Leatherstocking Tales
Encyclopedia
The Leatherstocking Tales is a series of novels by American
writer James Fenimore Cooper
, each featuring the main hero Natty Bumppo
, known by European settlers as "Leatherstocking," 'The Pathfinder", and "the trapper" and by the Native Americans as "Deerslayer," "La Longue Carabine" and "Hawkeye".
The "Story Dates" are derived from dates given in the tales, but do not necessarily correspond with the actual dates of the historical events described in the series. This may have been done for convenience's sake, for instance to avoid making Leatherstocking 100 years old when he traveled the Kansas
plains in The Prairie.
The Natty Bumppo character is generally believed to have been inspired, at least in part, by the real-life Daniel Boone.
of Last of the Mohicans, Hawkeye's name was changed from Bumppo to Poe. Bumppo is also featured in the comic book series Jack of Fables
, along with Slue-Foot Sue, as trackers hired to capture other "Fables". Natty Bumppo is a member of the 18th century League assembled by Gulliver
in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
alongside Dr Syn, Fanny Hill
, The Scarlet Pimpernel
and Orlando.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
, each featuring the main hero Natty Bumppo
Natty Bumppo
Nathaniel "Natty" Bumppo is the protagonist of James Fenimore Cooper's pentalogy of novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales.- Fictional biography :...
, known by European settlers as "Leatherstocking," 'The Pathfinder", and "the trapper" and by the Native Americans as "Deerslayer," "La Longue Carabine" and "Hawkeye".
Publication history
| Publication Date |
Story Dates |
Title | Subtitle |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Deerslayer The Deerslayer The Deerslayer, or The First Warpath was the last of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking tales to be written. Its 1740-1745 time period makes it the first installment chronologically and in the lifetime of the hero of the Leatherstocking tales, Natty Bumppo... |
The First War Path | ||
| The Last of the Mohicans The Last of the Mohicans The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in February 1826. It is the second book of the Leatherstocking Tales pentalogy and the best known... |
A Narrative of 1757 | ||
| The Pathfinder The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea is an historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper first published in 1840. It is the fourth novel Cooper wrote featuring Natty Bumppo, his fictitious frontier hero, and is considered as forming the third chronological episode of the Leatherstocking Tales... |
The Inland Sea | ||
| The Pioneers | The Sources of the Susquehanna; A Descriptive Tale | ||
| The Prairie The Prairie The Prairie: A Tale is a novel by James Fenimore Cooper, the third novel written by him featuring Natty Bumppo. His fictitious frontier hero Bumppo is never called by his name, but is instead referred to as "the trapper" or "the old man." Chronologically The Prairie is the fifth and final... |
A Tale |
The "Story Dates" are derived from dates given in the tales, but do not necessarily correspond with the actual dates of the historical events described in the series. This may have been done for convenience's sake, for instance to avoid making Leatherstocking 100 years old when he traveled the Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
plains in The Prairie.
The Natty Bumppo character is generally believed to have been inspired, at least in part, by the real-life Daniel Boone.
Characters
- Natty BumppoNatty BumppoNathaniel "Natty" Bumppo is the protagonist of James Fenimore Cooper's pentalogy of novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales.- Fictional biography :...
is the protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the series. Although he is the child of white parents, he grew up with Native AmericanNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s, becoming a near-fearless warrior skilled in many weapons, one of which is the long rifleLong rifleThe American longrifle , better known as the Kentucky rifle was described best by Captain John G. W. Dillin in the dedication to his seminal 1924 book, The Kentucky Rifle:...
. He respects his forest home and all its inhabitants, hunting only what he needs to survive. When it comes time to fire his trusty flintlockFlintlockFlintlock is the general term for any firearm based on the flintlock mechanism. The term may also apply to the mechanism itself. Introduced at the beginning of the 17th century, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the doglock, matchlock and wheellock...
, he lives by the rule, "One shot, one kill." He and his MohicanMohican-Native Americans:* Mahican , a Native American tribe who lived in and around the Hudson Valley* Mohegan, a functional confederation of several branches of Native Americans during the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century...
