The Pathfinder

The Leatherstocking Tales #3

by James Fenimore Cooper, Thomas Berger (Afterword), John Stauffer (Introduction)

The Pathfinder (1840), Cooper's most picturesque novel and the fourth of the five Leatherstocking Tales, is a naval story set on the Great Lakes of the 1750s. Fashioned from Cooper's own experience as a midshipman on Lake Ontario in 1808-09, the novel revives Natty Bumpo (who had died in The Prairie), and illuminates Cooper's interest in American history with his concern for social development.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Literature, Historical, Westerns

528 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1840

About the author

James Fenimore Cooper was a popular and prolific American writer. He is best known for his historical novel The Last of the Mohicans, one of the Leatherstocking Tales stories, and he also wrote political fiction, maritime fiction, travelogues, and essays on the American politics of the time. His daughter Susan Fenimore Cooper was also a writer.

Series:
* The Leatherstocking Tales
* The Littlepage Manuscripts
* Afloat and Ashore
* Homeward Bound

Reviews

[Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1840, this was the second-to-last of the Leatherstocking Tales to be written, though in terms of the series' internal chronology, it's the third. Protagonist Natty Bumpo ("Pathfinder" is another of his many nicknames) here is in his late 30s. The French and Indian War is still raging; Cooper gives the date only as the late 1750s, but it's after the events of The Last of the Mohicans, which is set in 1757, so 1759 would probably be a best guess. Our setting here is on and around Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes, which then and now formed the northern boundary of the western part of New York. English civilian settlement at this time didn't extend to the lake, but the British army maintained a fort on the southern shore, at the mouth of the Oswego River. When the book opens, we find two men and two women near the lake, headed for this fort; and they soon meet Natty and a couple of other men, sent from the fort to see them safely in. But even if they reach that haven safely, in this wartime wilderness environment, their adventures will be far from over!

Cooper's literary vision, prose style, and the general strengths of his writing here are comparable to what's exhibited in The Deerslayer, the series installment that I just read before this one. My rating for The Pathfinder is a star lower (I'd have given four and a half stars if I could), in order to give the 1841 novel pride of place, and as a reflection of the fact that the moral conflicts here aren't as marked. The vocabulary is also more challenging for an early 21st-century landlubber, since the voyages of the cutter Scud on the lake form a definite link to Cooper's sea stories, and often incomprehensible nautical terminology is very much in evidence in those passages. (Interestingly, as a young man, Cooper went to sea as a common sailor on a merchant ship, and then served as a midshipman in the U.S. Navy, during part of which time he was stationed on Lake Ontario, and became very familiar with the locales described in this novel.) But my enjoyment of the book was certainly comparable! Indeed, the more I've read of Cooper, the more my admiration for his literary artistry has grown.

While Cooper has conventionally been faulted for his characterizations, I would say that those here are drawn with a skill and sharpness certainly equal, if not superior, to those of many contemporary and later novelists. Charles Cap, in fact, is a character almost Dickensian. Mabel Dunham, to be sure, is not an action-heroine type; she's psychologically incapable of violence, a trait that reflects Cooper's idealization (to a point) of traditional conceptions of "femininity." And there are here, in his narration and in speeches of some characters, statements about female character and capacities that caused some eye-rolling on my part; Cooper imbibed some common attitudes of his day. But these aren't intended as put-downs, and his sexism has its limits: Mabel is described as "Spirited, accustomed to self-reliance," and she can say (and demonstrate) that "I am not so feeble and weakminded as you may think." James Russell Lowell to the contrary, she's not "sappy" nor "flat." The most vividly realized character here, of course, is Natty himself; and the more familiar I become with his portrait, as Cooper draws it in the course of the several novels, the more I agree with a Goodreads friend who commented "Natty rocks!"

This novel also has a stronger romantic (in the small-r sense) theme than most of those in the series, and even a kind of romantic triangle, unusual for Cooper. Readers averse to this kind of thing should consider themselves warned. (Of course, this is strictly clean romance, with nothing sexually suggestive about it!) But although I don't usually like a triangular plot element, it wasn't off-putting here; it just made for some psychological and dramatic tension, which is a good thing. Although the mystery genre as such didn't exist in 1840, Cooper makes effective use of a mystery element. (I suspected one aspect of the denouement of this, but nowhere near the whole of it.) The reading level, in terms of style and vocabulary, is definitely adult, or for teens/kids who can read at an adult level; it's not quick and easy-flowing, and if you don't like 19th-century diction elsewhere, you won't like it here. The speech of educated characters can sound stilted to our ears; but it's actually realistic for the way people of their class spoke in the 18th century, and Cooper does a good job of varying dialogue according to the backgrounds and speaking styles of the characters. He's also not averse to killing off characters you like; this happens in every Cooper novel I've read, so it's wise to be prepared for it. (Deathbed scenes are quite a staple in 19th-century literature; the one here has strong, and to me commendable, Christian gospel content.) Treatment of Indian characters is balanced and fair, and we have good examples of cross-cultural friendship.

The New American Library edition that I read has an 8 1/2 page Afterword by Thomas Berger, which has some interesting thoughts and information, but isn't always as illuminating as Berger probably thought it was. A perhaps better afterword is the general comment about Cooper's work from another American literary giant, William Cullen Bryant: "...the examples Cooper has given in his glorious fictions, of heroism, honor, and truth, of large sympathies between man and man... shall live through centuries to come...."

