James Fenimore Cooper invented the character of Hawkeye, first of the long rifles, and his faithful Mohican blood brother Chingachgook, in ''The Pioneers,'' published in 1823 . The most famous of Cooper's " Leatherstocking Tales " was '' Last Of The Mohicans ,'' the original American Western , though it was Western New York State that was the setting, and the French And Indian War that provided the background. "Hawkeye" was Natty Bumppo , the original pioneer in deerskins.
