The Last of the Mohicanssummary In July 1757 Montcalm ascended Lake Champlain and marched with soldiers "as numerous as the leaves of the forest" towards Fort William Henry, held by Colonel Monro, who had weak defenses. This is the moment chosen by Cora and Alice, the daughters of Monro, to go to join their father. They are accompanied by David La Gamme, master in psalmody, Major Duncan Heyward and an Indian guide, Magua, who soon led them astray. Fortunately the travelers meet the white hunter Eye-of-Falcon and his two mohican friends: Chingachgook and his son, Uncas. The guide, Magua, is subject to suspicion. He runs away. Refugee for the night in a cave of the rock of Glen, the small troop is assaulted by Hurons led by Magua. Eye-of-Falcon and the two Mohicans manage to flee. The two girls and their two companions are captured and taken away. Magua, or Renard Subtil, is a Huron chief who seeks revenge on Monro. He proposes to Cora to marry him, because he needs someone to draw his water, to cultivate his corn and to cook his game. Cora refuses. At the moment when the captives are about to be executed, they are delivered by Eye-of-Falcon and the two Mohicans. All of them won Fort William Henry besieged. Putting the fog to good use, they managed to slip into it. A few days later, a courier from the English general Webb was intercepted by Montcalm. Webb announces to Monro that he will not send him reinforcements and that he advises him to surrender. Montcalm shows the mail to Monro and proposes an acceptable surrender: all the occupants can leave the fort with military honors, keeping weapons and flags. A French escort will hold the Huron allies at a distance, until arriving at Fort Edward, five leagues to the south. Monro agrees. Magua informed Montcalm that he was not satisfied with such an outcome: the French general had promised the scalps of the English to the Hurons. Scarcely had the defenders left the fort than they were massacred by the Hurons, while the intended escort did not appear. At the height of the massacre, Magua kidnaps Alice. He is pursued by Cora and David La Gamme. Three days later, Hawk Eye, the two Mohicans, Major Heyward and Colonel Monro found the Magua trail. They set off in pursuit, first by canoe on Lake Horican, then on foot through the forest. They find David, who was spared, because the Indians take him for a madman. The two captives were separated, according to Indian custom: Alice is in a tribe of Hurons and Cora in a tribe that is a branch of the Delawares (the latter are traditionally enemies of the Hurons, but the tribe in question has allied To the Hurons by the hazards of the troubles provoked by the European presence). Hawk Eye, Uncas and Major Heyward penetrate the Huron camp, deliver Alice, and find refuge with the Delawares. Magua comes to demand that his enemies be all delivered to him. But the Delawares soon recognized in Uncas a chief of pure blood, a leader of the Mohicans, the tribe "grandmother of the nations." Magua can only take Cora. Uncas takes the lead of the Delawares, who go to war against the Hurons. The story ends dramatically with the death of Uncas and Cora, and the death of Magua. |