[Yigal Zur · Rating 4 out of 5]

great story. i loved it as a boy. read and day dream. on of this stories that created me as a writer and adventurer

[Alexw · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Fenimore Cooper version of The Love Boat with four (count them-4!) suitors pursuing Mabel, our heroine on a boat. While the story languishes when the Pathfinder is not featured, the action scenes are worth the read. Was surprised to see how Cooper dumbs down Pathfinder as Cooper notes several times how he cannot read and his social graces are non-existent.

[James McCormick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third novel I’ve read now (although alas not in the correct narrative order) in Cooper’s Leather Stocking series and I’ve enjoyed each one tremendously. The frontier setting is once again brought to vivid life as is the life of our hero, the honest, honourable, brave Natty Bummpo (“America’s Adam” as some scholars have referred to him). As with Last of the Mohicans there is a female in distress but this time the tale could almost be classed as something of a romance as our hero falls for the sweet, innocent yet spirited Mabel Dunham whilst doubting he could ever be a good enough match for her.

There’s plenty of action, intrigue and betrayal as always yet I felt this time some scenes and especially some of Bummpo’s speeches over long (even taking into account the early 19th Century prose). Two to go now, which thankfully I can read in correct story order, The Pioneers and The Prairie, although (SPOILER ALERT!!!!!) the last title will be a sad read as it follows Bummpo as an old man and his eventual demise.

[Aaron Cance · Rating 4 out of 5]

If one can read books promiscuously, as I was reassured in graduate school that one could, I read all five of the books in this series like a complete whore, giving myself entirely over to the story - loved all five. A word of caution, however: They were written in a different order than the chronology of the narrative. Imagine my disappointment at the Deerslayer's death at the end of the third book out of five.

The order that the author produced them:

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

The order of the narrative (Thanks for the assist with this, Dave):

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

[James (JD) Dittes]

What I liked most about The Pathfinder was the amazing setting: the rivers of western New York, the Thousand Islands at the eastern end of Lake Ontario. Cooper's characters ride over waterfalls on bark canoes, battle enemy Iroquois among the rapids of the Oswego River, and fight to the death on one of the hidden islands.

There is love--Hawkeye, known here as "Pathfinder" proposes marriage. There is treachery. And there is plenty of adventure.

Setting aside, The Pathfinder follows closely to the plot arc of LOTM. Pathfinder must guide a beautiful girl through the woods. There are two battles: a woods fight with the Iroquois and an ambush on British soldiers. Cooper's prose is dated--expect 20-page chapters based on one conversation between Pathfinder and Mabel's father, argh.

If, like me, you are on Cooper's trail through upstate New York, or you're looking for some background reading on Lake Ontario or the Thousand Islands, you will enjoy this book.

[Данило Судин · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ось і завершився четвертий роман мого перечитування Пенталогії про Шкіряну Панчоху. Адже я перечитую в порядку написання, а не хронологічному. Так, я почав з Піонерів, або Біля витоків Саскуеханни, далі був Останній з могікан, далі - Прерія. Про переваги та недоліки від такого читання - в попередніх відгуках.

Слідопита Купер вирішує писати після перерви в півтора десятиліття. І з доволі прикрих причин: через свою політичну позицію Купер зазнає потужної критики та осуду, а тому вирішує трохи виправити ситуацію - і написати роман. Роман про ранні роки колонізації, що має бути милим серцю всіх американців, незалежно від їхніх політичних поглядів.

І сам роман починається як Останній з могікан: панночка (зі своїм дядьком) та провідником-індіанцем йдуть через пущу. Цього разу, щоправда, на зустріч з Натті, бо того відправив батько панночки назустріч. Провідник, ясна річ, зрадник, але завдяки хитрості Натті та Чингачгука, а також хитрості Джаспера, шкіпера, вони прориваються до форту Освего. Початок повторює "Останнього з могікан", бо так само є форт на лінії фронту, куди мандрує панночка, тому що там її батько. Так само зрадливий провідник, тільки тут в нього є дружина. Так само є кумедний персонаж - дядько-моряк. Але він ближчий до Бена Помпи з "Піонерів", хоча виконує ту ж роль, що і псалміст в "Останньому з могікан" чи вчений з "Прерії". Після успішного прибуття до форту - і возз'єднання з батьком - головні герої вирушають на один з островів на Онтаріо. Але не для прогулянки, а з бойовим завданням: напасти на водяний конвой французів, щоб не дати їм перевозити боєприпаси своїм військам на іншому боці Онтаріо. Ситуація ускладнюється тим, що комендант форту отримав анонімку, що серед них є зрадник, який працює на французів. Всі підозри падають на Джаспера, який є капітаном корабля, яким всі мандрують до острова. Далі шторм, далі висадка на острові. І нарешті починається цікава частина, яку не буду аж так спойлерити.

