In
1757 during the French and Indian War, the British and French are
battling for control of North America. Though they are bound by law to
join the militia to aid the British, many settlers are reluctant to
leave their frontier homes and families defenseless against Huron
Indians allied with the French.
Chingachgook (Russell Means), his son Uncas (Eric Schweig), and Hawkeye
(Daniel Day-Lewis), his adopted white son, visit the Cameron household.
Jack Winthrop (Edward Blatchford) joins them and tells Hawkeye that he
is gathering volunteers for the British army. The next morning, Jack
and a group of others go to Albany, New York, to obtain terms from
General Webb, who agrees to grant them leave if their homes are
attacked. Satisfied, the volunteers join the British forces at Fort
William Henry, sixty miles north of Albany.
Cora Munro (Madeleine Stowe) and her sister Alice (Jodhi May) have
received word from their father, Colonel Edmund Munro (Maurice
Roëves), the commander of the British garrison at the fort, to
meet him there. A native guide named Magua (Wes Studi) and a detachment
of British soldiers commanded by Major Duncan Heyward (Steven
Waddington) escort the women on the trail. However, they are ambushed
by Hurons led by Magua himself. All of the soldiers except Major
Heyward are quickly killed. He, Cora and Alice are rescued by Hawkeye
and his companions, who have been tracking the war band. Magua prepares
to shoot Cora, but Hawkeye distracts him. Magua and the surviving
Hurons scatter into the forest. The rescuers reluctantly agree to
escort the survivors to Fort William Henry. Along the way, they
discover that the Cameron homestead has been razed and everyone killed,
though nothing has been stolen, a sure sign of a war party.
When they arrive at Fort William Henry, they find it under siege by the
French. They manage to sneak inside. When Munro scolds his daughters
for joining him, they realize that Magua has deceived them for unknown
reasons. Munro tells Heyward that the fort can only hold out for three
more days. Their only hope is to get a messenger through to General
Webb at nearby Fort Edward for reinforcements.
Hawkeye tells the colonel and the colonials about the attack on the
Camerons and the colonials demand that he release them to defend their
homes, as General Webb agreed. Munro refuses, so Hawkeye helps Jack and
his friends desert. Hawkeye, who stays behind to be with Cora, is
arrested for sedition and sentenced to hang.
Several days pass. As the fort is on the verge of falling, the French
commander, General Montcalm (Patrice Chéreau) offers Munro
surrender terms. The garrison and their families are offered safe
passage to Albany, on condition they return to England and no longer
fight in the war. Munro reluctantly accepts, after Montcalm shows him
an intercepted message that Webb has refused to send aid.
As the British march away, they are ambushed by a much larger force of
Hurons led by Magua. Before Magua personally cuts out Munro's heart, he
tells him he will kill the colonel's daughters so that his family will
be extinguished. Earlier, it is revealed that Magua’s village
had
been destroyed years ago by British soldiers led by Munro, resulting in
the death of his children and his wife marrying another man when she
thought Magua was dead. Magua himself was made a slave.
Hawkeye, Cora, Alice, Uncas, Chingachgook, Heyward and two other
soldiers escape and hide in a cave behind a waterfall, but Magua and
his men are close behind. With their gunpowder wet, Hawkeye and his two
companions jump into the falls, knowing their presence would
precipitate a hopeless fight. Heyward and the two women are captured
while the remaining soldiers are killed.
The prisoners are taken to a Huron village, with Hawkeye, Uncas and
Chingachgook in pursuit. Magua is bargaining with the sachem when they
are interrupted by the arrival of an unarmed Hawkeye running the
gauntlet of hostile warriors. With Heyward translating, Hawkeye
convinces the chief that Magua is acting for himself, rather than the
Hurons' best interests and traditions. The chief agrees and renders his
judgment: Cora is to be burned alive to atone for Magua's dead
children; Magua is given Alice to be his wife so that both bloodlines
can continue. Heyward is to be returned to the British in the hope of
avoiding reprisals. Hawkeye is given safe passage in recognition of his
bravery. Desperate, he pleads to take Cora’s place. Heyward,
out
of love for Cora and newfound respect for Hawkeye, deliberately
mistranslates, offering himself instead. When the chief accepts, Magua
curses him and leaves with Alice and his men.
Uncas immediately follows the war band to rescue Alice, while
Chingachgook waits for Hawkeye. As Heyward is being burned at the
stake, Hawkeye stops at a safe distance and shoots Heyward, ending his
suffering. They then set off in pursuit of Magua.
Uncas catches up with Magua's band alone. He kills several men before
engaging Magua in single combat. Magua kills Uncas, dropping his body
off a cliff. Alice throws herself off the cliff after him. A devastated
Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Cora witness their deaths from a distance.
Finally catching up, the two men slay several warriors. As Hawkeye
holds the rest at bay, Chingachgook duels Magua and avenges his son.
In the final scene, Chingachgook and Hawkeye engage in a spiritual
ritual to send Uncas' spirit to his ancestors. With the death of Uncas,
his last blood relative, Chingachgook names himself 'the Last of the
Mohicans'.
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