalmist and music teacher. He admires the smart thinking of the Indians as they throw his dead horse into the river, saying that “water leaves no traces”.

David proceeds to join the group as they go forth. Soon, they come upon a waterfall with a cave behind it, and as it turns to nightfall, decide to sleep in it while the Mohican Indians stand guard. During the night, the Hurons return and capture Cora, Alice, and Heyward. They are brought to Magua, the head of the Huron tribe, and questioned. Magua proposes to Cora, but she declines and asks why he is so intent on killing her family.

Magua then goes on to say that he was introduced to “firewater” (alcohol) by Colonel Monro and that Indians are not supposed to be drunk.  He is caught misbehaving while drunk, and is humiliated in front of his former tribe by being called up in front of them and whipped harshly. He says that Indians are usually proud to show scars of war, but these marks are shameful and he must hide them under the dyed cloth of the white-faces.

The Mohicans, upon finding their company gone, run to the woods to find them being held. Uncas and Hawkeye are quick to kill 2 of the Huron tribe, and in shock, they leave their prisoners and run off. After regaining the members of their troop, they continue to Fort William Henry.

Upon arriving at Fort William Henry, they discover that Frenchman Montcalm is there giving bad news: The British will send no more reinforcements. Distraught but happy to finally see his daughters, Monro orders everyone to leave the fort. Displeased that Montcalm allows the people to walk away so freely, the Hurons massacre them as they leave and take Cora and Alice as prisoners. David, unbeknownst to the others, follows the girls and their captors.

When Colonel Monro realizes his daughters are gone, he immediately tells the Mohicans to hunt for clues to her whereabouts. When Uncas searches, he finds small and large boot prints that he says belong to Magua and Cora. He says that there is no trace of Alice. Monro insists that they search for Cora. As they move through the woods, Uncas finds a musical object, along with some more boot prints. He recognizes that David followed the Indians.

They follow the trail all the way to the outskirts of a Huron village, where they find David. He tells them that the Hurons consider him mad for all of his singing and won’t kill him. He also tells them that Alice is being held in this village, and that Cora was brought to a Lenape one. Together, they all devise a plan to save the girls.

Disguised as French medicine men, David and Heyward enter the village with intentions of saving Alice. Uncas and Hawkeye are sent off to rescue Cora, and Chingachgook stays with Monro, who, as a result of the events, is deranged. David and Heyward are barely into the village when Uncas is brought in by Indians, having been caught.

Magua comes into the village and demands that Uncas be put to death, but does not recognize Heyward in all of the chaos. Hawkeye “borrows” a bear skin from the Hurons and sneaks in with Heyward to help save Alice. They find her in a cave, wrap her in cloth and bring her out as a person that the “medicine men” have to heal.

While Heyward carries Alice off towards the Lenape village to wait for the others, David and Hawkeye, still disguised in the bearskin, sneak back in to save Uncas. The guards recognize the bearskin and let the two in. Uncas, once found, puts on the bearskin and leaves, while Hawkeye pretends to be David and starts singing. David stays behind in Uncas’ place.

Discovering David, the Hurons realize that Uncas has escaped. They find Magua, bound and gagged, in the cave. Seeing they have been deceived, the warriors become enraged and swear vengeance. Meanwhile, Magua ventures off to the Lenape village, where he demands the return of his prisoners, and warns the Lenape of Long Rifle’s reputation. A chief asks the prisoners who is the "long rifle".  Heyward, mistaking Hawkeye's wishes, claims he is the man. Hawkeye also claims the title, and the chief makes them do a shooting match, which Hawkeye wins.

Tamenund, the Lenape chief, at first grants Magua's wish to keep his prisoners, but Cora begs him to reconsider. She eventually begs him to hear from a Delaware warrior, referring to Uncas. When first taken to the tribe, Uncas offends the Delaware. They tear off his clothing and see a turtle tattoo on his chest, the symbol of his clan. Tamenund accedes to all Uncas asks and frees the prisoners, except for Cora, as she belongs to Magua. Magua reluctantly agrees to Uncas's demands but says he will keep Cora. Hawkeye had offered himself as sacrifice, but Magua refuses. Uncas and Heyward both vow to hunt down and kill Magua and rescue Cora.

According to custom, Tamenund has agreed to give Magua a three-hour head start before permitting the Delaware to pursue to try to rescue Cora. As the Delaware prepare for battle, David arrives. He said he saw Magua and Cora at the Huron village, and she was hidden in the cave where they earlier found Alice. The Mohicans go back to the village to take back Cora.

The Delaware are in three parties: one led by Hawkeye and Heyward, one by Uncas, and one by Chingachgook and Munro. They force the Huron back to their village and finally take the village over. Magua escapes with Cora and two of his warriors and Uncas, Hawkeye, and Heyward pursue them through the mountains. Cora stops on a rocky ledge, refusing to continue because she has had enough. When Uncas attacks the Huron guarding Cora, both he and she are killed. Hawkeye arrives to see Uncas and Cora die, and enraged, shoots Magua.

The book ends with the accounts about Uncas’ and Cora’s funerals. It says that Cora and Uncas will be married in the afterlife.