Фактично, 3/4 роману Купер робить дуже довгу експозицію. Всі проблеми, які були в перших трьох романах про Натті, збереглися. Сюжету як такого нема. Поки герої рухаються до форту - то маємо хоча б типовий квест. А далі поїздка до острова... Жодної інтриги і відчуття, що там буде щось цікаве, немає. Тобто зрозуміло, що не просто так вони пливуть, але прикувати увагу Куперу просто не вдається. А типажі, які ми бачили в попередніх романах, починають дратувати. Складається враження, що Купер збирає той же конструктор. На відміну від "Піонерів", тут немає колоритних персонажів другого плану. На відміну від "Останнього з могікан", книжка стає нудною після приходу героїв у форт (аж до останньої чверті). Фактично, це "Прерія", тільки жвавіша.

Жвавості сюжету додає любовна лінія. Натті хоче одружитися з панночкою, яку звуть Мейбл, донькою його давнього друга сержанта Дангема. Насправді, Мейбл цього не хоче, але сержант вже вирішив в себе в голові, що вони пара, а тому він переконав в цьому і Натті, і спонукає до цього доньку. Власне, це робить перебування у форті та поїздку на острів більш динамічною. Але... Якщо починати з "Піонерів", то відомо, що Натті не одружиться. Тому інтрига така собі.

Твір тягнуть на собі описи природи та атмосфера фронтиру. Форт наче на британській території, але нею вільно переміщуються індіанці, союзні французам. Та й таємничий француз на пірозі припливає під форт, а потім так само таємниче зникає. І природа, а особливо озеро - заворожують.

І я вже готовий був назвати цей роман найслабшим. Бо тут не було сильних сторін Купера - чи персонажів другого плану ("Піонери"), чи антиколоніальних ідей ("Останній з могікан").

Аж дочитався до останньої чверті. Вона динамічна, хоча інтригу з французьким шпигуном Купер вирішує на кількох сторінках (не вміє він в саспенс). Але опис сутички на острові, облоги блокгауза, смерті одного з героїв... Тут відчувається талант Купера - це дійсно заворожує і змушує переживати.

А потім Купер пише останній розділ. І це просто шедевр. Червнева Роса, індіанка, чоловік якої гине, а тому вона залишається на острові - біля його могили. Адже їхнє рідне плем'я їх зреклося, а до ірокезів вона не хоче вертатися. Нема кому опікуватися нею. Крім Натті. Натті, який її чоловіка вважав зрадником та негідником, раптом протягом місяця годує її і не дає вмерти від виснаження. Атмосфера осені тільки додає сили цьому образу. Чингачгук, який майже весь роман мовчав, мовчить і тут. Але як він мовчить! В цій сцені це мовчання людини, яка рік чи два тому втратила єдиного сина. В інших сценах фіналу - це мовчання людини, яка розуміє біль свого товариша (Натті кохає Мейбл, але вона відкинула його любов). І ліс. Праліс, в якому Натті лишається, відправивши Джаспера та Мейбл додому - одружуватися. Праліс, куди він вертається, привівши до домівки молодят Росу. І цей образ - він неймовірно сильний. Саме звідси і є думка критиків, що Натті - дух фронтиру. Ліси знову стають пущею, де лише жевріють острівці обжитих земель. І Натті з Чингачкуом перебувають в тіні та пітьмі тих лісів.

Перегорнувши останню сторінку я вкотре впевнився в таланті Купера. І тому не розумію, як йому вдається писати погані романи....

П.С. Білі, які опікуються індіанкою, це, звісно колонізаторський образ. Але в цьому романі він інший. Це образ рівних людей, які допомагають одні одному. І в цьому Купер виявився вірним собі.

П.П.С. Але його Натті і далі поводиться, наче йому 70 років. Ось з цим Купер явно не впорався...

[Manray9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Berger in his afterword to this Signet Classics edition of The Pathfinder makes the persuasive point that much of American mythology about the frontiersmen and the pioneer way of life comes from Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales. The long, lean, moccasin-shod, buckskin-wearing and taciturn Natty Bumppo – deadly with his rifle, but benevolent in spirit – embodies the traditional American view of ourselves and our relationship with the new lands under our feet. Natty Bumppo was the Clint Eastwood of the early 19th century.

While not on a par with The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder is a solid Four Star tale.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chronologically the third novel in the life of the Leatherstocking Tales’ hero, the Pathfinder follows an epic frontier adventure across the great lakes region, specifically Lake Ontario. The Pathfinder is presented as the perfect archetype of the frontier American. His character is described in remarkable terms. “Ever the same, simpleminded, faithful, utterly without fear, and yet prudent, foremost in all warrantable enterprises, or what the opinion of the day considered as such, and never engaged in anything to call a blush to his cheek, or censure on his acts; it was not possible to live much with this being who, in his peculiar way, was a sort of type of what Adam might have been supposed to be before the fall, though certainly not without sin, and not feel a respect and admiration for him that had no reference to his position in life. It was remarked that no officer passed him without saluting him as if he had been his equal; no common man, without addressing him with the confidence and freedom of a comrade. The most surprising peculiarity about the man himself was the entire indifference with which he regarded all distinctions that did not depend on personal merit. He was known to correct their mistake and to reprove their vices with a fearlessness that proved how essentially he regarded the more material points and with a natural discrimination that appeared to set education at defiance. In short, a disbeliever in the ability of man to distinguish between good and evil without the aid of instruction would have been staggered by the character of this extraordinary inhabitant of the frontier…But the most striking feature about the moral organization of Pathfinder was his beautiful and unerring sense of justice.” (125) Readers of modern literature will find this ideal presentation unrealistic. Most modern literature pessimistically refers to the character of the woodsmen in a deprived way (see Cormac McCarthy’s work for a perfect reference).

