The Pioneers

The organizer of the turkey shoot is Abraham “Brom” Freeborn, a free African-American. The turkey that serves as the target is tied up behind a stump 100 yards away, with only its head sticking up to be shot at. Several young men have gathered, who are boasting about their skills to the gathered boys. Chief among the men is Billy Kirby, a strong and skilled woodcutter who clears land for a living. In between his bouts of clearing trees, he spends weeks idling in town, drinking and doing small jobs. Kirby has a long ongoing rivalry with Leatherstocking over who is the better marksman. Though Leatherstocking has far more experience, most in the town believe that Kirby’s youthful steady hand and quick reflexes render him Leatherstocking’s equal. However, the two have never competed against each other.

Brom sets the entry price at 1 shilling—the most expensive it has ever been—and Kirby steps up to participate first. Oliver steps up to pay Brom as well, though Kirby tells him not to waste his money since he will get the turkey first. Oliver insists on paying anyways, and Leatherstocking rebukes Kirby for boasting.

Kirby takes aim, but misses his shot. Oliver stands to shoot next, and Leatherstocking tells him he should save his money because of his shoulder injury, but Oliver insists on shooting anyway. Oliver then shoots and misses. Leatherstocking steps up next to shoot, but his gun misfires. He insists on being able to shoot again, since his gun did not fire, but Brom and Kirby maintain he will have to pay again and wait for his turn. Brom appeals to Richard, who, enjoying his newfound authority, declares that pulling a trigger counts as a shot, just as it would in a duel. Elizabeth agrees but volunteers to pay Leatherstocking to shoot again.

Kirby shoots, but misses again. He becomes angry at the laughing Brom, and insists it is impossible for anyone to hit a turkey’s head at 100 yards. Oliver declines his second chance to shoot. Leatherstocking takes careful aim and kills the turkey. He presents the bird to Elizabeth, who gives it as a gift to Oliver, due to the injury preventing his success. Temple arrives and remarks that a turkey shoot is no place for a lady like Elizabeth. Richard pulls Temple aside and says that, in his new position, he thinks he should keep a close eye on the mysterious Oliver, but Temple says to leave Oliver to him, and they rejoin the group.

As Brom prepares for a second round with an inferior turkey, Temple approaches Oliver and apologizes again for injuring him. He explains that because Richard is now the Sheriff, he is in need of a new secretary, and that Oliver’s high-class manners qualify him for the position, despite his unkempt appearance. Temple invites him to move into the Mansion House and serve as his assistant for a season, to be richly compensated. Oliver, with a reluctance bordering on loathing, refuses the position and admits that while he is poor, he would rather depend on his rifle for subsistence.

Temple asks Leatherstocking for his help convincing Oliver, since the boy “is made of materials too precious to be wasted in the forest” (205), and Elizabeth encourages Oliver as well. Oliver shifts rapidly back-and-forth between wanting the position and displaying a clear disgust with Temple. Mohegan then comes over and encourages Olive to join Temple’s household, which finally encourages him to take up the position, albeit only on a temporary basis. The two groups then separate.

As Temple, Elizabeth, and Richard return to the Mansion House, Temple remarks on how he can’t figure out why Oliver seems to hold him in such contempt. Richard argues that it is because Oliver is half-Indian and as such no gentleman, but Temple insists that Oliver be considered a gentleman and considered a part of the family. Richard protests, saying it takes generations to make a gentlemen, but Temple points out that despite Richard’s claims, there is no evidence any of his ancestors from England were high-status. Temple says of America that “here all are equal who know how to conduct themselves with propriety” (208).

While returning with Leatherstocking and Mohegan to their hut, Oliver expresses his great dislike for Temple, calling him “the greatest enemy of my race” (208). Mohegan encourages patience, and Leatherstocking complains about how much Temple and the settlers have changed the land with their laws. He tells Oliver to be distrustful of smooth-speakers. Oliver sarcastically tells Mohegan that he will forget who he is so that he can be a servant of his enemy, and the group enters Leatherstocking’s hut, which they lock very securely.

Later that day, Grant delivers his Christmas sermon, which is attended by Mohegan. As the crowd returns home, the weather suddenly warms and a powerful rainstorm begins. Elizabeth and Louisa watch as the snow begins to melt and fall from the roofs and trees.

Elizabeth and Louisa spend Christmas evening wandering the halls of the Mansion House and talking. Because of the rapid onset of warm weather, the house is quite hot inside. Meanwhile, Temple, Richard, Hartmann, Grant, and Oliver sit talking in the main hall. Ben enters with a handful of wood, causing Richard to joke about the heat and Temple’s concerns over de-forestation. Ben insists that the wind will change and the night will turn very cold. Temple tells Ben to prepare as he sees fit, and Ben goes off to attend to his duties.

As Ben predicted, the night turns severely cold. Grant and Louisa stay overnight in the Mansion House due to the weather. Elizabeth and Louisa, sleeping together, are woken by long, plaintive howls, which Louisa explains are wolves. She tells Elizabeth that one night, hunger drove wolves to howl right outside her door, and Elizabeth remarks how rapidly civilization has been encroaching on nature.

The next morning, Elizabeth opens her window to look out over the village. The lake is now covered with black ice and the houses and trees are sparkling. She excitedly beckons Louisa to look, and they see Oliver outside, now dressed as a gentleman, speaking with Temple. Going downstairs, Temple tells Elizabeth that he is entrusting her to keep Oliver’s “Indian side” under control, and that Oliver has requested that nobody ask him about his past.

Three months pass, during which Louisa becomes a frequent guest at the Mansion House due to Grant’s duties as a travelling preacher. Oliver slowly warms to his new position, though he still has “frequent moments of bitter and intense feeling” (219). Elizabeth watches as arriving settlers stake new claims along the mountain and the economic activity in Templeton rapidly increases. Though Oliver earnestly engages in his new duties for Temple, he spends his evenings with Leatherstocking and Mohegan in their cabin in the woods.