"1J I'TI OJ It> ::l iii ;p ;n- ~. ::; . 3 ::l It> It> 3 iii ::l ::l a. iii !!: 0;' 3 It> -< iii a. 0;' iii MACMI LLAN R EA DE RS BEGINNER LEVEL JAMES FENIMORE COOPER The Last of the Mohicans Re to ld by John Escott ~ MACl\IILLAN MACMILLAN READERS BEGINNER LEVEl Founding Editor : Joh n Milne Th e Mac milla n Reade rs provide a cho ice of enjoyable re adin g mat erials for learn ers of English. Th e series is published at six levels - Sta rter, Be ginn er, Elem ent ary, Pre -int erm edi ate, Int erm ediat e and Uppe r. Level control Inf orm ati on , str ucture and vocabulary are co ntro lled to suit the students' ability at each level. Th e numb er of words at each level: Sta rter about 300 basic words Be ginn er abo ut 600 basic words Elemen tar y about 1100 basic words Pre -in term ed iate abo ut 1400 basic word s In term ediat e abo ut 1600 basic words Uppe r about 2200 basic words Vocabulary Some difficult words and ph rases in this book are i mportant for underst andin g th e story. Some of these words are explained in the story and some are show n in the pictures. From Pre-i nte rmediate level upwards, words are marked with a nu mber like this: 1. Th ese words are explained in the G lossary at the end of the book. Contents A Note About the Author A Note A bo ut This Story The Pe opl e in This Story 1 Th e Two Sisters 2 Lost in th e Forest 3 Th e Fight at Gl enn' s Falls 4 'I Am a Huron Chief' 5 Fort William H enr y 6 'Wh en Will Help Come?' 7 Th e Trail 8 Th e Medicine Man 9 In the Hurons' Village 10 Th e Bear 11 Th e Old Chief 12 Th e Last of the Mohicans , ~ CANADA I ' I w · • E ' 'I;- '« e- -" I ce : e<:- f -iiI 'va '" ' •<, /. t c, LakeGeorge " 'r I (Hof/can) \ I '1! :.J . Lake Ontario I 'If f t ( Fort William Henry . J \ r A MER I C A ,LaRe Erie ) -l, - ~ ,_1. North America 4 5 7 8 12 18 24 28 32 38 41 44 48 51 58 ~ , ",\(_r-··- _{ I Lake Champla in < .1" /'. Fort Ed~ard I ' '., , I Glenn's Falls L I, _ ,r- _ ~ I r: I I . B ~ T O ~ r:: ( : ~ ~ . l' I _ J j~ 15~ ~~ \ ) .i>: J~;' ,1} -</ - o cean ~ l i C <2 1NEw YORK p,llan ') ) A N ote Ab out th e Auth or Jam es F enimore Coop er was b orn in N ew Jersey, N or th Ame rica on 15 th Sep te mber 1789. Hi s f amil y lived on a f arm in Coo pers to wn, in th e n orth of New York State. Coo pe r had five b roth er s and seven sisters. He w ent to sc hoo l at Yale. But he did not b eh ave we ll and he had to leave. In 1805, Cooper became a sailor. He was in th e US Navy until 1 810 . In 1811 Coo per's f ath er died. Cooper married Susan De Lancey and th ey lived on th e farm. From 1812 to 1821 Coo per w ork ed very hard. But he was poor. He gave a lot of mon ey to his brother s and sisters. In 1820, he started to write stories. Coo per's adve nt ure stories were about life in th e forests and th e wild lands of N orth Am erica. The Last of the M ohicans was Cooper's most popul ar story. Many people liked th e adve ntures of Hawk-eye. Coo per became rich and he travelled to Europe. Coo pe r wr ote five sto ries about Hawk-eye: The Pi oneers (1823) , The Last of the M ohi cans ( 1826 ), The Pathfind er (1840) and The Deerslayer (1841) . He also wrote The Spy (1821) , The Pil ot (1823) and The Pra ir ie (1 8 27) . J am es F enim or e Coope r die d on 14th September 1851. 4 A N ot e Ab out Thi s St ory Place: Lake Horican on the Hud s on River. Th e author gave this name to Lake Geo rge. (Look at th e map.) It is in th e east of N orth A me rica. Today, the area is called New York State. At th e time of thi s story, N orth America was not indep end ent. N orth America became independ ent from Europe in 1787. Time: 1757 . A rmies f rom Engl and a nd Fr an ce are fi ghtin g in N orth A merica. B oth countries w ant th e l and . Th e Indian people had lived in th e l and for th ousands of yea rs. Th ey got t he ir food f rom th e l and . Th ey caught fish in th e rivers and lakes. Th