James Fenimore Cooper

The Prairie ANNOTATED James Fenimore Cooper

Shortly after the time of the Louisiana Purchase, Ishmael Bush, his wife, Esther, and their children travel westward from the Mississippi River. Their wagon train includes their fourteen sons and daughters; Esther's niece, Ellen Wade; Esther's brother, Abiram White; and Dr. Obed Battius, a physician and naturalist. While searching for a place to camp one evening, the group meets old Trapper (Natty Bumppo) and his dog, Hector. The trapper directs them to a nearby stream for a campsite. After night falls, Trapper discovers Ellen in a secret meeting with her lover, Paul Hover, a wandering bee hunter. A band of Sioux Indians captures the three, but they manage to escape. The raiders steal all the horses and cattle from Ishmael's caravan. Unable to proceed across the prairie, the group occupies a naturally fortified hilltop shown to them by Trapper. A week later, Hover, Trapper, and Battius gather around Trapper's campsite. Soon, a young stranger who introduces himself as Captain Duncan Middleton of the U. S. Army, joins them. Middleton is the grandson of Trapper's old friends, Major Duncan Heyward and Alice Munro-Heyward; Trapper had known the Heywards in the days of the French and Indian Wars. Middleton is looking for his wife, Inez, whom Abiram White, Esther's brother, has been holding captive since shortly after her marriage. Paul, Trapper, and Battius agree to help Middleton rescue Inez. Ishmael and his sons leave their camp to hunt buffalo. In the evening, they return with meat. However, Asa, the oldest son, ..