Chapter
XVIII
Three days after the Fort William Henry massacre, Munro, Hawkeye,
the Mohicans, and Heyward approach the ruined fort, making their
way past the many victims that still lie where they fell. Hawkeye
says that he has never seen such a horrifying spectacle of carnage,
and vows revenge. He also blames Montcalm for not protecting
the English. Then Uncas discovers a fragment of Cora’s
riding-veil. They conclude that she has been taken north to
Canada. Heyward finds a footprint and Uncas declares that it
was left by Magua. They also find David’s discarded pitch-pipe,
and assume that he is still with Cora. Then they find some jewelry
that Alice used to wear around her neck.
Chapter XIX
Hawkeye and his party spend the night at the ruined fort. Heyward
fears that there may still be Indians lurking, but Hawkeye does
not share his view. He tells Heyward that the noises he hears
are wolves, not Indians. But then they hear another sound, not
made by wolves. Hawkeye gets Uncas to investigate it. Soon there
is the sound of a rifle shot, aimed at Chingachgook. Uncas gives
chase to the single assailant and kills him, returning with
the victim’s scalp. Hawkeye and the Mohicans then sit
together to decide what to do next. They smoke a pipe and pass
it around between them. The Mohicans want to pursue Magua and
his hostages by land, whereas Hawkeye wants to do it across
water. He argues that this will be easier for Munro, and also
it will leave no trail. The Mohicans agree to Hawkeye’s
plan.
Chapter XX
The men rouse themselves before dawn to commence their pursuit
and take a canoe out onto the lake. They realize that at some
point they will probably encounter hostile Indians once more.
Soon Uncas spots a small encampment in the distance. Hawkeye
does not know whether it belongs to the French or the Indians.
They press forward, alert to the danger. It soon transpires
that the group is made up of hostile Indians, who fire at the
canoe as soon as they see it. They jump into two canoes and
give chase. Another Indian canoe appears, heading for Hawkeye’s
party, and their situation is perilous. The two canoes glide
on parallel lines, separated by less than two hundred yards,
but Hawkeye’s canoe is faster. The Hurons shoot several
times but fail to hit anyone. Hawkeye remarks that they are
poor shots. He then shoots one of the Indians, and in the exchange
of fire Chingachgook is slightly wounded. They then accelerate
their pace, leaving the Indians far behind. The Hurons appear
to abandon the pursuit. Hawkeye and his party land at the northern
end of the lake, where there they spot a Huron canoe following
them. They drag the canoe ashore, and leave a false trail in
the woods before launching the canoe again. They end up by evening
in a quiet haven on the western shore where they land again,
concealing the canoe under a pile of brush.
Chapter XXI
The party makes its way through the wilderness, heading north.
But they cannot find the trail they seek, and Hawkeye is concerned.
But Uncas soon sees evidence that Cora has passed that way.
They pursue the trail, avoiding the false trails the Hurons
left. They find the two horses that the Hurons had left behind
several days previously, but for a while the main trail goes
cold. They search every inch of the ground to try to pick it
up again. Eventually, Uncas finds the footprint which they decide
must belong to David. He has been made to go first, and the
others have trod carefully in his footprint. As the pursuers
follow the trail anew, they also find footprints belonging to
Cora and Alice. They near a Huron encampment, and Hawkeye senses
danger. He and the two Mohicans split up, each taking a different
route. Hawkeye, Heyward and Munro then come upon an Indian village
in a clearing. He sees an Indian less than a hundred yards from
him. The Indian is also observing the village. Hawkeye joins
Heyward, and notes that the Indian is unarmed. Then Hawkeye
starts to laugh silently. He says he will take the Indian alive.
But when he reaches him he merely taps him on the shoulder.
The “Indian” turns out to be David.
Chapter XXII
Hawkeye teases David, and then asks him about the two women.
David replies that they are safe but have been separated. Cora
has been taken to a nearby Indian community; Alice is being
held two miles away among the Huron women. David explains that
he is allowed to come and go as he pleases, since the Indians
think he is mad and they never harm someone who is not sane.
Hawkeye returns David’s pitch-pipe and David attempts
to play it. David then explains everything he knows about the
journey they took. Hawkeye quizzes him about the nature of the
tribe where Cora has been taken. David only knows that they
are allies of the French, but they did not take part in the
massacre at the fort. Hawkeye chides him for not being more
observant. They decide to sent David back to the Indians, so
he can inform Cora and Alice of their arrival. Heyward insists
on going as well, in order to rescue Alice. The Mohicans paint
his face, hoping to disguise him so that he looks a peaceable
fool and might pass as a juggler who speaks French and moves
amongst the friendly Indian tribes. David and Heyward then embark
on their dangerous mission.