The conflicts in the novel follow the Pathfinder through conflicts with the French over control of the western Frontier, competition for a woodenly drawn maiden in the form of Mabel with a younger man whose reputation is distrusted despite his talents, Jasper Western, because he speaks the language of the enemy, and the ever present question of conflict with the Native Americans and understanding the difference in their morals with those of colonial Americans.

Cooper’s prose is definitely rooted in the 19th century. It is difficult reading, with long and complicated sentence structures. Readers of modern literature have become accustomed to the “quick read,” and Cooper’s prose is quite distracting as a result. That said, there are many great lines, almost always in the form of the Pathfinder’s wisdom. Some great examples are following:
“Nothing is easier to us who pass our time in the great school of Providence than to l’arn its lessons.” (27)
“The deer that goes too often to the lick meets the hunter at last!” (84)
“The man that lives in the woods and on the frontiers must take the chances of the things among which he dwells.” (90)
“Patience is the greatest of virtues in a woodsman.” (104)

All in all, this is a wonderful classic of historical fiction.

[Edita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Žmogus nepajėgia priversti upę tekėti atgal į jos versmes.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The following review contains spoilers if you haven't read The Prairie or if you don't read the introductions of the Penguin Classics editions.

If you're reading the Leatherstocking Tales in chronological order of the story, you may or may not know that Natty kicks the bucket at the end of the series. If you're reading the series in chronological order of the publication dates, then you are already aware of this fact before you read The Pathfinder.

Since Cooper decided to kill off his hero in the third novel he wrote for the series and his fans wanted more heroic adventures of Natty Bumppo, he wrote The Pathfinder, which is supposed to take place between the events of The Last of the Mohicans and The Prairie. Unfortunately, because Cooper wanted to show his fans how Natty remains a hunter throughout the series without the chance of settling down with a wife and family, The Pathfinder is a bit short on action and violence that The Last of the Mohicans and The Deerslayer (as I've read so far) deliver. Still, that isn't to say there were no other good points about this novel. As I found when reading The Deerslayer (after reading The Last of the Mohicans), The Pathfinder was easier to read although it took a little longer to digest because the action just wasn't as prominent. Plus, the language is beautiful even though some readers might find it tiring. It might be the opposite of Hemingway as far as lack of simplistic style, but there is lots to be said about Cooper's ability to evoke such detailed imagery.

Really, this book is meant to show the readers that Natty does try to retire from his life as a hunter, but he can't because he's just too darn fitting for the job. Hey, if you're great at what you do, why quit?

[Bill Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natty in love. The last of the Leatherstocking books for me and I'm sorry to see them end. Far more than just classics, these five novels embody and predict so much later pop culture that I'm rendered inarticulate. Each of the books can be characterized in a genre and this one is most certainly a romance, though the values in it are as strange -- and yet familiar -- as those in the other four books. Mabel Dunham is the epitome of the Cooper heroine, chaste, perky, honest, all to a degree worthy of our hero, the natural man who cannot dissemble, himself a paragon of virtue, and yet . . .. As in the other novels in his series, Cooper avoids the easy path, contrasting Natty's "outsiderness" to his natural instinct to marry Mabel, whom every circumstance has made his likely bride. Of course, thanks to a thousand cowboy stories, we already know that Natty is married to the wilderness (and perhaps Platonically to Chingachgook) and he's also just plain peculiar, so the marriage cannot be. A fine story all around, with great villains, well-meaning folks who do bad things, and a sense of grandeur that makes it worthy of its classic status.

In this book too, Natty gave me a motto for this moment in time -- no mean feat for a book 176 years old -- when he confronts a villain unworthily raised up to command:

""If this is the first use you make of your authority, I, for one, will not respect it."

Words every derned one of us should inscribe on our hearts.

[Hayley Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the 3rd book about Natty Bumppo called the Leatherstocking Tales. This book was kind of a slow start (lots of scenery description of northern New York during revolutionary times), but I really liked this book by the end. Cooper was clearly very enamored of the American wilderness and resented those who disrespected it and used it for their own gain, and greed in particular. There is a loving description of Natty Bumppo (Pathfinder) who is a simple but reflective soul who navigates between the European culture of which he was born with the Native American culture with which he has more affinity. Pathfinder is charged with protecting Mabel, his military friend's daughter, through the dangerous wilderness to her father's fort. She has (without her knowledge) been promised in marriage to someone at the fort by her father, whom she last saw when she was a toddler. There are several exciting sequences of fights between the Europeans and Native Americans, with each doing dreadful things at different points. There was one really graphically described horrible attack, which I would question younger children reading without fear. (I was reading it with my 13 year old, which was ok). It was a good book that acknowledged the few choices that Mabel was given as far as her future during that time period, but the characters did respect her wishes, against the greater culture. That was a nice surprise, especially when reading it with my daughter.