ey h unt ed deer, bears and birds in th e forests. Th ey ate the meat from th ese ani mals. Th ey made clo th es from th e an imals' skins. Th ere were many differ ent Indian tribes, or famil ies. Th ese are so me of t he tri bes w ho lived near t he Hud son River: Mo haw ks 'moohorks Delawares 'delow eoz Lenni-L enap e l eni 'le no.pe r Hur ons 'ho oronz Oneidas o'ncrd ee s Mengwe 'm eqgw ei Se necas 'senerk ees Iroquois ' Ir ~ kW ;) I M ohi cans mo'hiikon z Mingoes 'mnjgouz In 1607, English people came to N orth Am erica. In 1608, Fren ch people came. Th ey hunt ed th e animals. 5 Th ey took the soft animals' skins to Europe. Soon more and more Europeans came. Th ey wanted th e Indi an s' l and . Th e kin gs of Fr an ce and England sen t soldiers to North A me rica. Th e soldiers built strong f ort s to live in. Th e soldiers brought guns. Th e Ind i an s fought f or th e arm ies fr om En gl and and Fr anc e. In thi s story, th e Huron s are fi ghtin g for the Fr ench. The Mohawks are fi ghtin g for the English. a meeti ng house ). 4- % _ », &t ~ . ~ . _ ~ ,iJJ. ~ ~ ~ J ~ - - · - - j r- ~- a f or ~ ' : / t 3r !rr~ " '"0 ' ' P ' d d l~~ a bear a cave Note: St = S aint {e.g. St Lawrence} 6 a deer The Peo21 ~ in This Story Cora Munro Alice Munro .koirc mrn'roq ' eelr s rrrm'roq if~ General Munro Gen eral Webb Magua 'djenral mrn'raq 'dj enral 'web 'meegwo f \ Chingachgook Uncas tjm'geetjgok 'onkzes Pi;; Gen eral Montcalm Tamenund Duncan Heyward 'd3enr;)) mon'ka:m t eem enond 'dxnkx n herwud 7 1 The Two Sisters It was th e year 1757. Th e place was the dangerous and wild land, west of th e Hud s on River. It was the third yea r of th e w ar in N or th A me rica . Th e wa r was b etw e en Engl and and Fr an ce. Ea ch cou nt ry wanted th e l and for itself. Indi an tribes had always lived in th at l and . In the war, some tribes were fi ght ing for the Fr en ch. O th er tribes were figh tin g for th e English. F ort Edward was on the Hud s on River. Ge ne ral W ebb was t he c omm and er of th e En gli sh army at F ort E dwa rd. He was wa it i ng f or news of Ge ne ra l M ontc alm . M ont c alm was th e co m ma nde r of t he Fr en ch army. Th e new s ca me o ne m ornin g. An Indi an ca lle d Magua arrived. 'M ontc alm an d th e Fre nc h army are co mi ng to wa rds For t Willi am H enr y,' Magua told Ge ne ral Webb . F ort William H enr y was fifte en miles away. It was at th e south end of Lake Horican. 'H ow man y m en has M ontc alm got?' asked Webb. 'As many as t he leaves on th e trees,' said Magua. ' Ge ne ral Munro wants more soldiers at Fort William Henr y.' 8 9 "l will se nd fifte en h und red men .' sai d Ge ne ral Wchb. Ge ner al Munro was th e com mande r of th e English arm y .1[ Fort William Henry. I Ic had two dau ghte rs - Co ra and A lice. Cow was about tw ent y- thr ee vearx old and A ltcc was cig ht ecn . Cor a ha d da rk hair and a be aut iful [ace. Alice had fair hai r and blue eyes. Th ese two YOU Il /ol: women were en Fort Edward. But they were going to travel 10 Fort William H enr y. Th ey were going to meet their fat her . Ge ne ral Wehh sp oke to COni and Ali ce. 'Magun knows a secret path t hro ugh the forest,' said Ge ne ra l W ebb . ' He will be your gu ide. Ma gua and Maj or Duncan Heyward will take you to Fort \Xlilliam H enr y.' Major Duncan Heyward was a young English officer. He and the two young women left Fort Edward . Th ey rode on h or ses. Maguu walked in front {If th em. Alice wnrchcd Magua. 'I d on't like him , Co ra,' s he sa id. 'Whar do you t hin k! Will we he safe in the forest with Magna" 'W e must trust Magus.' said Co ra. ' Th e Fr en ch know our soldie rs' pa th s,' said Duncan. 'But Mauna's path is secret.' He smiled at Alice, and she smiled at him. Dun can Heyward was in love with Al ice. 'M agna is it Hu ron ,' said Duncan. ' But he lived w ith the M oh awks. T he Mohawk s are fri en ds of th e English. Magua carne to us. Y our f<lt her- ' Dun ca n stopped. 