In 1826, Fenimore Cooper wrote his novel The Last of the Mohicans. A brief summary of it is presented in this article. In his book, the author was one of the first to describe the uniqueness of the customs and spiritual world of the American Indians. The genre of historical novel is "The Last of the Mohicans". Its summary, like the work itself, takes place in the mid-18th century. So, let's start describing the plot of this book.

The author of the work “The Last of the Mohicans,” a brief summary of which we describe, says that in the wars that broke out between the French and the British for the possession of the lands of America (1755-1763), the warring parties more than once took advantage of the feuds of local Indians for their own purposes. tribes It was a very cruel and difficult time. It is not surprising that the girls, traveling to see their father, the commander of the besieged fort, accompanied by Duncan Hayward, a major, were worried. The Indian Magua, nicknamed the Sly Fox, especially worried Cora and Alice (that was the name of the sisters). This man volunteered to lead them along a safe forest path. Hayward reassured his companions, although he too was beginning to worry: maybe they were lost? By continuing to read the summary of the novel "The Last of the Mohicans", you will find out if this is so.

Meeting with Hawkeye, Magua's exposure and escape

In the evening, fortunately, the travelers met Hawkeye (a nickname firmly attached to St. John's wort). Moreover, he was not alone, but with Uncas and Chingachgook. An Indian who got lost in the forest during the day?! Hawkeye was much more alarmed than Duncan. He suggested that he grab the conductor, but he managed to escape. No one doubts anymore that the Magua Indian is a traitor. With the help of Chingachgook, as well as Uncas, his son, Hawkeye transports the arrivals to a small rocky island.

Chingachgook and Hawkeye go for help

Further, the summary of the book “The Last of the Mohicans” describes a modest dinner, during which Uncas provides Alice and Cora with all kinds of services. It is noticeable that he pays more attention to the latter than to her sister. The Indians, attracted by the wheezing of horses frightened by wolves, find their shelter. A shootout ensues, followed by hand-to-hand combat. The first onslaught of the Hurons was repelled, but the besieged no longer had any ammunition left. All that remains is to run, which, alas, is too much for the girls. You need to swim at night along a cold and rapids mountain river. Cora suggests that Hawkeye go with Chingachgook to bring help. She has to convince Uncas longer than other hunters: the sisters and the major end up in the hands of Magua, the negative hero created by Fenimore Cooper ("The Last of the Mohicans").

The captives and captors stop to rest on a hill. Sly Fox tells Cora why they were kidnapped. Colonel Munro, her father, as it turned out, once greatly insulted him, ordering him to be flogged for drunkenness. In revenge, he plans to take his daughter as his wife. Cora resolutely refuses. Magua decides to brutally deal with his prisoners. The major and sisters are tied to trees, near which brushwood is laid out to light a fire. The Indian advises Cora to agree at least for the sake of her young sister, who is still practically a child. However, having learned what Cora Magua demands from Cora in exchange for their lives, the brave heroine of the work “The Last of the Mohicans” prefers to die painfully. The summary of the chapters does not describe in detail all the misadventures of the girls. Let's move on to the story of their salvation.

Rescue the girls

The Indian throws his tomahawk. A hatchet pierces the tree, pinning Cora's blond hair. The major breaks free of his bonds and attacks the Indian. Duncan is almost defeated, but a shot is fired and the Indian falls. It was Hawkeye and his friends who arrived. The enemies are defeated after a short battle. Having pretended to be dead, Magua seizes the moment to escape again.

Travelers arrive at the fort

The dangerous journey ends safely - the travelers finally reach the fort. Despite the French besieging it, they manage to get inside under cover of fog. Finally, the father sees his daughters. The defenders of the fort are forced to accept defeat, however, on conditions that are honorable for the British: the defeated retain their weapons and banners and can retreat unhindered to their own.

New kidnapping of Cora and Alice

However, this is not the end of the misadventures of the main characters in The Last of the Mohicans. A summary of further misfortunes that befell them is as follows. Burdened with wounded women and children, the garrison leaves the fort at dawn. In a narrow wooded gorge located nearby, the Indians attack a convoy. Once again Magua kidnaps Cora and Alice.

