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I received your book and it is a delight. It's so meticulous. Thank you for this memento ... Madeleine Stowe

Guide book STILL Available - Free Downloads Only! In COLOR!

WHAT MAKES IT ALL WORTHWHILE! ... Visitor Comments


Meeting On The George Road!

We've often thought of adding a "The Reader Speaks" type of column to our Web Site. Just never got around to doing it, for one reason or another. Now, the time seems right. With the upcoming release of our great American saga ... The Mohicanlander's Companion Guide ... with the approaching completion (if things like this can ever truly be completed) of the body of this Web Site ... it just feels right. We're nearing our goal of creating that "monument to a great piece of Americana," and so, maybe it's time to include your opinions in that "monument." These are culled from e-mails, posts, documents, etc. sent our way through the years. A taste of the positive side of building this Web Site.

'Real life' can be pretty tough at times - we all know that. We've all experienced its bumps and knocks at some point. And sometimes we really need a place to escape to, where 'they' can't get us! My place, I'm happy, thankful and indeed proud to say, is 'Mohicanland', a community formed round a mutual love of the film LOTM, it's emotive characters, a most stirring and inspiring musical score, and truly magnificent scenery.

In Mohicanland, I can find a wealth of information about people, customs, survival, a history of nations in the 18th century. There are articles there that will make me cry with laughter - or cry with sadness. I can 'talk' to people having specialist knowledge and skills of which I knew little or nothing and of which I now know much more! I can indulge my passion for 'learning' or I can simply browse and skim as the spirit takes me.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of 'living' in Mohicanland has been the communicating and interacting of like minded people - folks who have the same inclination to share their love of the film, this era - and themselves. Each person who enters Mohicanland is treated like a long lost friend, friendship is assured and unconditional and no one judges. Each person has an opinion and is allowed, indeed encouraged, to express it, though it is understood that each opinion should not contain malice. However, like ANY family, there are occasional 'rucks' and like most families, if one member is 'attacked', all feel the hurt. However, 'Give and Take' usually prevails and compromises are made. 'Mohicanland' has become SO important to each of its citizens that real efforts are made to 'heal' the wound, not just stick a bandage on it that will fall off ten minutes later. Each member is highly valued, therefore, Mohicanland is a great place to hone skills such as tolerance and patience!

But, Mohicanland is also about FUN!! It is humour, a sense of irony, dry wit, at times totally outrageous and often totally mad!! Some days you'd swear there wasn't a sane or responsible person in the place! You could be forgiven for suspecting someone/something has been tainting the community's water supply!

And of course, each town has its 'honourable' citizens, i.e.. mayor, provost, call them what you will. 'Mohicanland' has Rich and Elaine Federici, web masters, site builders, Mohicanland Town Planners extraordinaire! This truly amazing couple will modestly tell you 'it wasn't planned to become what it has. It has almost taken on a life of it's own!' Well, perhaps. But as my mama always said 'you reap what you sow'! With diligence, intelligence, patience and a lot of humour, this wonderful couple have constructed a website that is the envy of many another.

'Mohicanland' is a 'community' that opens its doors - and its heart, to all. My humble and very grateful thanks to all who invited me in, welcomed me so warmly and allowed me to 'build my cabin' in Mohicanland! ... K. (aptbka Miss Katie, of Miss Kate's Quiltshoppe, Mohicanland)

Let me get this straight… you want me to explain what this site and all the Mohicanlanders mean to me.  In words.  I don’t know if a relationship like this can be explained in mere words.

I came upon this site about three years ago as a long-time lover of the movie (all right, fanatic fan of the movie).  I found all the information I could ever want on the movie itself, the area where it was filmed, the process of filming it, the script, the cast, the crew.  I discovered the message board. I’d never posted on one before and I lurked a long time before posting.  When I finally showed myself, I was welcomed into a group of intelligent, interesting, informative, imaginative, wacky, insane individuals.  Without ever having met, this group could play off one another in a most delightful and entertaining way.  How could anyone explain the insanity that broke loose in December of 1997?  The posts from those few days should definitely be included in your book with a short explanation of GGGGs, SYMTs and what caused the war to break out.  My whole family sat in front of the computer laughing until the tears ran down our cheeks, and we had to order in more Depends.