10 T hen he said, 'RIIt I don't remember all the story.' Duncan knew more about r ·1a gua. Bur he did not tell C or a and A lice. He did not say, 'A few years ago, y our father's men beat Magna. Now Magua hates your fat he r.' Dun c an diJ not wa nt ro frigh ten th e young women . So th ey followed Magll:l t hro ugh th e forest. II 2 Lost in the Forest A few miles west of Fort Edward, thr ee men were sit- tin g near a river. Two of th e m en were Indians. Th e other man was a whit e man . Chingachgook and his son, Unca s, wer e Mohic an s. Th e whit e man was a scout called Hawk-eye. Hawk-eye had a long huntin g- gun. Th e thr ee men were talking. 'My trib e is th e oldest Indian tribe,' Chingachgook said. 'Th e blood of the Mohican chiefs is in me. Many summers ago, my tribe came here to th e land of th e Delawares.' 12 'Where are the Mohicans now?'asked Hawk-eye. 'Wh ere are th e flow er s of tho se summers?' said C h i ngac hgoo k. 'Go ne. All dead . Aft er my de ath , Un cas will be th e last of th e M ohican s.' Suddenly, th ey heard a noise. The y turn ed quickly. Hawk-eye lifted his gun. 'Wh o is it?' he said. Duncan Heyward rode out of the forest. Cora and Alic e followed him. 'I am an English officer,' Dunc an said. 'W e have come from F ort Edward. How far is it to F ort William Henry ?' Hawk -eye laughed. 'F ort William Henry ? You are going th e wrong way,' he said. 'You are near Gl enn 's Falls.' 'Th e wrong way!' said Duncan . 'Then we are lost. But our Indian guide -' 'You have an Indian guide but you are lost in th e forest?' said Hawk-eye. 'That is very strange. Is he a Delaware ?' 'H e is called Magua. He is a Huron ,' said Duncan. 'But he lives with th e M oh awks, and he is a guide for th e En g- ' 'A Huron!' said Hawk-eye quickly. 'You can trust a Mohican or a Delaware. But you cannot trust a Huron! Your guide will lead you to his fri end s. The y will kill you. Let me see him .' Magua was standing b eh ind Cora's horse. Hawk-eye lo ok ed at him . Th en he went and spo ke to Chingachgook and Unc as. 13 Magua moved quickly. He ran int o the forest. Hawk-eye, Chingac hgook and Un cas ran after him. But Magua escaped. ~ 1, .' " 'What can I do ?' thou ght Dunc an. 'W e are lost.' He turned to Hawk-eye. 'Will you take us to Fort William Henry?' he asked. 'We will give you money.' Hawk-eye looked at Cora and Alic e. 'We will take you,' he t old Dunc an. 'Money is not imp ort ant. We will n ot leave you and th e two young wom en here. Magua and his Huron fri end s will find you. Co me now - quickly!' 14 Dun c an and Hawk- eye spoke to Co ra and Ali ce. Th e sisters got off th eir horses. Th e M ohic ans took th e animals away. 'Th ey will hide the horses until th e m ornin g,' said Hawk-eye. He pulled a canoe from th e tall grass at the side of the river. 'G et int o th e can oe,' he said. 'W e will go to a cave and we will stay th ere t oni ght .' Duncan, Co ra and Alice got int o the canoe. Hawk- eye pushed the can oe to th e middle of the river. Th en he got int o th e ca noe . He started to paddle along th e river. So on they heard th e sound of a great waterfall in f ront of th em - Glenn's Falls. A few minut es later, th ey saw th e waterfall. 15 Alice looked at the tall young Mohican, Uncas. 'A strong man is guarding us,' she said quietly to her sister. 'We will be safe tonight.' 16 17 [...]