James Fenimore Cooper

The Last of the Mohicans Illustrated James Fenimore Cooper

In 1757, British Army Major Duncan Heyward arrives in Albany, New York during the French and Indian War. He is assigned to serve Colonel Edmund Munro, the commander of Fort William Henry in the Adirondack Mountains. Heyward is tasked with escorting Munro's two daughters, Cora and Alice, to their father. Before they leave, Heyward asks Cora to marry him, but she does not give him an answer. A Mohawk named Magua is tasked with guiding Heyward, the two women, and a troop of British soldiers to the fort, but he is actually a Huron and leads them into an ambush. Mohican Chingachgook, his son Uncas, and his white, adopted son, "Hawkeye", kill all of the Hurons except Magua, who escapes. The trio agrees to take the women and Heyward to the fort. During the trek, Cora and Hawkeye are attracted to each other, as are Uncas and Alice. They find the fort under siege by the French and their Huron allies. They sneak in. Colonel Munro is surprised to see his daughters. Heyward becomes jealous of Hawkeye. Cora tells him she will not marry him. Munro refuses to honor the agreement that the militiamen could leave to protect their homesteads if they were threatened. After Hawkeye helps them sneak away, he is arrested for sedition and sentenced to hang. However, without reinforcements, Munro is forced to accept French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm's offer: the British can leave the fort honorably with their arms. Magua is furious because this robs him of his chance to kill Munro, against whom he bears a grudge.