Then Eric Hurley suggested we get together the following summer.  Somehow the idea snowballed, and before we knew it we had a Gathering planned.  Even though I was new to the board, you planned it so I would be able to come.  Wow!  I sure appreciated that!  OOOOH- but a scary thought!  I was actually going to travel to North Carolina to meet, in the flesh, all these different people from all over the world.  What if they weren’t just insane, but were really INSANE?  Well, I was driving my own car.  If they were too bad, I’d just bail out and go home.  One of the ones I was most worried about meeting was you, Rich.  The mental picture was a short, stocky Italian fellow with a sharp tongue, a relatively short fuse, and a man who absolutely could not let an argument lie still.  Hmmm.   Not exactly the kind of fellow I thought I would pick for a friend.

After driving seven hours or so down from Can-tuck-ee, I was so glad to see Eric Hurley in his red uniform standing at the entrance to Chimney Rock Park, I could have kissed him.  However, Sharon was with him, so I simply got directions to the bunkhouse.  Several others had arrived before me, and we tentatively introduced ourselves.  Hey, these were pretty cool people, and with a common love of LOTM, we were soon chatting away like old friends.  Putting faces with the names that we knew so well from the board was great entertainment.  We got some big laughs out of that.

Saturday morning we met at the pavilion.  Rich, I must say I was totally unprepared for the way-cool pony-tailed dude.  Meeting and getting to know you and Elaine was one of the highlights of my weekend.  You are great people.  The glue that holds us all together.  The surrogate parents of the site.  What can I say?  The weekend was a huge success, way beyond my wildest dreams.  We could act like silly teenagers, climb all over Chimney Rock Park and Table Rock, drive who knows how far on those little windy NC roads to a theater where we saw the film backwards, ate great meals, and talked and talked and talked…  A little more sleep would have been helpful.  I don’t think I’ve functioned on so little sleep since I was a teenager, but no one wanted to waste a minute of the time we had together.  Carol and Ilse. Roz. Eric and Sharon.  Susan Houck.  Jo and her Sisters, Marcia.  What great memories!

I just went back and looked at what I posted after I got home:

... What a treat to be able to put faces with the posts now. Rich, I can't believe you told Elaine she had to behave herself at the gathering ... especially when it became obvious none of the rest of us were! Shame on you!! Isn't it amazing to think that 38 (or thereabouts) of us could get together and get along so well, even though none of us had ever met before (excluding Jo and her sisters). Not a nut case in the bunch (at least not out of the norm for the group). Rich, Elaine, Marcia, Myrrh, Eric, Susan all did a wonderful job in putting the weekend together for us. Thank you so much. It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. For those of you who missed this year's celebration, start saving money and making your plans now. It was well worth any trouble any of us took to make it there ... Chris

So, now I’m back on the board.  I missed the Gathering last year and I’ll miss it again this year.  Maybe next year.  We are like family.  We get along with some better than others.  Sometimes fights break out.  We get mad at each other.  But someone from the outside comes in and attacks, and we jump together to defend the one attacked.

Rich and Elaine, you are amazing people.  Parenting, whether it be a family or an internet community, isn’t easy.  In both cases, you have done an exemplary job.  Without you, none of us would be here, and we’d all be the poorer for missing it.

Love to you both,

Chris

Where do I start on my involvement with Mohicanpress, Rich and Elaine, Last of the Mohicans and the WWW Board? Most would say "start at the beginning fool" but unlike most, I did not see the movie until perhaps 1997 when I finally rented it on video. I had planned on going to see it in the theatre when it first came out, but the woman I was dating didn't think she would like that movie and chose "Dr Giggles" for us to see. Big mistake. Huge. We don't see each other anymore. The thing is, I never went back and corrected the mistake while the film was still in the theatre. However, I have always had an interest in the Colonial period, and in period movies. My earlier favorites had been such movies as the original Last of the Mohicans, Northwest Passage, The Unconquered (Gary Cooper as the hero, and Boris Karlof as an Indian Chief Guyasuta - now THERE was an improbable casting! I kept seeing Boris wrapped in linen instead of a loincloth!). I had first gone to Colonial Williamsburg when I was 12 years old and have visited many times since then. In fact, I had my honeymoon there.