... with their guns They sat behind some rocks near the water, fall They waited Minutes passed Then an hour passed The fourth Huron fought with Duncan Uncas ran to help the officer The young Mohican killed the Huron Then Uncas and Duncan ran back to the rocks The Hurons on the other side of the river started to shoot again And Chingachgook shot at them The shooting went on and on Rocks and trees near the. .. Alice 'I cannot leave you.' Alice to the flat rock One of the Hurons brought the canoe 'Get into the canoe!' Magua said Duncan and the sisters got into the canoe Magua and the Hurons took them across the river ,' ~: There were shouts and cries from the Hurons on the flat rock Duncan looked out of the cave The Hurons were looking behind the rocks near the waterfall 'They are looking for us,' thought... bring help soon.' The Hurons were angry They were going to kill their prisoners But Magua spoke to them, quickly and quietly Then the Hurons took Duncan, Cora and The prisoners got out of the canoe on the other side of the river Magua and five Hurons stayed with them The other Hurons walked away into the forest 22 23 ') , 4 'I Am a Hu ron C h ief' The Hurons and the ir pri soners sta rted to walk Magua... to the grave of Uncas In 1758, General Munro died Alice marri ed Duncan Heyward and they lived happily together From that time, the Delaware s told their children th e sto ry of the English wom an a n d th e yo un g Mohican And they told their children the word s of Tamenund, the old chief ­ 'The time of the red man h as gone We fought for o ur land But now there ar e many white men - as many as the. .. French 'A friend of France!' he said 'Who are you?' shouted the Frenchman But Duncan and his friends walked away quickly They went on through the fog At last, they arrived at the walls of the fort An English voice shouted from the top of the wall 'The French are here Shoot! Shoot!' 'Father, Father!' Alice shouted 'It is us! Save your daughters! ' 'Don't shoot, men!' said the voice of General Munro... coming along the valley The fog will hide us from the French Follow me!' Hawk-eye and the Mohicans started to walk down the mountain Duncan and the two sisters followed them At the bottom of the mountain, the fog was very thick 'Be careful!' said Hawk-eye v'There are many French soldiers along this path Walk quietly!' They followed him through the fog Suddenly, they heard voices 'Who is there?' said... make her well?' 'Take me to the woman,' said Duncan He followed the chief out of the meeting-house They went towards a hill There was a cave in the hill Duncan followed the chief into the cave The cave was large and there were many rooms with stone walls The chief took Duncan into one room The sick woman was lying on the ground Some other women were with her Duncan looked at the sick woman 'She is dying,'... feet Then he took off the bear's sk in Unc as an d H awk- eye ran quickly from the village 'We sh all go to th e Delawares' village ,' said Hawk­ eye 'Yes!' said Uncas 'T he Delawares are th e children of my grandfathe r They will help us.' The n ext morning, the Hurons went to ge t Uncas They were going to kill him They found th e bear's skin But they did not find the Mohican Then they went to the. .. with your brother s, the De lawa res They are wea k They lik e their homes and th eir food They do not like fighting They will not h elp you.' Then Ma gua walked o ut of the meeting, h ou se Cora followed him Uncas spo ke to Tamenund 'Delaware Father,' h e said 'Help us We must follow the English woman ' Tamenund called the young men of the village 'Go with th e Mohican ,' he said 'The Hu ron s are... the other side of the river 'Hurons!' thought Duncan Then Duncan saw Hawk-eye The scout was shoot, ing from the flat rock Duncan saw a Huron fall into the rushing water Then the other Hurons ran back into the forest Hawk-eye came back into the cave 'They have gone,' he said 'Will they come back?' asked Duncan 'Yes, they will come back,' replied Hawk-eye 'Miss Cora and Miss Alice must stay here in the . Duncan ran to the front of the cave. The sound of guns came from the forest. There were many Indians on the other side of the river. 'Hurons!'. and the Hurons took them across the river. ,' . ~ : . ') ., The prisoners got out of the canoe on the other side of the