[Ivar Volmar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mingeid lapsepõlve lemmikteoseid üle lugedes tekib tunne, et ma nagu poleks neid üldse lugenud. Täna seda raamatut lugedes pole see enam seiklusromaan, vaid Walter Scotti mõjutustega tüüpiline XIX sajandi ajalooline romaan tugevate romantilise romaani sugemetaga. Mille üle ma aga ehk seda lugedes imestasin, on asjaolu, et sellist aeglase ja lohiseva stiiliga, pikkade kirjelduste ja monoloogidega romaani on läbi aegade lugenud teismelised seiklusromaanina. Kardetavasti loevadki paljud teda samamoodi, nagu mina omas nooruses - kuna minu märkmete järgi lugesin selle läbi kahe päevaga, siis ilmselt jätsin kõik pikemad kirjeldused, dialoogid ja aeglase arenguga kohad vahele. Nüüd, mil ma olen aastaid lausa arendanud endas harjumust kõik sõna-sõnalt läbi lugeda, tundus, nagu lugenuks täiesti teistsugust teost kui kunagi noorena.

[Jefferson Fortner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pathfinder, or the Inland Sea, is the third of James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales. The second one was The Last of the Mohicans. I actually started out of order, having read the last one in the series many years ago. Cooper has lost a lot of his standing over the years. In the middle of the 19th century, Cooper in America, Sir Walter Scott in England, and both Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas, père, in France were the biggest names in the new genre of historical fiction. The reputation of the others has not suffered as much. Cooper deserves to retain his standing. Most readers of our era do not find his style accessible, but that is due to the stylistic revolutions in American Literature that first Mark Twain and then Earnest Hemingway brought about. Another impact on Cooper’s reputation was the dismissive attitudes of the biggest names in American Letters of the late 19th century, once again, most significantly, Twain, with his devastating essay “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offence.” At one point, Twain points out that, while in the woods and facing the need to hide from the enemy, “Every time a Cooper person is in peril, and absolute silence is worth four dollars a minute, he is sure to step on a dry twig.” I have always found this not only funny, but also true. It was true in The Deerslayer. It was true in The Last of the Mohicans. And it is true in The Pathfinder. At one point, a British soldier is moving through the forest, and “the Sergeant's foot was heard crushing the dried twigs hard by.” This time, there is not as deadly a need for quiet, but it is the same trope, and there are more incidents.

Another aspect of Cooper, one which is in keeping with his era, lies in the portrayal of women as ethereal, fine creatures that must be protected. Of course, white women were more natural in this. Speaking of the Indian woman in the story, in comparison to the white woman, Cooper points out that she is a woman who is “unaccustomed to defer to the superior rights of the lordly sex.” I am sure the women of our era just love to read lines like that. Still, Cooper was surprisingly open minded about the just complaints of Native Americans against the whites. He has that same Indian woman say, “Yengeese [Yankees] too greedy, take away all hunting-grounds; chase Six Nation from morning to night; wicked king, wicked people. Pale-face very bad.” Cooper goes on to say, in the thoughts of the white woman: “Mabel knew that, even in that distant day, there was much truth in this opinion, though she was too well instructed not to understand that the monarch, in this, as in a thousand other cases, was blamed for acts of which he was most probably ignorant. She felt the justice of the rebuke, therefore, too much to attempt an answer, and her thoughts naturally reverted to her own situation.”

For all of the faults that we can find with his work, as an audience removed from the publication of his books by nearly 200 years, Cooper still is a dynamic storyteller. The set-piece declamations that stand in for some of the conversation is matched by moments of quick paced dialogue, and the action sequences move along quite quickly (but not the death scene of one character, which occupies three chapters).

Cooper has never been totally removed from the canon of American Literature, but he really should be returned to the average reader’s bookshelves. Just remain patient when someone steps on a twig.

[Barbara Carder · Rating 4 out of 5]

The complete title is 'Pathfinder or The Inland Sea' . . . . thought I would take a chance against Cooper's bad rap [hard to read/old-fashioned] but was a good choice. Read for two things: incredible descriptions of L. Ontario during the French and Indian War and for the description of the fight at the stockade/blockhouse on an island in the Thousand Islands NY/Canada. . . . . riveting and spooky. Going to continue with Cooper's 'Last of the Mohicans' now.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set during the French and Indian War, this is a thoughtful and earnest tale of frontier love and adventure with so many twists and turns and circumstances it delves into the “nature” and “gifts” as Pathfinder calls them, of the white man and woman and various Indian Tribe’s braves and their squaws, much discussion of their respective God or Manitou, and the means to gain A place of honor in heaven for the whites or the happy hunting grounds for the Indians.

[Tahca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book but I was a little disappointed in the ending. I had hoped that Mabel Dunham would come to love Pathfinder and that Jasper Western would fall in love with someone else. When it did not end that way I felt very sorry for poor Pathfinder, having to go back to a life of solitude with a broken heart.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of five novels set in the French and Indian Wars. Includes Last of the Mohicans, The Prairie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer. These stories are classics suitable for both young adults and adults.

[Eric Dovigi]

I have been making my way through the Leatherstocking Tales and I have a lot to say about them. As of writing this, I only have "The Deerslayer" left to read.

The Pathfinder is, even more than the other entries in the series, all about pure adventure. It has no particular strengths relative to the other books, other than maybe its wonderful descriptions of Lake Ontario. Cooper relies on basically all the same devices in this book: Natty's virtues are set against the ignorance of sententious, short-sighted fools, there are wrongful accusations, the antagonists are not evil but labor under the malignant influence of society, which is bad, in contrast to the purifying effects of nature, which is good. There is a great battle scene. All is well in the end.

