"The Last of the Mohicans" Topic

All,
As many times as I've seen Michael Mann's excellent version of LOTM, I am left with the same question in my mind. How does Magua track Hawkeye and company to the cave under the waterfall??

Because the script told him that's where they were?

Jim

Mystical, spiritual, bonding with nature magical talent all American Indians have. In Hollywood…

I guess its the "If I were them where would I hide?" approach.

Either he would assume they went over the falls, ditched the canoes and went overland or would attempt to hide under the falls. If he thought the first two were possibilities it would be easier to check under the falls first and then pursue the other escape options; otherwise he would have to retrace back.

If he did that – and – they had been hiding under the falls they would be long gone by the time he realized the other two trails were cold.

Because he is a scout.

Caves under waterfalls are common and the locals would know that. Checking the cave would have been just part of searching both banks.

In the book, (in which the cave scene happens before they reach the fort the first time) the Huron are searching the woods and one party lands on the island leading to a battle, then another steals one of the canoes. A firefight ensues until the powder runs out when the veteran scout and indian fighter Hawkeye, his old friend and war companion Chingatchgook sp? and the young Uncas swim for it leaving their weapons behind and leaving Duncan, his fiance Alice, Cora and David Gamut the singing teacher to be captured when the Huron search the island for the dead bodies of their old enemies. The heroes then track and rescue them and escort them to the fort.

Hey guys it is a novel not a historical account so the author had to do what he had to do to further the plot.

I would go with superior tracking skills and know the area EXTREMELY well.
+1 Cold Steel.

Thanks to all for the answers. I love the film but that ibe bit always bothered me.

Could theoretically be tracking by sign rather than by actual tracks? Or as mentioned if they were tracked close enough to the waterfall it might become a process of deduction or local knowledge.

tracking for sure, the Hurons were from the far north and regular incursions into the Iroquois 'empire' would not be easy, so they wouldnt have intimate knowledge of the land, although they would know about the regularity of cave under falls as Cold Steel stated.

The drill the Brits were using is also pure Hollywood too. Uniforms were not that bad, other than the gren caps on the 60th. Good movie, horrible history.