Colonel Munro, Major Duncan, Uncas, Chingachgook and Hawkeye inspect the battle site on the 3rd day after the tragedy. Uncas concludes from barely noticeable traces that the girls are alive and that they are being held captive. Continuing to inspect this place, the Mohican even establishes that they were kidnapped by Magua! Friends, after consulting, set off on a very dangerous journey. They decide to make their way to the homeland of the Sly Fox, to the lands inhabited mainly by the Hurons. Losing and finding traces again, experiencing many adventures, the pursuers finally find themselves near the village.

Rescue of Uncas, cunning transformation

Here they meet David, the psalmist, who, taking advantage of his reputation as a weak-minded person, voluntarily followed the girls. From him, the colonel learns about what happened to his daughters: Magua kept Alice with him, and sent Cora to the Delawares living on the lands of the Hurons next door. Duncan, in love with Alice, wants to enter the village at any cost. He decides to pretend to be a fool, changing his appearance with the help of Chingachgook and Hawkeye. In this form, Duncan goes on reconnaissance.

You're probably curious to know how "The Last of the Mohicans" continues? Reading the summary, of course, is not as interesting as the novel itself. Nevertheless, its plot, you see, is exciting.

Having reached the Huron camp, Duncan poses as a doctor from France. Just like David, the Hurons allow him to go everywhere. To the horror of Duncan, the captive Uncas is brought to the village. At first he is mistaken for a simple prisoner, but Magua recognizes him as the Swift Deer. This name, hated by the Hurons, causes such anger that if the Cunning Fox had not stood up for him, Uncas would have been torn to pieces. However, Magua convinces his fellow tribesmen to postpone the execution until the morning. Uncas is taken to the hut.

The father of an Indian woman who is sick turns to Duncan as a doctor for help. He comes to the cave in which the sick woman lies, accompanied by a tame bear and the girl’s father. Duncan asks to be left alone with the patient. The Indians obey this demand and leave, leaving the bear in the cave. He transforms - it turns out that Hawkeye is hiding under an animal skin! Duncan, with the help of a hunter, discovers Alice hidden in a cave, but Magua appears. The Sly Fox triumphs. However, not for long. What does Cooper tell the reader about next ("The Last of the Mohicans")? The summary describes in general terms the further fate of the heroes.

Escape from captivity

The “bear” pounces on the Indian and squeezes him in his arms, and the major ties the villain’s hands. Alice cannot take a single step due to the stress she has experienced. The girl is wrapped in Indian clothes, Duncan carries her outside, accompanied by the “bear”. The self-proclaimed “doctor” orders the patient’s father to stay in order to guard the exit from the cave, citing the power of the Evil Spirit. This trick succeeds - the fugitives safely reach the forest. Hawkeye at the edge of the forest shows Duncan the path that leads to the Delawares. He then returns to free Uncas. With the help of David, he deceives the warriors guarding the Swift Deer, and then hides in the forest with the Mohican. Magua is furious. He is discovered in a cave and freed, calling on his fellow tribesmen to take revenge.

A necessary sacrifice

At the head of a military detachment, the Sly Fox decides to go to the Delawares. Magua, having hidden a detachment in the forest, enters the village and turns to the leaders with a demand to hand over the captives to him. The leaders, deceived by Magua's eloquence, at first agree, but Cora intervenes, who says that in reality only she is the captive of the Sly Fox - the rest have freed themselves. Colonel Munro promises a rich ransom for Cora, but the Indian refuses. Uncas, who unexpectedly became the supreme leader, must release the Cunning Fox along with his captive. Magua partingly warns that after the time necessary to escape, the Delawares will go on the warpath.

Dramatic ending

Let's move on to the description of the ending of the novel, authored by Cooper ("The Last of the Mohicans"). The summary does not convey, unfortunately, all its drama. Military action soon brings a decisive victory to the tribe thanks to the leadership of Uncas. The Hurons are defeated. Having captured Cora, Magua flees. The enemy is pursued by the Swift Deer. Realizing that it will not be possible to leave, the last of Magua’s companions to survive raises a knife over the girl. Seeing that he might be late, Uncas throws himself off the cliff between the Indian and the girl, but falls and loses consciousness. Cora is killed. Swift-footed Deer, however, manages to defeat her killer. Seizing the moment, Magua thrusts a knife into the young man’s back, after which he takes off running. A shot is heard - this is Hawkeye dealing with the villain.