The scenes where Natty "falls in love" with Mabel are a little embarrassing. Chingachgook is great. Seems no worse the wear for Uncas having gotten himself killed a book ago.

The Pathfinder, if not as tedious as The Prairie, is probably the most forgettable entry in the series. But it's still really fun.

[John O · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an absolute slog. Took me many months to read because it was too boring.

Besides breaking the fourth wall all the time and for no reason whatsoever, a JFC trademark, this book suffers from the fact that it tried to deal with love and tries to carry the story through dialogue. One gets the impression, though, that James Fenimore Cooper never experienced either love or a normal conversation. So unlike Last of the Mohicans and the Deerslayer, you are constantly wanting to shake the characters into sensible speech instead of enjoying a good story and picturing the gorgeous landscape or the exciting drama of the wilderness. Which leaves you with some hilariously absurd scenes near the end of the book.

Apparently Balzac praised JFC’s “magic prose.” Surely JFC paid for him that.

[Brennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than Last of the Mohicans but still with some flaws and outdated attitudes esp. near the end.

[vhatos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Розповідь про наступні пригоди Натаніеля Бампо та його друга Чінгачгука на берегах Великих Озер. Військові сутички за участі індіанських племен. Гарні описи дикої північноамериканської природи.

[Amory Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the spirit of the Pathfinder himself, I am writing this from one hundred yards away.

If you've read my other reviews of the Leatherstocking Tales, you will not be surprised by my comments. Here, again, Cooper puts a female in distress on the frontier, surrounds her in water (like he did in Deerslayer at Muskrat Castle or in Last of the Mohicans at Glens Falls) only to have Bumppo/ Deerslayer/ Long Rifle, etc., come to the rescue. This book also holds the infamous shooting competition heavily mocked by Mark Twain, which I will leave to Twain. But this book differs in a couple of areas from Cooper's regular plotlines. Despite what's listed below, don't look for anything incredible. Cooper is consistently terrible at writing.

Let's start with the forgettable mutiny, if it can be called that. Jasper the Deuce is proudly in control of the Scud, a lake vessel. Cap, the uncle of the lone major female character Mabel/ Magnet/ Lily Dunham overthrows Jasper on suspcion he is a Frencher spy. Without proof, Cap is allowed to throw Jasper below decks throughout a tempest. Slowly the power is returned to Jasper but the plot is never developed. The whole overthrow of power is glossed over for the most part. I would say this lakefaring adventure could have been removed completely from the book. It only exists to create some drama during its painfully slow progression.

Cooper also introduces us to a Tuscarora tribal chief and his wife, Arrowhead and Dew of June, respectively. Though Cooper returns our focus to both at the end of the tale, these two characters barely fit in the plot and could be done away with as well. Some will argue Arrowhead propels the final scenes, however his loose reasoning is not enough for a convincing argument that the story would not hold together without him.

Speaking of characters that flat out disappear, Chingachgook is abandoned during a hand-to-hand battle along a river by Pathfinder. Pathfinder goes easily down Oswego River and talks to Mabel as if everything is going splendidly while we're left to wonder what the fate is of Chingachgook. A passing reference to him is made once Pathfinder reaches the fort and once more during the crossing of Lake Ontario. Arrowhead and Dew of June disappear around this time as well. Furthermore, Jasper and Cap become the main characters during the lake voyage while Pathfinder disappears for multiple pages. I particulary enjoyed not having to endure Pathfinder's long-winded preachings yet also wondered what his purpose was for disappearing.

As I'm sure most people are aware, this is the only book in the Leatherstocking Tales where Natty Bumppo has a love interest. He shows cracks in his armour as he faulters at expressing his love for Mabel. Apparently Bumppo can do anything but get a woman to love him.

The issue with this story is its shallow plot line. This is the fault of Cooper who created a perfect man in his eyes that nothing bad could ever happen to Pathfinder. Bumppo is in the prime of his life. He can do no wrong, nor he can he falter. His best skill is to lean against his rifle and strangely laugh without making noise. Because of his lack of weakness (aside from love), the story's plot must take on alternate points of view from other characters as well as have the briefest of climaxes.

Noted as one the most forgettable of all the Leatherstocking Tales, the Pathfinder demonstrates how a plot suffers when a character has been built up too much. Perhaps that's why Cooper added the sailing portion in an attempt to jump start his late return to the Leatherstocking Tales. This was the fourth book written but slots in at third in the sequence of events. Much like the copious amounts of disappearing characters in the Pathfinder, Cooper may have been better served to have left this novel out.

[Richard Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite so far of the Leatherstocking Tales. A good plot, a good set of characters, a fun setting, a couple foul villains--it works well.

James Fenimore Cooper is not, in my opinion, an easy read. He has some tics that will annoy, and he belabors some dull scenes while rushing through the great ones, and I know that not too many of my friends would like this book. But he does some fun things that make it worthwhile for some readers.

Although the book is full of action--fighting down a river, chased by the enemy; sailing through a storm on Lake Ontario; facing overwhelming numbers from inside a fort hidden on a small island--one of the best scenes is just a shooting contest on a peaceful day at Fort Oswego. It's great fun seeing Hawkeye/Pathfinder outshooting everyone, just as you know he should, without breaking a sweat, but there's more to it. On one hand, we see the wives of the officers being bitchy to the humble, pretty daughter of a nobody sergeant. On the other, we find an annoying and cocky gentleman getting beaten by his inferiors. Just that is fun, but it's the juxtaposition of those events which supplies a nice critique of society at that time, the continued stratification of society that makes so little sense out in the forest. Of course, it's always fun to see Pathfinder be awesome. What's the point of his being the best shot on the frontier if we don't see him shoot?