So, to make a long beginning shorter, finally I rented Michael Mann's version of Last of the Mohicans, watched it, and loved it. Being computer literate, I was browsing the internet and came across Rich and Elaine's web pages. These pages had only gone up that year, but already they were taking on a life of their own. Interesting book he had compiled, interesting people posting thoughts on the movie, and the clincher - what sucked me in for good - the Board. Ah, the Board! So many diverse people posting about the movie, relevant history, poking fun at each other, swooning over one actor or another.....I quickly became almost a daily poster myself. One of the biggest attractions were Rich and Elaine themselves. You could see their intellect and their personalities shining through their website, and I enjoyed their posts, thoughts, comments and good natured ribbing. Both struck me as very intelligent folks, deeply immersed in the movie and the history of the period, and very well rounded. How they ever found the time to do all they did and still manage a large family is still beyond me.

Their site became a favorite place for me, I was welcomed as if one of the family - as is everyone who encounters the site even today - and it was a constant source of new information and contacts concerning a period of history I had always been interested in.

What has it done for my life, you ask? For me, it's done more than just broaden my interests. It's done more than just give me entertainment and great knowledge on a variety of subjects. It has even done more in my life than result in new, lifelong friendships. It has become, for me, a new path in my life. It was with Rich that I first entertained the idea of going into the making of period rifles as a vocation. I had been making rifles off and on for some time, and had toyed with the idea of doing it part time, but I have to credit (or blame!) Rich in large part for making this vocation a reality. It was Rich and Elaine who had the contacts which led me to Wayne Watson - the maker of Killdeer - and resulted in my obtaining the patterns and sketches necessary to make a copy of the movie rifle. We talked about my doing this rifle for his website. That conversation grew into my desire to make rifles for a living. And that is what I do today. I make more than just Killdeer of course, and have a website of my own advertising my craft. But, what I do today - what I earn my living at - grew out of my accidental discovery of Rich and Elaine's website.

I must also give major credit to my life-mate Betty for tolerating and encouraging my ambition to become a longrifle craftsman. She is an angel and very supportive of my ambitions and happiness. With another woman I may not have been able to follow through on an ambition I had secretly held in my heart since the early 1970's. So there you have it. Rich and Elaine are a major factor in giving me the idea to become what I am. Betty is the main factor in encouraging me to carry through with that idea. Without the three of them - there likely would not be Pennsylvania Longrifles Inc., Gnome Dome and BillyGnome would not exist, I would not have made friends with folks I expect to have as friends for however much time remains in my earthly existence, and I would not be doing what I am happily doing with my life.

Put simply, Rich and Elaine and their website have enriched my life and helped turn it to a new and happy direction.

Bill Rooks
GnomeDome
BillyGnome
Pennsylvania Longrifles Inc.
April 2000

In a word: friends! First and foremost, there's my wonderful MentorMan, Rich Federici, the first person I met in cyberspace who shared a love of 1992's The Last of the Mohicans. I'll never forget our early correspondence about the movie, the film sites, and the possibility of publishing On The Trail of the Last of the Mohicans. I remember how excited I felt to know that a booklet was coming out that would guide me to each and every film location from this lovely movie. Once the website was up, and the bulletin board established, it only got better. Every day there was someone new and interesting posting comments and questions on the Board. Slowly, but very surely, a family of friends from around the world became a reality, and checking the board became the first thing I do every morning.

I can't begin to express how much my daily chats with these people mean to me. And once the idea of actually getting together in North Carolina and MEETING each other in person was implemented, it all meant even more. I feel I have a bond with friends in places I may never even visit in this lifetime...an international family, indeed! Many of these friends not only interact with me on the bulletin board in our imaginary Mohicanland, but write me daily or weekly on a personal level. I have never felt more "connected" to the Family of Man!

There are so many other wonderful things on the MohicanPress website that it would be impossible to list them all here, including, but not limited to, a wealth of historical information, interesting and informative cast interviews, and storefronts for purchasing all manner of goodies. It's possible to spend hours there, looking around and reading and learning. And all of this is thanks to a website that evolved from a booklet that evolved from one man's love of a movie! Incredible! But for me, the biggest draw will always be friends, and for that, I say thank-you, MohicanPress, from the bottom of my heart!

Love to you all,

Marcia, alias MMMM, alias Miss Marcia, alias Sassy Soothsayer, alias Miss Paddletale, alias G2K Bug, alias Birdie T. Bird, alias WhoKnowsWHATNext!