Thus, the fathers were orphaned, and the entire people were orphaned. The Delawares had just lost their newfound leader, who was the last of the Mohicans. However, one leader can be replaced by another. The youngest daughter remained with the colonel. And Chingachgook lost everything. Only Hawkeye finds words of consolation. He turns to the Great Serpent and says that the sagamore is not alone. They may have different skin colors, but they are destined to follow the same path.

This is how F. Cooper ends his work (“The Last of the Mohicans”). We have described its brief content only in general terms, since the work itself is quite large in volume, like all novels. Its plot, as you can see, is very fascinating. F. Cooper never makes readers bored. “The Last of the Mohicans,” a summary of which we have just described, is just one of the many works of this author. Fenimore Cooper's work brings pleasure to many readers.

The Last of the Mohicans, or the Narrative of 1757 is the second novel in James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking pentalogy. In it, hunter Nathaniel Bumpo, nicknamed Hawkeye, goes with his Mohican friends Chingachgook and Uncas on a dangerous journey through the northern forests. Their path will be blocked by natural elements, wild animals and ruthless enemies. However, the heroes will not be afraid of obstacles for the sake of a noble goal - saving the beautiful daughters of Colonel Munro.

“The Last of the Mohicans” was published in 1926, becoming the second in terms of writing and internal chronology of the cycle. The plot is preceded by the events of the novel “St. John’s Wort, or the First Warpath.” True, the first part of the pentalogy was created much later - in 1841.

“The Last of the Mohicans” is one of Cooper’s most popular works, describing the historical events of America’s territorial expansion and the tragic fate of the continent’s indigenous population.

Colorful pictures of pristine northern nature, original romantic images of the main characters, acute problems, heroic pathos and a dynamic adventure plot have repeatedly inspired talented fans of Cooper's work to make artistic adaptations. The novel was filmed by directors in the USA, Canada, France and Germany. The film of the same name by Michael Mann, shot in 1992, is recognized as the most worthy film version. The main roles in the project were played by Daniel Day-Lewis (Nathaniel Bumpo/Hawkeye), Medeline Stowe (Cora Munro) and Russell Means (Chingachgook).

Synthesizing the American romantic tradition of the first decades of the twentieth century, Fenimore Cooper wrote a unique work of its kind. The prose writer became the founder of a new myth about the native American, created the archetypal image of the so-called “noble savage” and outlined the genre guidelines of the Western.

1757 The height of the French-English confrontation. The coastal area of ​​the Hudson and neighboring lakes became the scene of bloody battles. As usual, their victims were not only soldiers, but also civilians. Entire Indian tribes were wiped off the face of the earth, and those units that survived either hid in deep forests or went over to the side of one of the colonialists.

Allied Indians posed a terrible danger to peaceful settlers. Deprived of shelter and family, driven from the graves of their fathers, these savage avengers dealt with the white-skinned strangers with all the cruelty of which their broken hearts were capable. Soon, the inhabitants of the American frontier (the border between developed and undeveloped territories) flinched at every rustle coming from the forest. The image of the red man became their nightmare, a ghost in the flesh, their ruthless judge and executioner.

During this turbulent time, Colonel Munro's daughters, Cora and Alice, decided to visit their parent in the besieged English fort William Henry, which was located on Lake Lane George in the province of New York. To shorten the path, the girls, accompanied by Major Duncan Hayward and an absent-minded music teacher, separated from the military detachment and turned onto a secret forest path. The Indian speedster Magua, nicknamed the Sly Fox, volunteered to show her. Magua, from the allied Mohawk tribe, assured travelers that along the forest path they would reach the fort in a few hours, while along the main road they would face a grueling journey of a day.

Cora and Alice look with suspicion at the silent guide, who only casts abrupt glances from under his brows and peers into the thick of the forest. Hayward is also haunted by doubts, but the appearance of an awkward music teacher who hurries to William Henry defuses the situation. Accompanied by girlish laughter and songs, the small detachment turns onto the fateful forest path.

Meanwhile, on the banks of a fast-water forest stream, the white-skinned hunter Nathaniel Bumpo, nicknamed Hawkeye, was having a leisurely conversation with his friend, the Indian Chingachgook, the Great Snake. The savage's body was covered with black and white paint, which gave him an eerily similar resemblance to a skeleton. His smoothly shaved head was adorned with a single tail of hair with a large feather. Chingachgook told the hunter the history of his people from the bright times when his forefathers lived in peace and prosperity, and until the dark hour when they were driven out by pale-faced people. Now there is no trace left of the former greatness of the Mohicans. They are forced to hide in forest caves and wage a miserable struggle for survival.

