The massacre of Fort William Henry occurred in the year 1757, when France's Native American allies captured, tortured, or killed 308 surrendered English. The incident was brutal, it has been told and retold throughout history by an array of authors, historians, and media agencies. Although every re-telling of the massacre has inevitable variations, the writings of James Fenimore Cooper and Francis Parkman, and the Hollywood film "The Last of the Mohicans" with the portrayal of Native Americans as inferior, vengeful savages in an attempt to explain the tragedy of the historical event.

James Fenimore Cooper used negative descriptions of Native Americans in his novel The Last of the Mohicans to dramatize the massacre at Fort William Henry. This helps the reader make sense of the tragedy. Cooper depicted the Huron Indians as "raving savages" that were both "wild and untutored" in their nature (Cooper 207). It is easier to understand the massacre when Cooper blatantly indicates to the reader that "revenge is an Indian feeling" (217). The presuming way that Cooper characterizes Native Americans as animalistic and unintelligent inadvertently dehumanizes the Indians, and creates a plausible

Finally, in the Hollywood picture "The Last of the Mohicans", the massacre scene shows the watcher a manifestation of the unprecedented revenge of French allied Indians. While Hollywood did a decent job of creating a historically true scenario, certain stereotypically 'Indian' traits emerged throughout the film. Broken dialect is once again observed, in conversations like the one in which the Indian warrior states " I will kill the white hair's seed" (LOM, 1992). Although the Indian warriors are shown to have a direct motive for killing British troops and allies: the avengement of a warrior's family, they are still characterized as one-dimensional bloodthirsty warriors.

Montcalme and Wolfe, france and england in north america. By Francis Parkman Little Brown and company Boston:1902

Cooper undoubtedly used the worst possible trait of a savage: the ability to murder infants shamelessly to emphasize his opinion of the Indians. Furthermore, the inferiority of the Indians is reinforced by their broken dialect. Magua, the Huron chief speaks in incomplete sentences and uses improper grammar: "Magua is a great chief" which demonstrates his lack of intelligence (208). James Fenimore Cooper was a very effective novelist, and it is apparent that his treatment of the Indians

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