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In 1757, the Seven Years' War pits Britain against France across the dense forests of the upper Hudson Valley. General Webb dispatches reinforcements from Fort Edward toward Fort William Henry, where Colonel Munro faces an impending French siege under Montcalm. Major Duncan Heyward agrees to escort Munro's daughters, Cora and Alice, through the wilderness under the guidance of a Native runner named Magua.
Magua leads Major Heyward, Cora, and Alice off the main military road into dense wilderness, claiming a secret shortcut. David Gamut, an eccentric psalm singer carrying a pitch pipe, attaches himself to the traveling party. Heyward defends Magua's reliability, oblivious to the Huron runner's hidden hatred toward Colonel Munro and his daughters.
Along the banks of the Hudson River, the scout Hawkeye converses with his Mohican companions, Chingachgook and his son Uncas. Their philosophical debate over heritage and land rights is interrupted by approaching hoofbeats. The three woodsmen prepare to confront strangers navigating a forest teeming with hostile French-aligned Iroquois.
Hawkeye meets Heyward's party and immediately questions Magua's strange route through the forest. Recognizing Magua as a Huron covertly aiding the French, Hawkeye quietly alerts Uncas and Chingachgook to surround the runner. Before the woodsmen can capture him, Magua senses the betrayal and vanishes into the brush.
Hawkeye guides the stranded travelers to Glenn's Falls, where a hidden cave sits beneath the roaring waters of the Hudson River. The group navigates slippery rocks to reach safety inside the cavern rock chamber. The thunder of the waterfall masks their presence from Magua's searching Huron scouts.
Inside the damp cavern, Hawkeye and the Mohicans share dried venison with Heyward, Cora, Alice, and Gamut. Gamut leads the group in a sacred psalm, his voice echoing against the rock walls alongside the rushing falls. Hawkeye reflects on his trusted rifle, Killdeer, and the stark realities of frontier warfare.
At dawn, Huron warriors discover the cavern hideout and attack from treetops overhanging the falls. Hawkeye and Uncas fire carefully calibrated rifle shots to dislodge snipers suspended above the river. The small party fights desperately to hold the narrow entrance as ammunition rapidly dwindles.
Expending their final gunpowder, Hawkeye and the Mohicans realize remaining in the cave guarantees massacre. Cora convinces Hawkeye, Chingachgook, and Uncas to slip into the river current and swim to safety so they can bring help later. The woodsmen float downstream, leaving Heyward and the sisters to face inevitable capture.
Hurons swarm the Glenn's Falls cavern, capturing Major Heyward, Cora, Alice, and David Gamut without a fight. Magua searches eagerly for Hawkeye's corpse, furious to discover his primary enemy escaped down the river. The captives are dragged from the cavern as the Hurons plunder their remaining supplies.
Magua leads the captives up a steep, solitary hill and reveals his motive for vengeance against Colonel Munro. Munro had once ordered Magua whipped for drunkenness, leaving scars that fuel the Huron's rage. Magua offers Cora a choice between becoming his wife in his distant tribe or seeing her sister sacrificed.
As Magua's warriors bind Heyward and the sisters to trees, Gamut tries in vain to soothe the captors with song. Just as a Huron hurls a tomahawk toward Alice, Hawkeye, Chingachgook, and Uncas spring from the thickets in a ruthless rescue attack. The Mohicans kill several Hurons in hand-to-hand combat, though Magua feigns death and slips away into the brush.
Hawkeye leads the rescued travelers toward Fort William Henry, pausing at a ruined wooden blockhouse where a past battle occurred. Chingachgook discovers the grave of slain comrades, prompting a moment of silent reverence among the survivors. The group cleans their weapons and rests briefly before facing the final stretch through enemy lines.
A thick morning fog blankets the approach to Lake George, hiding Hawkeye's group from lurking Huron patrols. Near the blockhouse ruins, a passing party of enemy scouts misses them by mere yards in the mist. Hawkeye directs the party to move quietly toward the sounds of distant cannon fire marking the fort.
The group encounters French sentries guarding the siege trenches surrounding Fort William Henry. Major Heyward uses his fluent French to deceive a guard long enough for the party to slip through the perimeter. As French cannons open fire, Colonel Munro opens the fortress gates to welcome his daughters into safety.
Inside Fort William Henry, bombardment from Montcalm's siege guns continues incessantly day and night. Heyward seeks Colonel Munro's permission to marry Alice, leading Munro to reveal Cora's mixed heritage from her West Indian mother. Munro accepts Heyward's suit, though he misinterprets Heyward's preference for Alice as racial bias.
General Montcalm requests a parley with Colonel Munro to present captured British communications. Hawkeye, sent by Munro to fetch aid from General Webb at Fort Edward, is captured by French sentries carrying Webb's reply. Montcalm holds Webb's letter, knowing its contents will force Munro's surrender without further bloodshed.
Montcalm shows Munro the intercepted letter in which General Webb explicitly refuses to send reinforcements. Realizing defense is hopeless, Munro signs surrender terms allowing his garrison to march out with full military honors and keep their arms. Montcalm promises safe passage to Fort Edward, but fails to restrain his Native allies.
As the unarmed British garrison and civilians march out of Fort William Henry, Huron warriors attack the helpless column. Chaos erupts as hundreds of soldiers, women, and children are cut down while French troops fail to intervene. In the slaughter, Magua recaptures Cora and Alice, dragging them into the woods while David Gamut follows.
Days after the massacre, Hawkeye, Chingachgook, Uncas, Heyward, and Colonel Munro return to the quiet, burned ruins of the fort. They search among the fallen for signs of Cora and Alice, fearing the worst until Uncas discovers small foot impressions in the mud. Reassured the sisters live, the five men swear to follow the trail deep into Huron territory.
The trackers launch a birchbark canoe onto Lake George, paddling north toward the Huron strongholds. They spot an enemy canoe in pursuit and exchange distant rifle fire while maneuvering through island channels. Using superior seamanship, Hawkeye and the Mohicans outpace their pursuers and reach the northern shore safely.
On land, the pursuers discover a large beaver pond and encounter David Gamut wandering near the Huron camp in Native dress. Gamut explains that the Hurons consider his mental instability and psalm singing sacred, allowing him to roam freely. He reveals that Alice is held nearby while Cora has been taken to a village of neutral Delawares.
To infiltrate the Huron camp, Major Heyward shaves his beard and paints his face to pose as a French physician sent by Montcalm. Hawkeye and Chingachgook conceal themselves in the surrounding woods while Heyward enters the village boldly. The Huron elders accept Heyward's disguise and ask him to heal a sick woman in a nearby cave.
Inside the Huron council lodge, chiefs gather to judge a newly captured prisoner, who reveals himself to be Uncas. Magua arrives and urges immediate execution, but the elders decide to defer Uncas's death until the morning. Heyward, still disguised as a physician, is directed to the mountain cave where the sick woman lies.
In the cave, Heyward is joined by Hawkeye, who has disguised himself inside a full bearskin suit taken from a Huron medicine man. Together they locate Alice, overpower Magua when he enters the cavern alone, and bind him securely in ropes. Hawkeye wraps Alice in blankets to carry her out past the Huron guards, escaping toward the Delaware camp.
A chapter-by-chapter guide to James Fenimore Cooper's classic frontier story of wilderness warfare, captivity, and rescue.