Lake Glimmerglass
The lake is the ultimate symbol of one of the dominant themes running throughout all the entries of the Leatherstocking Tales: pristine nature uncorrupted by civilization. Cooper saw in the wilderness of the American frontier the necessary raw material for building a nation, but at the same time he saw how that civilization sometimes was less than civilizing. Glimmerglass is therefore more than merely a symbol of nature; it is a symbol of an eternal present that has always been and will always be. The lake existed before man and it will still be there when America eventually falls like all empires before it. If, that is, an empire could be built from the vast, seemingly endless wilderness stretching out before the new arrivals to its home.
Muskrat Castle
Muskrat Castle is a particularly cutting symbol of how the intrusion into the pristine quality of nature by men unprepared to craft an empire creates nothing but ugliness to the existing beauty. The term “castle” is entirely ironic: haphazardly constructed from not much of a blueprint, the symbolism is twofold. A castle by connotation should be a fortress against attack and in that regard Muskrat Castle is an utter fiasco. Another connotation of castles involves the attempt to recreate European aesthetics and ideologies in a time and place where it is even more out of joint and displaced than in Europe. Not only is Hutter intruding on the natural beauty of the American frontier with an ugly structure, he is intruding on the idea of America with his attempt to impose European ideals upon it.
Tom Hutter
The empire would have to be built not by men like Tom Hutter, but in spite of him. Hutter himself can in some ways accurately be termed one of the prototypes of the Ugly American. He is described as a former pirate, but that is entirely inaccurate. He may not engage in the business of piracy as commonly considered, but he remains committed to taking what he wants and the damage left in his wake be damned. His lack of respect for the land is placed in juxtaposition with the indigenous tribesmen.
Mingos
Anyone who reads any of the entries in the adventures of Hawkeye will recognize that Cooper held a view of “Indians” far more sophisticated and complex than most writers, let alone most Americans. His indigenous characters rise to the occasion as heroes the equal of Hawkeye. At the same time, he was also ahead of his time by refusing to sentimentalize them into mere “noble savages.” There are good Indians and bad Indians in the The Deerslayer and the bad ones are known as the Mingos. The Mingoes may be stereotypes lacking in depth, but they serve a vital symbolic purpose. Just as the wilderness is beautiful and majestic, so it is terrifying and dangerous. The Mingos are the personification of everything to be afraid of in the unexplored regions of the frontier.
The Deerslayer and Hurry
On a primal symbolic level, the two characters most antagonistic to each other are Hawkeye and Hurry Harry. Through the juxtaposition, Cooper attempts to work out how America can be tamed and preserved at the same time. The Deerslayer represents rational approaches and reasoned thought. Harry, as his name suggests, represents impulse and the need to strike when the opportunity presents. Both qualities will become essential for the creation of the American empire, but the manner in which Cooper approaches the task of defining these extremes makes is quite clear that places careful consideration at a higher premium than impetuous action.
Chingachgook
The closet that Cooper comes to creating a noble savage is Chingachgook, Hawkeye’s ever loyal partner and, literally, the last of the Mohicans. That he stands by Hawkeye through thick and thin and manages to die an old man (in another book) is in keeping with his symbolism throughout. In all his appearances in the Tales, but perhaps especially this one, he is the tragic symbol of the Indian who genuinely tried to accept and assimilate. That he refuses to do so entirely is what keeps him from falling into the noble savage stereotype; he is far too complex a character for that. In seeking peace and dying old, he becomes literally a symbol; standing in for that which is not entirely real. In attempting to make peace with the strangers from across the sea and their pale skin, he becomes the unrealized ideal standing in place of the brutal reality of those real indigenous people who tried to replicate his feat.
