The Pioneers

Judge Temple is the second major protagonist of the novel, after Leatherstocking. Temple is the wealthy landowner of the Temple Patent, which includes Templeton and the surrounding area. As the founder of Templeton, a wealthy landowner, and the county’s first judge, he is an American citizen of major importance. Temple is also somewhat of a self-made man. While being educated, he formed a friendship with Edward Effingham, who gave Temple control of his inheritance. Temple displayed considerable business talent and quickly increased the value of their trust. However, they wound up on opposite sides of the Revolutionary War, and Temple used his wealth to buy up the Effinghams’ lands, which became the Temple Patent. A widower, he sends his only daughter to New York for her education, and is bringing her back home when the novel starts.

Temple represents the attempt to find the middle ground between Leatherstocking and the settlers. Unlike Leatherstocking, he believes that man should seek to transform their environment in order to increase their own wealth and comfort. But unlike the settlers (usually represented by his cousin, Richard Jones), he believes that nature needs to be protected with laws so that resources are not exhausted and can be enjoyed by future generations. 

Oliver is the third and final major protagonist of the novel. A young man who lives with Leatherstocking and Mohegan as the novel starts, his mysterious past and antipathy towards Temple form a major part of the plot. It is revealed over the course of the novel that Oliver is actually the son of Temple’s school friend and business partner, Edward Effingham, and the grandson of Major Effingham. Because the Mohicans gave Major Effingham the lands that later become the Temple Patent, Oliver is the rightful owner of the land. However, this comes in conflict with Temple’s formal legal ownership of the lands which he purchased after the Revolutionary War.

Oliver represents the coming of the new generation, which can move past the conflicts that defined the older generation. He learns equally from Leatherstocking and Temple as well as having both the moral claim to the lands (via the Mohicans) and the legal claim to the land (via his inheritance from Temple and his marriage to Elizabeth). 

Richard Jones is Judge Temple’s cousin and serves as the antagonist of the novel, particularly towards Leatherstocking. As the novel begins, he is Temple’s secretary; he is promoted to Sherriff of Ostego County on Christmas Day. In contrast to the skilled and humble Leatherstocking, Richard is an unskilled braggart. Despite his lack of skill, he tries his hands at many different fields; such as architecture, medicine, hunting, and horsemanship; and he is prone to bragging to anyone who will listen about his talents. Aside from his use as a foil to Leatherstocking, this ironic distinction between Richard’s words and deeds is used for frequent comedic effect, particularly in the first half of the novel.

Richard is also used to represent the excesses of the settlers. In contrast to Leatherstocking (who believes in taking only what one needs) and Temple (who believes in taking within reason), Richard believes that the resources of nature are utterly inexhaustible and so have no need of protection. He also believes in taking the easiest path possible, despite any potential future harm. 

Elizabeth Temple is Judge Temple’s only daughter and heir. As the novel begins, she is returning from New York where she has completed her education. As someone who has been away for some time, Elizabeth remarks frequently in the early sections of the novel about how much has changed in Templeton in only a short time. She quickly becomes best friends with Louisa Grant, and they become inseparable. Elizabeth also develops an attraction to the mysterious and brooding Oliver, and becomes conflicted between this attraction and her love for her father. Later, Elizabeth’s marriage to Oliver neatly solves the matter of his background, and makes Oliver the sole heir to the lands of the Temple Patent.

Elizabeth is also used to show the dangers of the wilderness and emphasize why men such as Temple seek to increase their wealth and comfort by taming the wild frontier. Although she is brave, nearly every trip Elizabeth takes into the wilderness ends with some danger, and she nearly loses her life on two occasions. In both these incidents (the mountain lion attack and the forest fire), Elizabeth’s gender is almost her undoing since she does not carry a firearm (in contrast to the men) and her feminine garments are extremely flammable.