The Pioneers

“Nothing could be fairer and more spotless than the forehead of Elizabeth, and preserve the appearance of life and health. Her nose would have been called Grecian, but for a softly rounded swell, that gave in character to the feature what it lost in beauty. Her mouth, at first sight, seemed only made for love; but, the instant that its muscles moved, every expression that womanly dignity could utter played around it with the flexibility of female grace.” 

Remarkable Pettibone watches with jealousy as the exceptionally beautiful Elizabeth removes her winter clothes once inside. Here we see that Cooper’s idea of female beauty is very stereotypical for the time, and the reader can expect he will use his female characters as simply damsels in distress, unable to fend for themselves without male protection, either by law or by force.

“In short he was rearing, on this foundation of sand, a superstructure, cemented by practice, though composed of somewhat brittle materials. He however occasionally renewed his elementary studies, and, with the observation of a shrewd mind, was comfortably applying his practice to his theory.” 

This quote describes Templeton’s doctor, Elnathan Todd. Although the town respects him, Cooper reveals that Dr. Todd has no formal medical training and is a fraud. Dr. Todd learns by doing—by practicing and hoping for the best. This makes Temple’s formalism seem easily skewered and calls white social mores into question. 

“Really, it behooves the owner of woods so extensive as mine, to be cautious what example he sets his people, who are already felling the forests, as if no end could be found to their treasures, nor any limits to their extent. If we go on in this way, twenty years hence we shall want fuel." 

This is an early example of Temple’s utilitarian environmentalism in contrast to Richard’s excess. Temple argues that it is wasteful to burn maple trees for heat, when they should instead be preserved for fuel. He argues that it is his duty as the landowner to preserve resources for future generations. In contrast, Richard argues that the resources of the land are inexhaustible, and mocks Temple’s concerns.

“The next difficulty occurred in the steeple, which Richard had modeled after one of the smaller of those spires that adorn the great London Cathedral. The imitation was somewhat lame, it is true, the proportions being but indifferently observed; but, after much difficulty, Mr. Jones had the satisfaction of seeing an object reared that bore, in its outlines, a striking resemblance to a vinegar-cruet.”

This passage represents the typical humor Cooper deploys to get a laugh at Richard’s expense. Richard, incredibly confident of his architectural skills, has modelled Templeton’s church after the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. In reality, the steeple looks like a vinegar pot. Similar to Cooper’s use of Dr. Todd, here, he makes an example of Richard to show that American attempts at “civilized culture” are often poor interpretations of the original.

“No, no, I never expected to live forever; but I see, times be altering in these mountains from what they was thirty years ago, or, for that matter, ten years. But might makes right, and the law is stronger than an old man, whether he is one that has much l’arning, or only one like me, that is better now at standing at the passes than in following the hounds, as I once used to could” 

Leatherstocking expresses his sadness over the transformation of the wilderness that he has lived in for much of his life by the coming of Templeton and its settlers. He also laments how his individualism and reliance on natural law is no match for the power of society and manmade law. Leatherstocking only wished to live out his final years in the manner which he preferred, but Templeton has disrupted that.

“I ask you, sir, if shooting a man is a thing that is to be settled so very easily? Suppose, sir, that the young man had a wife and family; and suppose that he was a mechanic like yourself, sir; and suppose that his family depended on him for bread; and suppose that the ball, instead of merely going through the flesh, had broken the shoulder-blade, and crippled him forever; I ask you all, gentlemen, supposing this to be the case, whether a jury wouldn't give what I call handsome damages?” 

Cooper uses Squire Lippet here for humorous effect to highlight the absurdity of manmade law. To men such as Leatherstocking, the accidental shooting of Oliver is not a matter for the law because Temple is honor-bound to see that Oliver is cared for. This thinking exemplifies Lockean self-management. Mrs. Hollister agrees that the law need not be involved and pledges to allow Oliver to drink for free until healed since he cannot hunt effectively. But Lippet complicates the matter by urging Oliver to sue Temple for damages—exhibiting a Hobbesian view of order.

“Ah! Times is dreadfully altered since then.” 

Leatherstocking recounts his “good old days” with Chingachgook (or John Mohegan) when they were both great warriors. He laments how the coming of Templeton has unalterably changed the landscape—in his mind for the worse.

“Game is game, and he who finds may kill; that has been the law in these mountains for forty years, to my sartain knowledge; and I think one old law is worth two new ones. None but a green-one would wish to kill a doe with a fa’an by its side, unless his moccasins were getting old, or his leggings ragged.” 

Here Leatherstocking expresses what ‘the law’ means to him. He believes that the only law that matters is that a man may kill what he finds, and he mocks Temple’s efforts to enact hunting seasons. Leatherstocking argues that not only are these laws unenforceable due to the size of America, but they are pointless since no hunter would ever kill a deer out of season unless necessary.

