Fact Vs Reality Of Movie"Last Of The Mohicans"

The last of the Mohicans is a film directed by Michael Mann, from a script by Mann and Christopher Crowe. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, West Studi, Russell Means, Eric Schwieg, Jodhi May, Maurice Roeves, and Steven Waddington

The original novel written by James Fenimore Cooper has been popular ever since it was first published in 1826.

Plot

A white man is adopted as a toddler by the Mohican Chingachgook and raised together with his foster brother Uncas. His name is Hawkeye, also known as Nathaniel (Daniel Day-Lewis).

The movie begins in the year of 1757 and the French and British are at war with various Indians taking part on both sides. The main part is about the 1757 siege of a British fortress; Fort William Henry.

The beautiful Cora Munro and her sister Alice Munro is trying to get to Fort William Henry where they are supposed to meet up with their father; Colonel Munro (Maurice Roeves,). Their escort is led by an officer named Duncan Hayward (played by Steven Waddington). As a guide they have an Indian named Magua (Wes Studi) He is not on their side and lead them in to an ambush. In the last minute Hawkeye, his father and brother show up. The fight that follows is as typical Hollywood it can be; the hero rarely misses, and the villains rarely hit anyone needed later in the story.

Hawkeye and his family decide that from now on they are going to escort the girls to their father. Cora start having feelings for Hawkeye and Officer Major Duncan Hayward is starting to get jealous about it. He is interested in Cora and wants to marry her .He tries hard with a number of dirty tricks to get Hawkeye out of the picture. For example he tells a different story about what really happened in the woods to the Colonel.

When Hawkeye is trying to convince the Colonel to let settlers leave the fort, to return to protect their vulnerable families along the frontier, the Colonel does not approve. Hawkeye objects and he is charged with treason when he still helps settlers to leave the fort.

Cora proves herself to be a very independent woman and she seems to be the soul mate of Hawkeye. He declares his love to her, when he has the chance to escape the fort but chooses to stay, through

the line; "Because what I am interested in is right here"

Hawkeye's father Chingachgook (Russel Means) and Uncas (Eric Schweig) are strong and silent Mohicans, and it is obvious that they have a strong bond to each other.

The Indian guide Magua (Wes Studi) has a lot of personal feelings against the Colonel and is the most evil character in the movie. He wants revenge for the killing of his family that he describes; "The Gray Hair bears guilt of killing Maguas family. They killed his children. Magua was taken as a slave and his wife, who thought he was dead, became the wife of another." Magua swear that he will kill the Colonel and his children; to make sure his blood dies with him.

When Fort William Henry finally has to surrender, due to the lack of reinforcements needed from Fort Edwards (under the command of Colonel Webb), they get a really good deal. The French is letting the British go with their honor as long as they promise to not continue fighting. Magua is not happy with that decision and he plans an attack on the people leaving the fort. The French Officer Montcalm , that says that he is afraid that the generous terms will only lead to that he has to fight the same men again, gives Magua the "go ahead" when they meet in secret.

It is a massacre where a lot of people are killed (the Colonel included). Cora, her sister and a few others manage to escape with Hawkeye. Maguas men are following them and Hawkeye tries different techniques to get rid of them. He finally has to leave Cora and the others to be captured but promise to find them again, which he does. He saves Cora but her sister, who has been under a lot of psychological pressure during the whole experience, commits suicide by throwing herself off a cliff after Hawkeyes brother is killed by Maguas men. Hawkeye's father manages to kill Magua, only to die shortly after by his own injuries by the battle.

In Real Life

The last of the Mohicans is a very entertaining film. But it is not as historically accurate as you may think.

There are no facts about any, in real life, very similar person to Hawkeye, but there are stories about different tribes that got entirely wiped out of existence by white men.

The real Colonel Munro and the "massacre"

Contrary to popular belief (mostly because of the 1992 movie) Colonel George Munro (spelled "Monro" in real life) did NOT die during the massacre. He arrived at Fort Edwards and went shortly thereafter to Albany to condemn Webb's cowardly actions during the siege. Webb was recalled to England and reassigned. His reputation was ruined.

It is easy to picture nearly the entire column, which was marching from Fort William Henry to Fort Edwards, being slaughtered when you hear the story. When 1600 armed, Indian warriors are attacking a defenseless, panicked column of about 2400 people (including women & children), there is not much left to the imagination how things happened. In reality, however, it did not happen the way that the most people think it did. Colonel Monro's own estimations were that 129 were killed and wounded among the British troops. Regarding the colonial militia, he said, "No Regular Accot Could be got from the Provincials but their Numbers Kill'd Could not be Less than Four Officers & about 40 Men. And very near as many Men Wounded." There is no doubt some killing occurred, but in the big picture the Indians were mostly taking baggage and clothing they felt was due them. When soldiers tried to resist they were mostly knocked down or in rare cases killed, but mostly they were taken as prisoners. Indians had learned from earlier battles that a soldier was worth more alive than dead, because the French would pay generously for British prisoners. It is no doubt that the attack was filled with terror, but the "massacre" as film and some historians have presented it, never occurred.

Though a number of people came to the fort earlier in smaller groups or alone over the following weeks after the attack, the bigger part of the original column (500 including wives, servants and children) arrived at Fort Edwards, under French guard, on August 14.

According to Professor Ian K. Steele, 1783 out of the 2308 soldiers, who left Fort William Henry on August 9, had shown up at Fort Edward by August

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