The author puts less philosophy in Pathfinder's mouth in this book, and the novel's better for it. (He doesn't resist completely, however, and those are my least favorite passages.) Still, he has a lot more action in this novel than in others (IMO) and it makes a less laborious and more entertaining read. And, as always, knowing the whole of a classic novel has its own rewards, and I think for some readers that's reason enough.

So I liked it. Others may not. Recommended for a pretty narrow group of readers, I fear. :)

[Michael Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is, chronologically, the third in a 5-book "Leatherstocking Tales" series by Cooper on the adventures of the the fictional frontiersman Nattie Bumppo, aka "the Pathfinder," "the Deerslayer," or "Hawkeye." The novels are set in the pre-Revolutionary American western frontier, and are classic examples of the popular romantic adventure books of the early to mid-19th century.

A love interest dominates this story of the famous scout's work with the British military and their skirmishes with the French and American Indians along the U.S. - Canada border. Cooper successfully intermixes this basic story line with topics of seamanship and the unique navigational challenges of Lake Ontario.

The section on meeting one's spiritual destiny at death is a topic in the book that modern novels shun - to their detriment, in my opinion. But too many moving elements in the story, along with some outlandishly verbose dialogue, combine to dampen my enthusiasm for this entry in the series: thus, my 3-star rating.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this ginormous volume of all 5 Leatherstocking tales at, I think, Barnes & Noble, on such a good sale that it seemed worth it to investigate these well known novels. I have been working my way through it and enjoying it immensely. The stories are packed with excitement and beauty, long in depth philosophical conversations and thrilling adventures. The beauty and wild nature of these areas long ago, before they were developed and the American continent was covered with thick old growth forest is brought to life so vividly that it seems incredible that I couldn't hop a train and see it for myself. The virtues of honesty, integrity, simplicity and courage are set forth as well as their opposites, and I highly recommend these books. (or in my case this book that must weigh about 20 pounds).

[Jean Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Pathfinder” is third in chronological order of the “Leatherstocking” tales, although not the third written. It is set in western New York in 1759, at the height of the French and Indian War, when the area around Niagara Falls and western Lake Ontario was still largely a vast, uncharted, sparsely populated wilderness (except by Native Americans) and the English struggled to maintain a few isolated frontier outposts against the aggressive attacks of the French and their Iroquois allies (warning: the French are portrayed as heretical, godless Papists and their Native allies are called “Mingos” and seen as merciless savages out to harvest scalps, which probably portrayed popular views among the English settlers at the time).

In spite of the dense and often turgid prose (it’s hard to believe that even in the mid-18th Century people would converse in such a stilted and loquacious fashion, but one must remember that when the book was published—1840—writers were often paid by the word and many novels, as with those of Dickens at this time, appeared first in serial form in newspapers), what sustains this novel is that it is a mixture of small-scale wartime action (guerrilla warfare, if you will), cloak-and-dagger intrigue, and almost-soap-opera-like interplay between the several major characters—all set against the overwhelming, unspoiled natural background of river, forest and lake and the “sense of wonder” the author is always at pains to convey about it, along with a wistful regret about the changes seen, even then, between that time and his own.

Pathfinder (Leatherstocking, Hawkeye, Natty Bumppo) is an almost deus-ex-machina personage who is sometimes a bit hard to credit in the way he embodies so many virtues—honesty, innocence, moral purity and incorruptibility, faith in God, strength and resolution of will, steadfastness of purpose, stoicism in the face of adversity—as well as supreme skill with his trusty rifle Killdeer. Here, for the first time, he exhibits emotional vulnerability as he falls in love with Mabel Dunham—an unlikely pairing, as he is old enough to be her father—and eventually yields her to Jasper, admitting to himself in tragic-hero and perhaps chivalric fashion that he is a solitary man whose place is in the forest at the side of his Delaware companion Chingachgook (the Last of the Mohicans) and that Nature is closest to his heart.

Mabel embodies 18th- or 19th-Century virtues of the ideal woman—innocent, pure, submissive to the wisdom and will of the men in her life—and at the same time wise beyond her years, able to take charge when necessary, strong-willed about whom she will or won’t marry, not entirely happy with the typical woman’s (expected) destiny, at least as men saw it, of wife and mother, although finally accepting of it for her father’s sake.

The secondary characters (Cap, Jasper, Lundie, the Sergeant, Quartermaster) are not as well developed and are somewhat tediously predictable—or even sometimes comical—in their attitudes and actions, mainly because their function is to help flesh out the true natures of Pathfinder and Mabel as they provide elements of intrigue and sometimes comedy. At times (as with Quartermaster) it is a bit overdone, even to the point of tedium.

Overall a fascinating period piece, if one can overlook the obtuse writing style and sometimes exaggerated and stereotypical characterizations. But if the book’s purpose was to familiarize 19th-century readers with a perhaps-insufficiently-known period of their country’s history and to hold up the cardinal virtues (and, admittedly, prejudices) as they were seen in that day, it must have succeeded admirably—the book sold well and along with the other Leatherstockng Tales helped solidify the author’s place as one of America’s most popular 19th-century writers.

