The Prairie Read online

  Produced by Grant Macandrew and Jennifer Lee

  THE PRAIRIE

  By J. Fenimore Cooper

  INTRODUCTION

  "The Prairie" was the third in order of Fenimore Cooper'sLeatherstocking Tales. Its first appearance was in the year 1827. Theidea of the story had suggested itself to him, we are told, before hehad finished its immediate forerunner, "The Last of the Mohicans." Hechose entirely new scenes for it, "resolved to cross the Mississippi andwander over the desolate wastes of the remote Western prairies." He hadbeen taking every chance that came of making a personal acquaintancewith the Indian chiefs of the western tribes who were to be encounteredabout this period on their way in the frequent Indian embassies toWashington. "He saw much to command his admiration," says Mrs. Cooper,"in these wild braves... It was a matter of course that in drawingIndian character he should dwell on the better traits of the picture,rather than on the coarser and more revolting though more common points.Like West, he could see the Apollo in the young Mohawk."

  When in July, 1826, Cooper landed in England with his wife and family,he carried his Indian memories and associations with him. They crossedto France, and ascended the Seine by steamboat, and then settled fora time in Paris. Of their quarters there in the Rue St. Maur, SarahFenimore Cooper writes:

  "It was thoroughly French in character. There was a short, narrow,gloomy lane or street, shut in between lofty dwelling houses, the laneoften dark, always filthy, without sidewalks, a gutter running throughthe centre, over which, suspended from a rope, hung a dim oil lamp ortwo--such was the Rue St. Maur, in the Faubourg St. Germain. It was agloomy approach certainly. But a tall porte cochere opened, and suddenlythe whole scene changed. Within those high walls, so forbidding inaspect, there lay charming gardens, gay with parterres of flowers, andshaded by noble trees, not only those belonging to the house itself,but those of other adjoining dwellings of the same character--one lookedover park-like grounds covering some acres. The hotel itself, standingon the street, was old, and built on a grand scale; it had been the homeof a French ducal family in the time of Louis XIV. The rooms on the twolower floors were imposing and spacious; with ceilings of great height,gilded wainscoting and various quaint little medallion pictures ofshepherds and shepherdesses, and other fancies of the time of Madame deSevigne. Those little shepherds were supposed to have looked down upon_la mere beaute_, and upon _la plus jolie fille de France_ as she dancedher incomparable minuets. Those grand saloons were now devoted to thehumble service of a school for young ladies. But on the third floor,to which one ascended by a fine stone stairway, broad and easy,with elaborate iron railings, there was a more simple set of rooms,comfortably furnished, where the American family were pleasantlyprovided for, in a home of their own. Unwilling to separate from hischildren, who were placed at the school, the traveller adopted this planthat he might be near them. One of the rooms, overlooking the garden,and opening on a small terrace, became his study. He was soon at work.In his writing-desk lay some chapters of a new novel. The MS. hadcrossed the ocean with him, though but little had been added to itspages during the wanderings of the English and French journeys."

  When, some months later, the story appeared, its effect was immediate onboth sides the Atlantic. It is worth note that during his French visitCooper met Sir Walter Scott. Cooper was born at Burlington, New Jersey,15th Sept., 1789, and died at Cooperstown, New York (which took its namefrom his father), 14th Sept., 1851.

  The following is his literary record:

  Precaution, 1820; The Spy, 1821; The Pioneers, 1823; The Pilot,1823; Lionel Lincoln, or the Leaguer of Boston, 1825; The Last of theMohicans, 1826; The Prairie, 1827; The Red Rover, 1828; Notions of theAmericans, 1828; The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish, 1829; The Water-witch,1830; The Bravo, 1831; The Heidenmauer, or the Benedictines, 1832; TheHeadsman, 1833; A Letter to his Countrymen, 1834; The Monikins, 1835;Sketches of Switzerland, 1836; Gleanings in Europe: 1837; (England)1837; (Italy) 1838; The American Democrat, 1838; Homeward Bound, 1838;The Chronicles of Cooperstown, 1838; Home as Found (Eve Effingham),1839; History of the U. S. Navy, 1839; The Pathfinder, or the InlandSea, 1840; Mercedes of Castile, 1841; The Deerslayer, or the FirstWarpath, 1841; The Two Admirals, 1842; The Wing-and-Wing (Jack oLantern), 1842; The Battle of Lake Erie, or Answers to Messrs. Burges,Duer and Mackenzie, 1843; The French Governess; or, The EmbroideredHandkerchief, 1843; Richard Dale, 1843; Wyandotte, 1843; Ned Myers, orLife before the Mast, 1843; Afloat and Ashore (Miles Wallingford, LucyHardinge), two series, 1844; Proceedings of the Naval Court-Martial inthe Case of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, etc., 1844; Santanstoe, 1845;The Chainbearer, 1846; Lives of Distinguished American Naval Officers,1846; The Red Skins, 1846; The Crater (Marks Reef), 1847; Captain Spike,or the Islets of the Gulf, 1848; Jack Tier, or the Florida Reefs, 1848;The Oak Openings, or the Bee-Hunter, 1848; The Sea Lions, 1849; The Waysof the Hour, 1850.

  Ernest Rhys 1907