Soon the young Indian Uncas, nicknamed Swift-footed Deer, the son of Chingachgook, joins his friends. The trio goes hunting, but the planned meal is interrupted by the clatter of horse hooves. Bumpo does not recognize him among the forest sounds, but the wise Chingachgook immediately falls to the ground and reports that several horsemen are riding. These are people of the white race.

A small company actually appears at the river: a military man, a gangly man on an old nag, two charming young ladies and an Indian. These are Colonel Munro's daughters and their entourage. The travelers are quite worried - it won’t be long before sunset, and the end of the forest is not in sight. It seems their guide has lost his way.

Hawkeye immediately questions Magua's honesty. At this time of year, when the rivers and lakes are full of water, when the moss on every stone and tree tells about the future location of the star, the Indian simply cannot get lost in the forest. Who is your guide? Hayward reports that Magua is a mohox. More precisely, a Huron adopted by the Mohox tribe. “Huron? - exclaims the hunter and his red-skinned companions, - This is a treacherous, thieving tribe. A Huron will remain a Huron, no matter who takes him in... He will always be a coward and a tramp... You just have to be surprised that he hasn’t made you stumble across a whole gang yet.”

Hawkeye is about to immediately shoot the lying Huron, but Hayward stops him. He wants to personally capture the walker in a more humane way. His plan fails. The cunning Fox manages to hide in the forest thicket. Now travelers need to get away from the dangerous path as quickly as possible. The traitor will most likely bring upon them a warlike band of Iroquois, from whom there is no escape.

Hawkeye leads the young ladies and their escorts to a rocky island - one of the secret hideouts of the Mohicans. Here the company plans to stay overnight and leave for William Henry in the morning.

The beauty of young blonde Alice and older dark-haired Cora does not go unnoticed. Young Uncas is most fascinated. He literally doesn’t leave Cora’s side, showing the girl various signs of attention.

However, the exhausted travelers were not destined to rest in the stone shelter. Ambush! The Iroquois, led by the Sly Fox, still managed to track down the fugitives. Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Uncas are forced to race for help while the Munro daughters are captured.

Cora and Alice are now in the hands of the Sly Fox. It turns out that in this way the Indian is trying to settle personal scores with Colonel Munro. Many years ago he ordered Magua to be flogged for drunkenness. He harbored a grudge and waited for a long time for the right time to pay back. Finally, the hour has come. He wants to marry the eldest Cora, but receives a decisive refusal. Then the enraged Magua will burn his captives alive. When the fire has already been laid out, Hawkeye arrives with help. The Hurons are defeated, Magua is shot, the beautiful captives are freed and go with their companions to the fort to see their father.

At this time, the French occupy William Henry. The British, including Colonel Munro and his daughters, were forced to leave the fortification. On the way, the convoys are overtaken by a warlike tribe from Magua. It turns out that the Indian only pretended to be dead in a fight on a stone island. He kidnaps Cora and Alice again. The Sly Fox sends the first to the Delawares, and takes the second with her to the lands of the Hurons.

Hayward, in love with Alice, rushes to save the honor of the captive, and Uncas rushes to rescue his beloved Cora. With the help of a cunning plan in which Hawkeye takes part, the major steals Alice from the tribe. Swift-Footed Deer, unfortunately, fails to save Cora. The cunning Fox is once again one step ahead.

Uncas, at this point already the supreme leader of the Delawares, follows on the heels of the kidnapper. The Delawares, who had buried their tomahawks many years ago, were once again on the warpath. In a decisive battle they defeat the Hurons. Realizing that the outcome of the battle is a foregone conclusion, Magua takes out a dagger, intending to stab Cora. Uncas rushes to the defense of his beloved, but is a few moments late. The Fox's treacherous blade pierces Uncas and Cora. The villain does not triumph for long - he is immediately overtaken by Hawkeye's bullet.

Young Cora and Uncas, the Swift-Footed Deer, are buried. Chingachgook is inconsolable. He was left alone, an orphan in this world, the last of the Mohicans. But no! The Great Serpent is not alone. He has a faithful comrade who stands next to him at this bitter moment. Let his companion have a different skin color, a different homeland, culture, and lullabies were sung to him in a foreign, incomprehensible language. But he will be nearby, no matter what happens, because he is also an orphan, lost in the border zone of the Old and New Worlds. And his name is Nathaniel Bumppo, and his nickname is Hawkeye.

