The Pioneers - Leatherstocking Tales Author:James Fenimore Cooper This novel established James Fenimore Cooper as the first great American novelist, and is the first installment in what would later become the Leatherstocking Tales. It introduces Natty Bumppo, who rebels against new hunting laws on the frontier and allies himself with his enemy's daughter and a mysterious young stranger. The novel is about ... more »the conflict between a rapidly expanding society and the unspoiled wilderness that it is displacing.« less