The Pioneers

The first of Cooper’s Leatherstocking novels, though set later in Natty Bumppo’s life, this book brings the frontier scout into conflict with the settled world encroaching on his forests. On the New York frontier of the 1790s, the elderly hunter, now called Leatherstocking, clashes with Judge Marmaduke Temple over game laws, property, and the reckless waste of a wilderness being cleared for farms and towns. Around their quarrel Cooper builds a portrait of a raw village in the making, with its restless mix of settlers and outcasts, and a buried secret about the land’s rightful owners. It is an early and thoughtful American meditation on nature and law. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available to download.