LO+Last+of+the+Mohicans+Response

Lacey Olson Mr. Rowells AP U.S. History-Period 1 17 August 2009 __ The Last of the Mohicans __ With the settling of the English and French colonists in the colonies the Native Americans were seen as the inferior race because of their lifestyles. They were often called savages because they were not as civilized as the colonists were. They hunted and fought using arrows and tomahawks rather than with guns, their attire was simplistic and used out of things found in nature, and they did not believe in Christianity. The settlers did not see them as real humans because of their lack of technology and their tribal ways. The Native Americans would not always conform to the ways of these intruders so the settlers forced them to move out of their lands so that the colonists could have more area. The Native Americans were treated with no respect. In __The Last of the Mohicans__ by James Fenimore Cooper there are examples of the treatment of the Native Americans. The French and the British militaries used the Indians to fight in battles and they took advantage of their savagery and their disposability. While this was happening some colonists actually got to know the Native Americans and were able to be on friendly terms with them. A lot of the settlers used the Native Americans for tasks such as guiding people through the woods and fighting in battle. They see that they are nothing more than servants and savages to them. Heyward and the daughters, Alice and Cora, use le Renard Subtil to guide them through the forests in order to get to Fort William Henry. As it turns out le Renard Subtil, better known as Magua, was an enemy and led them on a different trail and then escaped. Another example of the use of the Native Americans for the colonist’s interests was when Montcalm allies himself with several of the Indian tribes. The Native Americans know their way around the land really well so it is a military advantage to have them on the French side in order to conquer the British. The Indians are able to find their way through the woods and do sneak attacks on the opposing side so that they are sidetracked and lose men for battles to come. The militaries also liked to have the Indians on their side because the “raging savages broke from the forest at the signal, and threw themselves across the fatal plain with instinctive alacrity” (Cooper 176). They used cruel warfare tactics of scalping, using tomahawks, and other gruesome skills. If they died it was not a great loss to the armies because according to them they were only savages and they had no great worth. All the Native Americans were to the militaries was a tool; they were used to help the colonists fight their battles against other colonists. On the other hand, there were some colonists that really got to know the Native Americans and were on good terms with them. When Magua mislead Heyward and the daughters the two Mohicans, Uncas and Chingachgook, along with Hawkeye were willing to take the group on the right path to Ford William Henry. These Native Americans and Hawkeye were dedicated to protecting the others and getting the girls safely to their father, Munro. Even after the girls and the musician were taken captive by Magua the Mohicans persevered and used their knowledge of the surroundings to help Munro and Heyward find them. Uncas died in a battle trying to free Cora from the hands of Magua. This showed that he truly cared about the cause and he would stop at nothing to succeed. Uncas, Chingachgook, and Hawkeye were all amenable to help and nobody had to force them to fight but they did anyways because they were respected by these white people and therefore they would return the favor. A friendly bond was created between this company and “the Being [they] all worship, under different names, will be mindful of their charity; and that that the time shall not be distant, when [they] may assemble around his throne, without distinction of sex, or rank, or colour!” (347). Nobody cared about race in this event because Munro and Heyward were lucky enough to find people with as much skill as these men had. They were put together for the common cause of protecting Alice and Cora and that created a pleasant relationship between the Native Americans and the white people. Different colonists had different relationships with the Native Americans around them. It depended on what type of situation they were in. A lot of the military men just used the Indians for warfare and disregarded them. They put them in a group of less than human. Then there were a select amount of colonists that really got along with the Native Americans and had a high opinion of them. Munro and Heyward in __The Last of the Mohicans__ had the opportunity to see a different side of the Indians whereas Montcalm and the French military just used them for their atrocity and malice.