“‘The enterprise of Judge Temple is taming the very forests!’ exclaimed Elizabeth, throwing off the covering, and partly rising in the bed. ‘How rapidly is civilization treading on the footsteps of nature!’”

Elizabeth expresses surprise at how rapidly man is transforming the environment from wilderness to civilization. However, unlike Leatherstocking, she does not see this as a negative. Instead, she says this line in response to Louisa’s story about an attacked on her family by a pack of starving wolves. The expansion of civilization then becomes an expansion of safety and comfort, preventing such tales as Louisa’s.

“If a body has a craving for pigeon's flesh, why, it's made the same as all other creatures, for man's eating; but not to kill twenty and eat one.” 

Once again, we see how Leatherstocking’s fundamental beliefs about living in harmony with nature contrast with what he calls the “wasty ways” of the settlers. Leatherstocking is content with shooting only the single pigeon he needs for his dinner, while the settlers kill purely for the fun of it, leaving mounds of dead and dying pigeons on the ground.

“But this is always the way with you, Marmaduke; first it’s the trees, then it's the deer, after that it’s the maple-sugar, and so on to the end of the chapter. One day you talk of canals through a country where there’s a river or a lake every half mile, just because the water won't run the way you wish it to go ; and the next, you say something about mines of coal, though any man who has good eyes like myself—I say with good eyes—can see more wood than would keep the city of London in fuel for fifty years” 

Here, Richard mocks Temple’s concerns for the environment and his plans to use laws to protect it. Richard believes in taking the easy path; he says there is no need to build canals because there are already rivers and no need to dig for coal because there is plenty of wood to burn. Richard is not concerned about the future because he believes that natural resources are inexhaustible and belong to mankind to do what they wish so that people can live in as much comfort as possible. In contrast, Temple evidences a utilitarian concern for nature; he believes that if people such as Richard aren’t protected from themselves, resources won’t be available for future generations.

“I eat of no man’s wasty ways. I strike my spear into the eels or the trout, when I crave the creatur’; but I wouldn’t be helping to such a sinful kind of fishing for the best rifle that was ever brought out from the old countries. If they had fur, like the beaver, or you could tan their hides, like a buck, something might be said in favor of taking them by the thousand with your nets; but as God made them for man’s food, and for no other disarnable reason, I call it sinful and wasty to catch more than can be eat.”

Though Temple believes that Leatherstocking and he are alike in their desire to protect the environment, Leatherstocking rebukes him here. To Temple, the fish have already been pulled from the lake, so it makes sense to him for Leatherstocking to take some of them so that they do not go to waste. However, Leatherstocking’s honor and beliefs do not allow him to even be a party to such waste because if he desires a fish, he will catch it himself.

“There’s a fall in the hills, where the water of two little ponds that lie near each other breaks out of their bounds, and runs over the rocks into the valley. The stream is, maybe, such a one as would turn a mill, if so useless a thing was wanted in the wilderness. But that hand that made that `Leap’ never made a mill!” 

This quote is typical of Cooper’s lyricism when it comes to describing the beauty of the natural environment. It also shows how Leatherstocking’s view of nature contrasts with that of Temple and the settlers. Leatherstocking sees the beauty in nature, and mocks how the settlers would ruin the beauty of the river by using it to power a mill.

“‘So much for Marmaduke Temple’s law!” he said. “This warms a body’s blood, old John; I haven’t killed a buck in the lake afore this, sin’ many a year. I call that good venison, lad; and I know them that will relish the creatur’s steaks, for all the betterments in the land.’” (

Although Leatherstocking and Oliver attempt to follow Temple’s laws, they are excited by the prospect of the chase and kill the deer that has jumped into the lake. Leatherstocking is driven by his hunter’s instincts to chase prey, and managing to kill a deer while it is swimming re-invigorates him in his old age and will make the venison taste ever better. Even John Mohegan is moved to a rare smile by the thrill of the hunt and the chase.

“Would any society be tolerable, young man, where the ministers of justice are to be opposed by men armed with rifles?” 

Temple defends Leatherstocking’s conviction on the grounds that the law has meaning only if those charged with enforcing it are protected. To Temple, civilization is built on law, and so if law is not respected, civilization is no better than the dangerous wilderness that he has tamed. 

“What the devil has got into you all? More things have happened within the last thirty-six hours than in the preceding six months.” 

This quote demonstrates some self-referential humor from Cooper, as Richard returns from a brief absence to learn about the various incidents that have taken place. The author acknowledges that much of the novel so far has been spent describing nature, the town’s inhabitants, and the vagaries of daily life, but that he must now get on with matters of the plot. This quote also acknowledges the artificially contrived nature of the mystery plot and the dangers into which Elizabeth has wandered.

