The Last of the Mohicans, Chapter 12 summary

What happens

1. Hawkeye, Uncas, and Chingachgook attack the Hurons, and Heyward joins their hand-to-hand fight.
2. Uncas saves Cora from an attacker, while Magua escapes after appearing to lose his struggle with Chingachgook.
3. The sisters reunite, David gains his freedom, and Hawkeye disputes David’s religious doctrine before listening to his thanksgiving song.
4. The party collects weapons and rides down to a secluded spring, where the guides prepare food.
5. Hawkeye explains that Uncas identifies the horses’ unusual tracks and helps recover the prisoners’ trail.
6. After eating and drinking, the party sets off north, leaving the slain Hurons unburied.

In this chapter

What to notice

Hawkeye credits Uncas’s close observation with recovering the trail. The admission shows that unfamiliar details can defeat even an experienced tracker’s assumptions.

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