The Pioneers

Leatherstocking is one of the primary characters of the novel. Though he is a talented woodsman and hunter, he is now an old man who resents the coming of civilization. He has lived for 40 years in his hut near Ostego Lake, but the recent founding of Templeton has disturbed his lifestyle by making game scarce. Leatherstocking strongly believes in the natural law of the frontier. He believes that man has a right to keep what he kills and that one should attempt to live in harmony with the environment. He rejects the comforts and easy living associated with the settlers and only takes from nature what he needs to survive. Leatherstocking also celebrates nature for aesthetic reasons, in contrast to Temple’s utilitarianism.

Though Leatherstocking is a white man, he has spent his life living with the Native Americans, in particular the Mohicans. It is here that he formed a lifelong friendship with John Mohegan, and they later fought together in various conflicts. As the novel begins, the two men lament how John’s tribe has been wiped out by the settlers, who have also transformed the once-untamed wilderness into villages, pastures, and farms. Despite this, Leatherstocking is courageous and hospitable, housing Temple when he first came to the land, and rescuing Elizabeth and Ben when they are nearly killed by the environment.