***** review by Chuck Graham *****

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Pathfinder, aka: The Deerslayer, Hawkeye, Natty Bumppo, has been asked by a military friend, Sergeant Dunham, to make sure his daughter, Mabel, safely arrives at the border fort on the great lakes where he is serving. Pathfinder recruits his ever constant companion, Chingachgook as well as a young sailor, Jasper Western to aid him in this task, which becomes more complicated the closer they get to their destination as it becomes obvious a war party is after them. However, the journey to the fort is only the beginning of this tale of the trials of the beautiful Mabel, they must also thwart a re-supply shipment to the local French garrison, outwit a French and Indian raid and discover a traitor in their midst, all while figuring out matters of the heart.

This book often made me think of Elizabeth George Speare's Calico Captive, though more as a compare/contrast with similar tone than a mirror-similar story. While reading, I often found this closer to four stars, but some of Cooper's choices greatly frustrated/annoyed me how easily Cap and Sergeant Dunham are like "Oh, Jasper is TOTALLY the guy who is betraying us, even though he's made this run a million times before with nothing bad happening and this is the first time the slimy Quartermaster Muir, who really has no reason to be here, has come along and who is the one constantly adding fuel to the witch hunt.. Gotta be Jasper!", as well as his somewhat bitter tone, brought it down to three stars. What I liked: agreed completely with Mabel's final choice, was a little mad at her for dithering; in general liked Mabel as a character, thought Cooper was setting her up to be an idiot for a time, but she has sense and uses it, but doesn't always take action as quickly as I could have wished; fairly quickly moving plot; Dew of June (except her story's end); certain characters eventually admitting they were in the wrong. What lost the star: disappointed by how little Chingachgook is in this one, he'll be on the edge of the scene and you think he's going to save the day or make a difference, but then it's like "Oh, yeah he just missed getting there on time...", that is not the Serpent we've come to know and depend on and up to this point, the books have felt like they could as easily have been from his point of view instead of Natty's, but in The Pathfinder he's constantly "elsewhere"! How wishy-washy Pathfinder is on the subjects of Mabel and Jasper; the turn for the worst and then the absolute disasters toward the end, which seemed un-necessary and a little "WHAT? Why would they DO that?!?!"; the accurate to the period, but sometimes offensive racial/gender stereotypes (honestly, this was the smallest quibble, as I can read in context, but the content is there, so be warned).

Content notes: Minor swearing, some racial slurs, though most of the "offensive" language would not have been so at the time. Mabel understands her danger of being made an Indian captive, particularly as the chief has made it known she's to be his newest wife, and one of the soldiers who wants to marry her mentions having had several other wives and at least one "misunderstanding" that his acquittances count as being his wife, but nothing more explicit. Several close calls, including a severe storm while on the lake and ultimately a disastrous raid with many dead and scalped occurring during skirmishes (including a woman), most deaths are simply described from a gun firing and a bloody spot appearing, or the person falling down and having their scalp removed; most disturbing is the ambush set up where dead bodies are posed to appear still alive and going about their business.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the third book, in chronological order, in what is known as the Leatherstocking Tales, but it was the fourth book written. As such, the author had to fit certain things into the book, namely, that our main character (known in this book only as Pathfinder) has to fall in love, but cannot actually win fair maiden, as that would not work out well with what the public knew of the later life of the character. Besides that complication, it takes place almost entirely on or near the shores of Lake Ontario during the French and Indian War. And there are plenty of alarums and attacks in this book, along with more than usual comic relief, to make me happy that I have read this book.

Circa 1758, and four people are in the woods, heading for the English fort on Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Oswego River. These people are Mabel Dunham, a nineteen year old damsel, who lost her mother at a very early age, and since has been living on the New-York coast, and Charles Cap, invariably called Cap, who is Mabel’s maternal uncle, and who is a salt-water sailor with contempt for any alleged fresh-water sailing. They are en route to the fort to meet up with Mabel’s father and Cap’s brother in law Sergeant Dunham, who is at the fort, and are being escorted by Arrowhead, a Tuscarora Indiana allied with the Mingo, and Dew in June, Arrowhead’s wife. They meet up with Chingachgook, a mighty Delaware Indian; Jasper Western, also known as Jasper Eau Douce, a twenty-something noted sailor on the fresh water of the Great Lakes; and Pathfinder, who has come to meet the travelers and to convey them on to the fort and Mabel’s father, whom Pathfinder has known and fought with against the French for some twenty years. Arrowhead and his wife abandon the group, and everyone else makes it to the fort. Sergeant Dunham has decided that Mabel should marry the Pathfinder; Mabel is unaware of this plan, as others at the fort have designs on her, including Lieutenant Davy Muir, the quartermaster, who has had some three or four wives already. An expedition is planned to sail to the Thousand Islands to relieve a small garrison, but an anonymous letter indicates that someone is actually a traitor to the French, and Uncle Cap is certain that the traitor must be Jasper, because Jasper knows how to speak French.

This was a fine book, and funny in places where it should not have been (one character is shot in the back, falls flat on his face, then rolls over), and I look forward to continuing the series at some later point in time.