People of the World: Nathaniel Bumpo, Chingachgook

The novel “The Last of the Mohicans” stands out among the romantic works of Indian themes. Cooper, who grew up on the New York State frontier, witnessed a social phenomenon called "pioneering." That is why he was able to subtly feel the discord between the noble ideas of the pioneers and the harsh reality.

The heroes of his novel, in the best traditions of romanticism, are divided into positive and negative. However, this division is not carried out on racial grounds; the basis for differentiation is the personal qualities and actions of a person. There are villains among the Indians as well as among the whites (on the one hand, the Hurons, the Sly Fox, on the other, the ruthless French and English colonialists).

Fundamentally important for the collapse of racial theory are the collective image of the brave Mohicans, Delawares and the central characters Chingachgook and his son Uncas. The Indians depicted by Cooper are not only not inferior to civilized whites, but also superior to them in wisdom, dexterity, and the ability to live in unity with nature and read its signs.

An example to follow

The author's ideal is the main character of the pentalogy, Nathaniel Bumppo, who appears in The Mohicans under the name Hawkeye. This is a frontier image that incorporates the best features of Indians and whites. Bampo is a harmonious combination of nature and civilization, a bearer of such rare qualities as simplicity, selflessness, justice, honesty, valor, and spiritual power.

Chingachgook and Bumppo make the perfect heroic couple. They learn from each other, argue, but know how to listen. And most importantly, they go beyond the boundaries of racial prejudice and become people of the world. It is they, and not those who live in cities and boast about the latest discoveries of technology, who should be considered representatives of a civilized democratic society.

James Fenimore Cooper's novel “The Last of the Mohicans, or a Narrative of 1757”: summary

. (Cowper) William (1731-1800) English sentimentalist poet, poem "The Problem"

Gordon (born 1927) American astronaut

James Fenimore (1789-1851) American writer, novels “The Spy”, “The Last of the Mohicans”, “St. John’s Wort”, “The Pilot”, “The Monikins”

Leon (born 1930) American theoretical physicist, Nobel Prize (1972, jointly with J. Bardeen and J. Schrieffer)

American writer, "Pioneers", "Prairie", "Pathfinder"

The Man Who Knew Chingachgook's Every Move

American astronaut

Chris Columbus's film "A Night with Beth..."

Inventor of phosphorus matches

Actor - “Cowboy N1” of American cinema

American film actor who won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1952 for High Noon.

American film actor who received an Oscar for Best Actor in 1941 in the film Sergeant York

American pioneers are the theme of this writer's books.

American theoretical physicist, Nobel Prize winner (1972)

River in the USA

. "St. John's wort" (writer)

The Man Who Invented Chingachgook

An actor named Bradley

BMW "Mini..."

. "parent" of St. John's Wort and Hawkeye

Diana (1892-1986), English aristocratic socialist actress (BKA)

Horrible Rocker Alice

Rocker Alice...

James Fenimore

American writer (1789-1851, "The Spy", "The St. John's Wort", "The Prairie")

American physicist (Nobel Prize 1972)

American film actor (1901-1961, "A Farewell to Arms", "Cowboy and Lady", "Sergeant York")

American astronaut

English tennis player, first Olympic champion (1900)

. "St. John's wort" (writer)

. "Parent" of St. John's Wort and Hawkeye

James Fenimore (1789-1851) American writer, novels "The Spy", "The Last of the Mohicans", "St. John's Wort", "The Pilot", "The Monikins"

Actor - "Cowboy N1" of American cinema

American film actor who won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1941 in the film Sergeant York.

American film actor who won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1952 for High Noon.

American writer, "Pioneers", "Prairie", "Pathfinder"

Cupr, kuprik m. in animals, livestock and humans, the tip of the sacral bone, where the tail feathers begin: in birds, the flap, cardinal kusochsk, the outer rear, in which the tail feathers protrude; Kuprik is considered a tasty morsel by those with a sweet tooth. Kuprikovy, related to it

Chris Columbus's film "A Night with Beth..."

