Evening star., 1930-05-21
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

prises the immortal "Deerslayer." !"
Last Of the Mohicans," Pathfinder" !"
Pioneers" and Prairie"
It is perhaps not generally realized
that these stories, In the sequence
named, constitute one running tale Of
early America. integral in characters
and scenes. The characters of Hawk
eye and NeSty Bumppo were unique
when conceived and so remain. These
stories were published in the following
Gsasr 1sss P1sre Ponesrs" 1892 ls2s
184O, and "Deerslayer," 1841.
Cooper achieved the impossible, al
most, in writing THE Deerslayer." )"
perhaps the best of the lot, last in order
of time, although it comes first in
chronological order, and pictures the
youth Of a character whom he already
had killed.
The youth of every man is poorer If
he has not read Red Rover" 1.-THE
Pilot" 1.-THE Water Witch" 1.-The Two
Admirals," best of the sea tales. Great
writers who came after-Marryat, Mel
tated Cooper.
The literary curious may spend
pleasant hours by reading-or attempt
ing to read-lesS we'll known novels by
Fenimore Cooper. There are plenty of
them-''The Wept of WishtonW Wish, ''
"The Bravo" Lionel Lincoln (Which
first put future great American name
in fiction), THE Headsman," 1.-THE
Heidenmauer," The Monikins, Home
ward Bound" Home as Found" (slaps
at his native land), Mercedes of Cas-
Med Myers "Afloat and Ashore"
"Satanstoe," 1.-THE Chainbearers, "The
Redskins" Crater" Jack Tier" soak
Openings, )" "The Sea Lions" ways of
the Hour"
Some of those titles carry mediocrity
in their very words, others intrigue the
imagination. Surely there must be
something interesting to be found in
1.-The Sea Lions or in Med Myers"
The latter is perhaps the first realistic
account of the life of the able seaman.
1t must not be forgotten that Two
Years Before the Mast" was not pub
lished until 20 years later.
Cooper went to Yale at an early age.
as boys did in those days, and promptly
got himself fired on account of in
subordination. The latest edition Of
the Encyclopedias Britannica" de-
clares that the faculty was unaware Of
the fact that he was to be the most
important man of letters ever connected
with Yale" We wonder If that is the
consensus of Yale men.
Cooper served as common sailor on
a merchantmen, and entered the United
States Navy, but later gave up the sea
for the retired life Of a country gentle
man. His writing career was Incl
dental. His life was a stormy one, evi-
IDENTIFY, If one may judge from the
records of lawsuits which come down
to us, mostly in connection with his
books. He was forever suing newspa-
pers for libel and alternating the sup
port of his readers by his quarrels. But
out of that tempestuous disposition
came the great energy which gave us
his best stories, the merit of which is
so great that readers of today can
easily forgive him for quarrels which
they only learn about by reading a his
tory of his life. His pugnacity need no
longer concern us; what interests the
reader today are the Leather Stocking
Tales" and the "Sea Tales" with which
his name is inseparably linked forever.
When one becomes somewhat tired of
the ultra -sophistication of the modern
novel, with its incessant harping on sex
and its problems, he may turn with vast
relief to the novels of James Fenimore
Cooper, sure that there he will find the
primal sanities Of great woods, pure
streams and fresh air.