“You’ve rankled the heart of an old man, that has never harmed you or your’n, with bitter feelings towards his kind, at a time when his thoughts should be on a better world; and you've driven him to wish that the beasts of the forest, who never feast on the blood of their own families, was his kindred and race; and now, when he has come to see the last brand of his hut, before it is melted into ashes, you follow him up, at midnight, like hungry hounds on the track of a worn-out and dying deer.” 

After burning down his home, Leatherstocking rebukes the settlers for driving him to such an act. To Leatherstocking, the response of the law is far out of proportion to anything that he has done, and he simply wishes to live in peace, but the law won’t let him. Leatherstocking even wishes that he was an animal instead of a man, reasoning that animals commit horrible acts but don’t approach man’s cruelty.

“And this I did, though I had no reason to love you, for you had never done anything but harm to them that loved and sheltered me. And now, will you shut me up in your dungeons to pay me for my kindness?” 

Leatherstocking begs for kindness from Temple in his sentence after being convicted of threatening an officer of the law. Leatherstocking points out that he has always been kind and just: sheltering Temple when he first came to the area and saving Elizabeth’s and Ben’s lives, even though he had no reason to ever show kindness to the settlers. To Leatherstocking, a man who has spent his entire life living free in the wilderness, being locked inside is the ultimate cruel punishment, and he begs to serve his sentence in any other fashion.

"Society cannot exist without wholesome restraints. Those restraints cannot be inflicted, without security and respect to the persons of those who administer them; and it would sound ill indeed to report, that a judge had extended favor to a convicted criminal, because he had saved the life of his child." 

Temple replies to Elizabeth, who has begged for leniency in Leatherstocking’s sentence. She argues that any law that would condemn a good man to such a cruel punishment is an unjust law. However, Temple counters here by arguing that the law must be meted out impartially for the law to have any meaning. As a Judge, Temple cannot be seen to extent favoritism to anyone, even the man who saved his daughter’s life. Here we see the impact of politics on what would seem to be a simple matter. Temple is aware that in order to maintain his position as both a Judge and leader he must protect his own reputation. 

“I have just drove a nail into a berth alongside of this here bolt, as a stopper, d’ye see, so that Master Doo-but-little can’t be running in and breezing up another fight atwixt us: for, to my account, there’ll be but a han-yan with me soon, seeing that they’ll mulct me of my Spaniards, all the same as if I’d over-flogged the lubber. Throw your ship into the wind, and lay by for a small matter, will ye? and I’ll soon clear a passage.” 

This line is typical of the humor deployed by Cooper at Ben’s expense. Whenever he is called on to explain anything, Ben cannot resist but respond in an extraordinarily convoluted matter that deploys various naval metaphors. Even though Ben is shown to have only spent time in the navy as a cook and steward, he carries himself as a hardened sailor and is incapable of speaking without recourse to a story from his sailing days.

“The freedom of manners that prevailed in the new settlements commonly leveled all difference in rank, and with it, frequently, all considerations of education and intelligence.” 

This quote is typical of the humor and social satire deployed by Cooper throughout the novel. On the one hand, American society has removed the old European class distinctions; on the other, Americans are prone to ignore the more useful distinctions between people’s intelligence. Richard is the obvious example of this, as he has attained a prominent position in the town despite lacking in intelligence.

“‘Why should Mohegan go?’ returned the Indian, gloomily. ‘He has seen the days of an eagle, and his eye grows dim. He looks on the valley; he looks on the water; he looks in the hunting-grounds—but he sees no Delawares. Every one has a white skin. My fathers say, from the far-off land, Come. My women, my young warriors, my tribe, say, Come. The Great Spirit says, Come. Let Mohegan die.’” 

Cooper here expresses regret, via Mohegan, about how the Native Americans have been wiped out from the land by the white settlers. Mohegan is a tragic figure in the novel; he is portrayed as the last of the Mohicans who has had to watch his family and tribe be wiped out by the coming of the white settlers. During the forest fire, both Elizabeth and Leatherstocking try to get Mohegan to save himself, but he simply wishes to die and be re-united with his tribe in the afterlife.

“While the public mind was in this feverish state, it was hinted that the wood had been set on fire by Edwards and the Leather-Stocking, and that, consequently, they alone were responsible for the damages. This opinion soon gained ground, being most circulated by those who, by their own heedlessness, had caused the evil.” 

This passage demonstrates more social satire from Cooper as he points to the groupthink and rumormongering that is common on the frontier. Yet this is an example of dramatic irony as the reader knows that these people who now condemn Leatherstocking are the same ones responsible for the forest fire. By contrast, Leatherstocking ensured that Elizabeth and Oliver escaped the fire without harm.