Natty Bumppo
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel "Natty" Bumppo is the protagonist
of James Fenimore Cooper
's pentalogy of novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales
.
, becoming a near-fearless warrior skilled in many weapons, one of which is the long rifle
. Hawkeye (one of his many nicknames) respects his forest home and all its inhabitants, hunting only what he needs to survive. And when it comes time to fire his trusty flintlock
, he lives by the rule, "One shot, one kill." He and his Mohican
"brother" Chingachgook
champion goodness by trying to stop the incessant conflict between the Mohicans and the Hurons.
. The novels in the collection are as follows:
The tales recount significant events in Natty Bumppo's life from 1740-1806.
Song of the Mohicans, written by Paul Block in 1995, is a direct sequel to Last of the Mohicans. Taking up the story a few days after Uncas' death and burial, it recounts the adventures of Hawkeye and Chingachgook
as they travel north to discover the connection between an Oneida
brave and the Mohican tribe and whether a sachem
truly holds the key to the ultimate fate of the Mohicans.
, "Pathfinder" in The Pathfinder
, "Leatherstocking" in The Pioneers, and "the trapper" in The Prairie
.
in the 1920 film version, by Harry Carey in the 1932 film serial version
, by Randolph Scott
in the 1936 film version
, by Kenneth Ives
in the 1971 BBC serial
, by Steve Forrest in the 1977 TV movie and by Daniel Day-Lewis
in the 1992 film version
. Day-Lewis received a BAFTA Film Award nomination for Best Actor in 1993, won an Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor in 1993, and won an ALFS Award for British Actor of the Year in 1993 for his interepretation of the character. In the 1992 film however the character's name is changed from Natty Bumppo to Nathaniel Poe.
Adaptions of The Deerslayer have seen Bumppo played by Emil Mamelok in the 1920 film The Deerslayer and Chingachgook
, by Bruce Kellogg in the 1943 film, by Lex Barker
in the 1957 film, and by Steve Forrest in the 1978 TV movie.
Adaptions of The Pathfinder have seen Bumppo played by Paul Massie
in the 1973 5-part BBC mini-series and Kevin Dillon
in the 1996 TV movie.
Additionally he was portrayed by George Montgomery in the 1950 movie The Iroquois Trail, by John Hart
in the 1957 TV series Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans
, by Hellmut Lange
in the 1969 German TV series Die Lederstrumpferzählungen, by Cliff De Young in the 1984 PBS mini-series The Leatherstocking Tales (which compressed The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans and The Pathfinder into four episodes) and by Lee Horsley
in the 1994 TV series Hawkeye.
Protagonist
A 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 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...
's pentalogy of novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales
Leatherstocking Tales
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...
.
Fictional biography
Natty Bumppo, although the child of white parents, grew up with Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States
Native 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...
, becoming a near-fearless warrior skilled in many weapons, one of which is the long rifle
Long rifle
The 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:...
. Hawkeye (one of his many nicknames) respects his forest home and all its inhabitants, hunting only what he needs to survive. And when it comes time to fire his trusty flintlock
Flintlock
Flintlock 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 Mohican
Mohican
-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
Chingachgook
Chingachgook 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...
champion goodness by trying to stop the incessant conflict between the Mohicans and the Hurons.
Novels
Hawkeye is featured in a series of novels by James Fenimore Cooper collectively called the Leatherstocking TalesLeatherstocking Tales
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...
. The novels in the collection are as follows:
| 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 tales recount significant events in Natty Bumppo's life from 1740-1806.
Song of the Mohicans, written by Paul Block in 1995, is a direct sequel to Last of the Mohicans. Taking up the story a few days after Uncas' death and burial, it recounts the adventures of Hawkeye and Chingachgook
Chingachgook
Chingachgook 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...
as they travel north to discover the connection between an Oneida
Oneida tribe
The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...
brave and the Mohican tribe and whether a sachem
Sachem
A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
truly holds the key to the ultimate fate of the Mohicans.
Aliases
Before his appearance in The Deerslayer, Bumppo went by the aliases of "Straight-Tongue", "The Pigeon", and the "Lap-Ear". After buying his first rifle, he gained the name of "Deerslayer". He is subsequently known as "Hawkeye" and "La Longue Carabine" in The Last of the MohicansThe 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...