The Last of the Mohicans

"The Last of the Mohicans"(English) The Last of the Mohicans listen)) is a historical novel by American writer James Fenimore Cooper, first published in 1826. It is the second book in the Leatherstocking pentalogy (both by publication date and by the chronology of the epic), in which Cooper talks about life on the American frontier and is one of the first to depict the originality of the spiritual world and customs of the American Indians. The Russian translation of the novel was made in 1833.

Plot

The novel is set in the British colony of New York in August 1757, at the height of the French and Indian War. Part of the novel is devoted to the events after the attack on Fort William Henry, when, with the tacit consent of the French, their Indian allies slaughtered several hundred surrendered Anglo-American soldiers and settlers. Hunter and tracker Natty Bumppo, introduced to the reader in the first (in order of action) novel St. John's Wort, together with his Indian friends from the Mohican tribe - Chingachgook and his son Uncas - participate in the rescue of two sisters, daughters of the British commander. At the end of the book, Uncas dies in an unsuccessful attempt to save Cora, the eldest of the daughters, leaving his father Chingachgook as the last of the Mohicans.

In popular culture

The novel has been filmed many times, including the most famous version in 1992, directed by Michael Mann.

In an allegorical sense, the title of the novel is used to describe the last representative of a dying social phenomenon or group, a supporter of some ideas that have outlived their time, etc.

Also, this work was presented in the animated series of the same name, consisting of 26 episodes. (The Last Of The Mohicans). Created in 2004 - 2007

Notes

Categories:

• Literary works in alphabetical order
• Works of James Fenimore Cooper
• Novels of 1826
• French and Indian War
• Historical novels
• Idioms
• Adventure novels

Wikimedia Foundation.

Synonyms

See what “The Last of the Mohicans” is in other dictionaries: From English: The Last of the Mohicans. The title of the novel (1826) by the American writer Jace Fenimore Cooper (1789 1851). Its main character is the last representative of an extinct tribe of North American Indians. Allegorically: the last... ...

Dictionary of popular words and expressions Adj., number of synonyms: 4 hero (80) Mohican (2) last (52) ...

Synonym dictionary The Last of the Mohicans - wing. sl. The last representative of a social group, a generation, a dying social phenomenon. The source of this expression is the novel by Fenimore Cooper (1789 1851) “The Last of the Mohicans” (1826) (the Mohicans are an extinct tribe of North Indians ... ...

Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky - (foreigner) the last of a famous family of people, figures, heroes Wed. (This) was depicted in such a rolling Burmese syllable (style perlé), which only the Mohicans of the forties can write. Saltykov. Collection. Funeral. Wed. Our time is not the time... ...

Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary Razg. The last or oldest representative of which l. group, generation, dying social phenomenon. /i> Based on the title of the novel by J. F. Cooper; The Mohicans are an extinct tribe of North American Indians. BMS 1998, 382 ...

Large dictionary of Russian sayings last of the mohicans - see the last Mohican...

The last of the Mohicans (foreign) the last of a famous family of people, figures, heroes. Wed. (This) was depicted in such a rolling Burmese syllable (style perlé), which only the Mohicans of the forties can write. Saltykov. Collection... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

The Last of the Mohicans novel (1826) by James Fenimore Cooper Film adaptation of the novel The Last of the Mohicans, American film 1920. The Last of the Mohicans (Der Letzte der Mohikaner) German film... ... Wikipedia

The Last of the Mohicans Genre adventure film ... Wikipedia

James Fenimore Cooper

The Last of the Mohicans

I'm ready to find out the worst

And the terrible thing you could bring to me,

Ready to hear the painful news

Answer quickly - did the kingdom perish?!

Perhaps, along the entire vast stretch of the border that separated the possessions of the French from the territory of the English colonies of North America, there are no more eloquent monuments of the cruel and ferocious wars of 1755-1763 than in the region lying at the source of the Hudson and near the lakes adjacent to them. This area provided such convenience for the movement of troops that they could not be neglected.

The water surface of Champlain stretched from Canada and jutted deep into the colony of New York; as a result, Lake Champlain served as the most convenient route of communication, along which the French could sail up to half the distance separating them from the enemy.

Near the southern edge of Lake Champlain, the crystal clear waters of Lake Horiken - the Holy Lake - merge with it.

The Holy Lake meanders between countless islets and is surrounded by low coastal mountains. It stretches in curves far to the south, where it abuts the plateau. From this point began a multi-mile portage that led the traveler to the banks of the Hudson; here sailing along the river became convenient, since the current was free of rapids.