"brother" Chingachgook champion goodness by trying to stop the incessant conflict between the Mohicans and the Hurons. He is known as "Deerslayer" in The Deerslayer, "Hawkeye" and "La Longue Carabine" in The Last of the Mohicans, "Pathfinder" in The Pathfinder, "Leatherstocking" in The Pioneers, and "the trapper" in The Prairie. The novels recount significant events in Natty Bumppo's life from 1740-1806. Critic Georg LukacsGeorg LukácsGyörgy Lukács was a Hungarian Marxist philosopher and literary critic. He is a founder of the tradition of Western Marxism. He contributed the concept of reification to Marxist philosophy and theory and expanded Karl Marx's theory of class consciousness. Lukács' was also an influential literary...
identified Bumppo as similar to the middling characters of Sir Walter Scott, who, because they don't represent the extremes of society, can act as tools for social and cultural examination of historical events, without portraying the history itself. - ChingachgookChingachgookChingachgook was a fictional character in four of James Fenimore Cooper's five Leatherstocking Tales, a lone Mohican chief and companion of the series' hero Natty Bumppo. Chingachgook married Wah-ta-Wah who bore him a son Uncas, but she died young. Uncas, at his birth "last of the Mohicans" grew...
is a MohicanMohican-Native Americans:* Mahican , a Native American tribe who lived in and around the Hudson Valley* Mohegan, a functional confederation of several branches of Native Americans during the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century...
chief and companion of Bumppo. Chingachgook married Wah-ta-Wah who bore him a son UncasUncasUncas was a sachem of the Mohegan who through his alliance with the English colonists in New England against other Indian tribes made the Mohegan the leading regional Indian tribe in lower Connecticut.-Early life and family:...
, but she died young. Uncas, "last of the Mohicans," grew to manhood but was killed in a battle with renegade MaguaMaguaMagua is a fictional Huron Indian chief and the main villain in the novel The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. This historical novel is set at the time of the French and Indian War...
.
In other media
Many depictions of Natty Bumppo and his adventures appear on film. Most used one of his nicknames, most often Hawkeye. In the 1992 film versionThe Last of the Mohicans (1992 film)
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1992 historical epic film set in 1757 during the French and Indian War and produced by Morgan Creek Pictures. It was directed by Michael Mann and based on James Fenimore Cooper's novel of the same name, although it owes more to George B. Seitz's 1936 film adaptation...
of Last of the Mohicans, Hawkeye's name was changed from Bumppo to Poe. Bumppo is also featured in the comic book series Jack of Fables
Jack of Fables
Jack of Fables was a spin-off of the comic book Fables, both of which were published by DC Comics as part of that company's Vertigo imprint. It shows the adventures of Jack Horner after his exile from Fabletown. A preview of the series was shown in Fables #50, and the series itself debuted in July...
, along with Slue-Foot Sue, as trackers hired to capture other "Fables". Natty Bumppo is a member of the 18th century League assembled by Gulliver
Gulliver
Gulliver can refer to:In fiction:*Lemuel Gulliver, the main character of the story Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift*Gulliver "Gully" Foyle, the lead protagonist in the science fiction novel The Stars My Destination...
in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, publication of which began in 1999. The series spans two six-issue limited series and a graphic novel from the America's Best Comics imprint of Wildstorm/DC, and a third miniseries...
alongside Dr Syn, Fanny Hill
Fanny Hill
Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure is an erotic novel by John Cleland first published in England in 1748...
, The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution. The story is a precursor to the "disguised superhero" tales such as Zorro and Batman....
and Orlando.
Other sources
- James H. Pickering, Cooper's Otsego Heritage: The Sources of The Pioneers, 1979
- James Fenimore Cooper, The Leatherstocking Saga, edited by Allan NevinsAllan NevinsAllan Nevins was an American historian and journalist, renowned for his extensive work on the history of the Civil War and his biographies of such figures as President Grover Cleveland, Hamilton Fish, Henry Ford, and John D. Rockefeller.-Life:Born in Camp Point, Illinois, Nevins was educated at...
, Pantheon BooksPantheon BooksPantheon Books is an American imprint with editorial independence that is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.The current editor-in-chief at Pantheon Books is Dan Frank.-Overview:...
, 1954. - J.R. Moehringer, 'The Tender Bar: A memoir'. Referred to by one of the characters, Bud in this quote - "Don't think of fear as the villain. Think of fear as your guide, your pathfinder - your Natty Bumppo."
External links
- What's in a Name: Leatherstocking Region; an essay on how Natty Bumppo gave his name to a region of Upstate New York
- Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences; Mark TwainMark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's satiric essay on Cooper's prose and Natty Bumppo