, "Pathfinder" in 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...
, "Leatherstocking" in The Pioneers, and "the trapper" in 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...
.
Portrayal
Bumppo has been portrayed most often in adaptions of The Last of the Mohicans. He was portrayed by Harry LorraineHarry Lorraine
Harry Lorraine was an English silent film actor. He appeared in 66 films between 1913 and 1930.He was born in Brighton, and died in Astoria, New York.-Selected filmography:* Who's Boss?...
in the 1920 film version, by Harry Carey in the 1932 film serial version
The Last of the Mohicans (serial)
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1932 Mascot movie serial based on the novel The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper.-Cast:*Harry Carey as Natty Bumppo/Hawkeye*Hobart Bosworth as Chingachgook, 'the Sagamore'*Frank Coghlan Jr...
, by Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
in the 1936 film version
The Last of the Mohicans (1936 film)
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1936 adventure film adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's novel of the same name starring Randolph Scott, Binnie Barnes, Henry Wilcoxon and Bruce Cabot....
, by Kenneth Ives
Kenneth Ives
Kenneth Ives is a British actor turned director with a number of 1960s and 1970s television credits.As an actor he appeared in the 1968 film version of The Lion in Winter, the 1970 BBC serial Last of the Mohicans as Hawkeye, and had roles in Adam Adamant Lives! and as one of the eponymous villains...
in the 1971 BBC serial
The Last of the Mohicans (1971 series)
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1971 BBC serial, based on James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Last of the Mohicans.It was shown during the Sunday tea-time slot on BBC1, which at that time often put on faithful adaptations of classic novels aimed at a family audience...
, by Steve Forrest in the 1977 TV movie and by Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
in the 1992 film version
The 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...
. Day-Lewis received a BAFTA Film Award nomination for Best Actor in 1993, won an Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor in 1993, and won an ALFS Award for British Actor of the Year in 1993 for his interepretation of the character. In the 1992 film however the character's name is changed from Natty Bumppo to Nathaniel Poe.
Adaptions of The Deerslayer have seen Bumppo played by Emil Mamelok in the 1920 film The Deerslayer and Chingachgook
The Deerslayer and Chingachgook
The Deerslayer and Chingachgook is the feature-length first part of the two-part 1920 German adventure film Lederstrumpf , directed by Arthur Wellin and featuring Béla Lugosi. It is based on the novel The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper...
, by Bruce Kellogg in the 1943 film, by Lex Barker
Lex Barker
Lex Barker was an American actor best known for playing Tarzan of the Apes and leading characters from Karl May's novels.-Early life:...
in the 1957 film, and by Steve Forrest in the 1978 TV movie.
Adaptions of The Pathfinder have seen Bumppo played by Paul Massie
Paul Massie
Paul Massie was a Canadian actor and academic. He later became a theater professor at the University of South Florida in the 1970s...
in the 1973 5-part BBC mini-series and Kevin Dillon
Kevin Dillon
Kevin Dillon is an American actor.Kevin Dillon is also the name of:*Kevin Dillon , character from Rodman Philbrick's young adult novel Freak the Mighty and the film based on it, The Mighty...
in the 1996 TV movie.
Additionally he was portrayed by George Montgomery in the 1950 movie The Iroquois Trail, by John Hart
John Hart (actor)
John Hart was an American motion picture and television actor, born in Los Angeles, California. In his early career, he appeared mostly in Westerns...
in the 1957 TV series Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans
Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans
Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans is a 1957 Western television series made for syndication by ITC Entertainment and Normandie Productions. It ran for one season of 39 half-hour monochrome episodes...
, by Hellmut Lange
Hellmut Lange
Hellmut Lange was an actor and journalist who became famous as action hero on TV and eventually succeeded as presenter of his popular TV show "Kennen Sie Kino?" - First engagements :...
in the 1969 German TV series Die Lederstrumpferzählungen, by Cliff De Young in the 1984 PBS mini-series The Leatherstocking Tales (which compressed The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans and The Pathfinder into four episodes) and by Lee Horsley
Lee Horsley
Lee Arthur Horsley is an American film, television, and theater actor known for starring roles in the television series, Nero Wolfe , Matt Houston , and Paradise . He starred in the 1982 cult film, The Sword and the Sorcerer, and recorded the audiobook edition of Lonesome Dove...
in the 1994 TV series Hawkeye.
