Chapter 1 Summary

The story opens during the beginning of the French and Indian War in the picturesque forests of northern New York. Hurry Harry March and Deerslayer emerge from the woods and stop to rest. Harry is a trapper of great physical strength and has a boastful character. Deerslayer is the more quiet and smaller of the two, though he possesses great agility and honesty.

Deerslayer describes his long residence with the Delaware tribe and explains his moral philosophy about refusing to take human life outside of a just and honorable war. They discuss the surrounding area, and note the local family of Thomas Hutter, a family with a mysterious reputation among the locals. Harry describes the two daughters. Judith is the beautiful one, and Harry expresses both his admiration for her physical beauty and his anger at the rumors about her relationships with the...