Originally published in 1840, &quot;The Pathfinder&quot; (in full &quot;<i>The Pathfinder; or, The Inland Sea</i>&quot;) is a picturesque novel by American writer James Fenimore Cooper.&nbsp;<br />&quot;The Pathfinder&quot; is the fourth of five novels published as <i>The Leatherstocking Tales</i>, but in terms of the chronological narrative, it is third in the series.<br /><br />&quot;The Pathfinder&quot; is a naval story set on the Great Lakes of the 1750s. Fashioned from Cooper&#39;s own experience as a midshipman on Lake Ontario, the novel revives Natty Bumpo (who had died in &quot;The Prairie&quot;), and illuminates Cooper&#39;s interest in American history with his concern for social development.<br /><br />Natty Bumppo is a 40-year-old wilderness scout living near Lake Ontario during the French and Indian War who comes to the aid of a British colonial garrison under attack. He dearly loves Mabel Dunham, daughter of a sergeant. Mabel refuses his offer of marriage because she loves his friend, Jasper Western (under suspicion of being a traitor), in large part because of his fluency in French.