In popular culture
- Thomas KingThomas KingThomas King, CM is a noted novelist and broadcaster who most often writes about North America's First Nations. He is an advocate for First Nations causes. He is of Cherokee and Greek descent...
's Green Grass, Running WaterGreen Grass, Running WaterGreen Grass, Running Water is a 1993 novel by Native-Canadian and Greek writer Thomas King. Set in a contemporary First Nations Blackfoot community in Alberta, Canada, the novel gained attention due to its unique use of structure, narrative, and the fusion of oral and written literary traditions...
satirizes the character of Natty Bumppo by renaming him Nasty Bumppo and having him shoot himself (while he attempts to shoot his friend, Chingachgook). - Natty Bumppo is also the name of the author of The Columbus Book Of Euchre and House Of EvilHouse of EvilHouse of Evil is a 1968 horror film directed by Jack Hill. It stars Boris Karloff and Julissa.House of Evil is one of four low-budget Mexican horror films Karloff made in a package deal with Mexican producer Luis Vergara. The others are The Snake People, The Incredible Invasion, and The Fear Chamber...
. - The character of Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H takes his nickname from the Native American name given to Natty Bumppo. In the novel, it is revealed that Last of the Mohicans is the only book Pierce's father had ever read.
- Bumppo is known as Dan'l "Hawkeye" Bonner in Sara Donati's series, meant as a sequel to the Last of the Mohicans books, beginning with Into The Wilderness. The series centers around Hawkeye and Cora's son, Nathaniel Bonner.
- Bumppo is featured in the comic book series Jack of FablesJack of FablesJack 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...
, both in name and as "Hawkeye", along with Slue-Foot Sue (Pecos BillPecos BillPecos Bill is an American cowboy, apocryphally immortalized in numerous tall tales of the Old West during American westward expansion into the Southwest of Texas, New Mexico, Southern California, and Arizona. Their stories were probably invented into short stories and book by Edward O'Reilly in the...
's first wife). - Bumppo is referred to in the graphic novel series The League of Extraordinary GentlemenThe League of Extraordinary GentlemenThe 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...
as being part of the 18th century incarnation of the league. - Near the end of Mississippi JackMississippi JackMississippi Jack is the fifth book in the critically acclaimed Bloody Jack book series. The Boody Jack series begins with Bloody Jack, Curse of the Blue Tattoo, Under the Jolly Roger, In the Belly of the Bloodhound, and continues with My Bonny Light Horseman, Rapture of the Deep, and The Wake of...
, the fifth in the best-selling Bloody Jack series of female adventures by L.A. Meyer, an adopted white ShawneeShawneeThe Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
called Lightfoot, a rifleman who always travels with his native Shawnee "brother," reveals his white surname to be "Bumpus" in an obvious tribute to Cooper's Natty Bumppo. Thinly-veiled or unveiled characters from the history of the day are a repeating feature of the Bloody Jack series. - Natty Bumppo was the name of several pop music bands in the 1970s, including bands from Dayton, Ohio and central Utah.
- The Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
character HawkeyeHawkeye (comics)Hawkeye , also known as Goliath and Ronin, is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #57 and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck. Hawkeye joined the Avengers in Avengers Vol. 1 #16 Hawkeye...
takes his name from Natty Bumppo, who he portrayed during his time as a carnival marksman before becoming a superhero. - The character Gus Brannhard adopts a Fuzzy and names him Natty Bumppo in H. Beam Piper'sH. Beam PiperHenry Beam Piper was an American science fiction author. He wrote many short stories and several novels. He is best known for his extensive Terro-Human Future History series of stories and a shorter series of "Paratime" alternate history tales.He wrote under the name H. Beam Piper...
novel Fuzzies and Other People ISBN 0-441-26176-0
Further reading
- Colin A. Clarke, "Like a Mirror Reflecting Itself: Natty Bumppo, The Virginian, and the Fate of the American Frontier," Presented at the 11th Cooper Seminar, James Fenimore Cooper: His Country and His Art at the State University of New York College at Oneonta, July, 1997.
- David Leverenz, "The Last Real Man in America: From Natty Bumppo to Batman," American Literary History 1991 3(4):753-781.
External links
- "Hawkeye (Character) from The Last of the Mohicans (1992)," The Internet Movie Database