Chapter XXIII
David and Heyward enter the village without incident. They enter
the nearest lodge. The Indian warriors observe Heyward closely
but do not speak. Heyward speaks to an elderly chief in French,
saying that he comes from the Canada father (the French) to
heal the sick. His explanation is well received. Then there
are yells from outside, and uproar in the lodge. It transpires
that a Huron war party is returning with the scalps of those
it has killed. They bring with them two Indian prisoners, whom
they intend to kill. One prisoner accepts his fate with dignity
and calmness; the other hangs his head in shame and fear. Suddenly,
the first prisoner tries to escape, running hither and thither.
He seeks sanctuary by touching a small painted post before the
door of the principal lodge. By tradition, this means that his
fate must be decided by a meeting of the tribal council. The
prisoner bears the taunts of the women and children with great
dignity. It transpires that the prisoner is none other than
Uncas. As he is led into the lodge, Heyward manages to follow.
The second prisoner is also brought to the lodge. During his
interrogation, Uncas remains defiant. He was captured only because
of the cowardice of the other prisoner, who, running away, inadvertently
led Uncas into a trap. The cowardly warrior is then executed
by means of a knife thrust into his heart.
Analysis
Chapter XIX reveals more of the complex attitude of both Hawkeye
and the author, Cooper, to the Indians and their relations with
the white man. Hawkeye is full of reflections about Indian ways,
and they are by no means hostile. In his musings on the nature
of paradise, for example, he argues that people are rewarded
according to their “dispositions and gifts.” This
being so, he is willing to grant that the Indian after death
may indeed find the “glorious hunting-grounds of which
his traditions tell.” In Chapter XXII, he declares that
“even the Mingo adores but the true and living God.”
This respect and
understanding of Indian religion and culture is apparent also
(if in a rather odd way) when Hawkeye marvels at Chingachgook’s
ability to decide from a scalp the tribe the scalp came from.
Hawkeye remarks, “What right have Christian whites to
boast of their learning, when a savage can read a language that
would prove too much for the wisest of them all!” This
again shows Hawkeye’s contempt for book-learning and his
reverence of practical knowledge gained from experience. He
later acknowledges that if a man mixes much with another people
(as he himself does), love will grow up between them, and in
the same breath he shows his knowledge of the ill effects the
white man has produced in the Indian tribes, as far as relations
among themselves are concerned: “It is true that white
cunning has managed to throw the tribes into great confusion.”
He repeats this sentiment in Chapter XXII.
Later in chapter
XIX, the narrator comments on the debate between Uncas and Chingachgook
about their course of action. He points out that a Christian
assembly could learn a lot from the courtesy and respect shown
to the other’s point of view. The narrator also praises
the ability of Uncas and Chingachgook to change their minds
with honesty. Had members of a “civilized” nation
acted in such a way, their political careers would have been
destroyed by charges of inconsistency. This respect for the
Indians, although it is regularly mixed with the prejudices
common to his time, can be found again in Chapter XXI, when
Hawkeye and his party reach the Huron village. They find it
“possessed more of method and neatness of execution than
the white men had been accustomed to believe belonged, ordinarily,
to the Indian habits.” In Chapter XXII, even Duncan, who
knows little about the Indians, admits as he gazes at the village
that “even the brutes of these vast wilds were possessed
of an instinct nearly commensurate with his own reason.”
Chapter XXI reveals
another example of Hawkeye’s attitude to knowledge. It
occurs after Heyward wonders why Uncas did not speak up earlier
about what he knew. Hawkeye explains that in the white man’s
culture, where knowledge is measured by what has been learned
by books, the son will readily speak up to contradict the father.
But in Indian culture, where “experience is the master,”
the younger man respects the knowledge of his elder.
There is a significant
moment in Chapter XXII, when David shows his loyalty to Cora
and Alice. Since they were put under his protection, he chose
not to escape from the Hurons even though he had ample opportunity
to do so. This wins him the approval of the Mohicans and Hawkeye.
He is starting to show some courage, and will show more as the
novel reaches its climax. It shows he has traveled some way
beyond the passive Calvinist predestinarian he was at the beginning.
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