In carrying out their warlike plans, the French tried to penetrate the most remote and inaccessible gorges of the Allegheny Mountains and drew attention to the natural advantages of the region we have just described. Indeed, it soon turned into a bloody arena of numerous battles, with which the warring parties hoped to resolve the issue regarding the possession of the colonies.

Here, in the most important places, towering above the surrounding routes, fortresses grew; they were taken over by one or the other warring side; they were either torn down or rebuilt again, depending on whose banner was flying over the fortress.

While peaceful farmers tried to stay away from dangerous mountain gorges, hiding in ancient settlements, numerous military forces delved into virgin forests. Few returned from there, exhausted by hardships and hardships, discouraged by failures.

Although this troubled region did not know peaceful crafts, its forests were often enlivened by the presence of man.

Under the canopy of branches and in the valleys the sounds of marches were heard, and the echo in the mountains repeated the laughter and cries of many, many carefree young braves who, in the prime of their strength, hastened here to plunge into the deep sleep of the long night of oblivion.

It was in this arena of bloody wars that the events that we will try to tell about unfolded. Our story dates back to the third year of the war between France and England, who were fighting for power over a country that neither side was destined to keep in their hands.

The stupidity of military leaders abroad and the disastrous inactivity of advisers at court deprived Great Britain of that proud prestige which had been won for her by the talent and courage of her former soldiers and statesmen. The English forces were defeated by a handful of French and Indians; this unexpected defeat left most of the border unguarded. And after real disasters, many imaginary, imaginary dangers arose. In every gust of wind coming from the endless forests, the frightened settlers imagined wild screams and the ominous howl of the Indians.

Under the influence of fear, the danger assumed unprecedented proportions; common sense could not fight the alarmed imagination. Even the most courageous, self-confident, and energetic began to doubt the favorable outcome of the struggle. The number of cowardly and cowardly people increased incredibly; It seemed to them that in the near future all the American possessions of England would become the property of the French or would be devastated by Indian tribes - allies of France.

That is why, when news came to the English fortress, rising in the southern part of the plateau between the Hudson and the lakes, about the appearance of the Marquis of Montcalm near Champlain, and idle talkers added that this general was moving with a detachment “in which there are soldiers like leaves in the forest,” a terrible the message was received rather with cowardly resignation than with the stern satisfaction that should have been felt by a warrior who discovered an enemy close to him. News of Montcalm's landing at midsummer; The Indian brought it at an hour when the day was already approaching evening. Along with the terrible news, the messenger conveyed to the camp commander a request from Munro, the commandant of one of the forts on the shores of the Holy Lake, to immediately send him strong reinforcements. The distance between the fort and the fortress, which a forest dweller walked within two hours, could be covered by a military detachment with its convoy between sunrise and sunset. Loyal supporters of the English crown named one of these fortifications Fort William Henry, and the other Fort Edward, named after the princes of the royal family. The veteran Scot Munro commanded Fort William Henry.

It contained one of the regular regiments and a small detachment of volunteer colonists; it was a garrison too small to fight Montcalm's advancing forces.

The post of commandant in the second fortress was held by General Webb; under his command was a royal army of over five thousand people. If Webb had united all his scattered troops, he could have brought twice as many soldiers against the enemy as the enterprising Frenchman had, who ventured so far from his replenishment with an army not much larger than that of the English.

However, frightened by failures, the English generals and their subordinates preferred to wait in their fortress for the approach of a formidable enemy, without risking going out to meet Montcalm in order to surpass the successful performance of the French at the Desquesnes fort, give battle to the enemy and stop him.

When the first excitement caused by the terrible news subsided, in the camp, protected by trenches and located on the banks of the Hudson in the form of a chain of fortifications that covered the fort itself, there was a rumor that a selected detachment of one and a half thousand should move from the fortress to Fort William Henry at dawn. This rumor was soon confirmed; We learned that several detachments had received orders to quickly prepare for the campaign.

All doubts about Webb's intentions were dispelled, and for two or three hours hurried running and anxious faces were heard in the camp. The recruit anxiously scurried back and forth, fussed and with his excessive zeal only slowed down his preparations for the performance; the experienced veteran armed himself quite calmly, unhurriedly, although his stern features and worried look clearly indicated that the terrible struggle in the forests did not particularly please his heart.