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 that leads to 18 of the soldiers being killed, with only Heyward and a couple of wounded surviving. 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, they find another massacre at a farm but do not stop to bury the victims so as not to alert the Hurons to their presence. 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 but successfully sneak in. Colonel Munro is surprised to see his daughters as he had sent a letter warning them to stay away, but it was never delivered by the perfidious Magua. Heyward becomes jealous of Hawkeye when Cora tells Heyward she will not accept his marriage proposal. Munro is surprised to learn that General Webb's reinforcements at Fort Edward and may be able to aide his beleaguered command. The British regulars, led by Heyward at dark, create an elaborate diversion to engage with their French counterparts outside the walls of the fort (in deleted scenes not shown in the cinema release). This allows one of the militia men to take Munro's communique to Webb, with Hawkeye, Chingachook and Uncas providing covering fire from the fort walls killing potential interceptions from Huron's and French bateau men. After Munro refuses to honor the agreement that the militiamen could leave to protect their homesteads if they were threatened, 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 for English attacks on his people. Once Munro, his soldiers and civilians leave the fort, Huron warriors attack and massacre them. Magua personally kills Munro by cutting out his heart. Hawkeye, Uncas, and Chingachgook fight their way out, taking Cora, Alice, Heyward, and a few others. They hide in a cave behind a waterfall, but Magua catches up with them, capturing Heyward and the women. Before Hawkeye escapes by leaping from the waterfall with the others, he tells Cora to stay alive and swears that he will find her. Magua takes his three prisoners to a Huron settlement. While he is addressing a sachem, Hawkeye walks in unarmed to plead for their lives. The paramount chief rules that Heyward is to be returned to the British, Alice be given to Magua for the wrongs done to him by Munro, and Cora be burned alive. Although Hawkeye is told he may leave in peace for his bravery, he offers to take Cora's place. Heyward, who is acting as interpreter, instead trades his life for Cora's. After Cora leaves the village with Hawkeye, he shoots Heyward, who is being burned alive, as an act of mercy to spare him a slow, agonizing death. Chingachgook, Uncas, and Hawkeye then pursue Magua's party to rescue Alice. Uncas races ahead but is killed in personal combat by Magua, whereupon Alice leaps to her death.