The Deerslayer

James Fenimore Cooper

8/16/2000

The Deerslayer is a young white man who has lived with the Delaware tribe most of his life in the middle 1700's colonies. The Canadian French and Indians are at war against the more southern English and Indians. Deerslayer and his Delaware friend, Chinchagook, are on their first warpath as they rescue the Chief's fiancee from the enemy Huron Indians. Deerslayer is an earnest, honest young man who lives by his ideals in the frontier he loves.

He approaches the Glimmering Glass lake with his white friend Hurry Harry. He has made arrangments to meet his Indian friend by this lake. The Hutter family lives in the middle of the lake. Tom Hutter had been burned out before, so built a home in the middle of the lake for himself and his two daughters. Floating Tom and Hurry Harry decide to attack the neighboring Huron camp to take scalps to sell to the English soldiers. Deerslayer disagrees with scalping or selling the scalps, so refuses to join them. While he waits for them to return, he hears them captured by the enemy Indians.

Now Deerslayer joins with the Hutter girls, Judith and Hettie, to discover ways to save the captured men. He still has to meet with Chinchagook to rescue Hist as well. They have to protect the Hutter house in the middle of the lake. The Hurons are sure treasure is hidden in the house.

This novel is full of the rich description of the wilderness the North American continent was during the early colonization period. Deerslayer is one of Nattie Bumppo's names. During this novel he earns the one he is known by the best, Hawkeye. Cooper wrote a string of novels starring Hawkeye. While The Deerslayer was the last one written, it is the first chapter we read of Hawkeye's life.

This novel was written about 150 years ago. I have to remember that attitudes of the time. Nattie has some very defined ideas of white men's roles, red men's roles, men's roles, and women's roles. We have different views now, more "enlightened" views in our opinions. There were times I cringed when Deerslayer would talk about white men's "gifts" versus red men's "gifts." When I could get myself to ignore that, I enjoyed the novel.

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The Series (in chronological order, not publishing order):

The Deerslayer
The Last of the Mohicans
The Pathfinder
The Pioneers
The Prarie