When Forward Pass Productions started clearing land for the huge set "Fort William Henry" in April 1991, I felt more anxiety than excitement.  I love the natural look of Lake James in Burke County, N.C., and even a temporary movie set made us locals uneasy.  Little did I know that the huge log fort erected on the scar of red clay would bring me many adventures off screen as well as on.

Thinking back to the summer of ‘91 is like playing a slide show in my head with the predominate colors of pine, rock, and tanned leather.  I remember the delight of coming across Native American extras tramping through the fields adjoining my family’s lakeside RV.  I remember the smell of oil and burning pine that stayed in the air long after the film crew had left.  I remember the sight of a hundred soldiers marching and the tall thin man with tangled black hair leaning on a long rifle waiting for a ride up the hill to the fort.  Then there’s the mental snapshot of a lean young Uncas jogging along the highway.  There were woods filled with plastic tape and little plastic flags and “Keep Out” signs.  Traffic on Highway 126 changed from boat trailers to ox carts.

After the film crew left and the fort was burned and bulldozed into a gully in the woods, there were still reminders of the great battle at Fort William Henry.  I would meet curious folk staring at the battlefield road.  Sometimes I would find a pewter button on my walks along the edge of the battlefield.  I began to meet more people who were involved as extras or crew during the filming; at least five people at my place of work had left their mark on LOTM.

When the movie came out, seeing the scenes of my summers “on the big screen” sent chills down my spine.  The glorious views of Hickory Nut Falls, Shortoff Mountain at Lake James, Linville Falls and other places that have been part of my life since I arrived on this Earth was an emotional experience beyond the impact of the movie itself.  Some of my friends have always teased me that my favorite character in the movie was the scenery!

It was not until I hooked up my little laptop to the Internet some time after the film was released that LOTM really began to have an impact on my life.  There was at that time a group on the old Prodigy service who called themselves “Moheckies”.  There were daily messages and even chat times set up on another service.  The group was predominantly female, and although Daniel Day-Lewis was their main focus, they were organized to the degree that several had traveled to North Carolina to see what they could of the film sites.

In the summer of 1994, I met my first Moheckie face-to-face.  Her screen name was SoCal Sue and we had corresponded for about two years and agreed to meet with other Moheckies in Gettysburg, PA.  She then drove down to NC with me and we toured the sites.  Thus began several summers of what I refer to as Susan’s Moheckie B & B, as many of my acquaintances came to this fair state to “see the sites”.  A couple of years later, RichFed and I made contact, and he told me about the book he was working on.  [RichFed Note: Actually, this WAS in 1994!] I was so impressed that he had tracked down all those sites and gotten access to them!  I am a wimp about such things, and though I knew approximately where most of the sites were, there were many I had never tried to visit.  There were only a few scenes that Rich had not pinned down precisely, and I was able to fill in the blanks on a couple of the Lake James ones.

I got to see the rough draft of the book, and it seemed to me that there was certainly an audience for it.

What fun my Mohican friendships were!  I even had the privilege of a pontoon ride with a real major, and having the opportunity to utter those unforgettable words:  “Got nothing better to do on the lake today, Major?”   I gathered nails, wood, and half-disintegrated cannon balls as mementos for my friends.  I even filmed an LOTM parody starring my dog Agnes.  I met other teachers, nurses, Irish DDL fans, re-enactors, artists, and even dancers.  Liz Langrall, a co-worker at that time, was one of the dancing laundresses in the famous fort scene.  She and her husband were contra dancers, and that is how they learned of the need for extras.  I met yet another dancer, Emily McGowan, who also stopped by on a summer trip for the pontoon ride and Mohican fun tour.  Emily does Scottish Country dancing, and yes, she encouraged me to try it.

I’ll admit I was pretty much a spectator to Scottish and Irish culture until LOTM and the Moheckies came along.  There must have been something in “The Gael” that was stirring to my blood, though.  Finally I decided I had to tap this part of my own heritage and try it.  I signed up for Irish dancing just about the time the whole world became aware of it via Riverdance and Lord of the Dance.  It has become my passion, and is the only exercise I have “stuck with”.

LOTM expanded my cultural awareness in many ways.  I met many of Native American heritage, attended a pow wow  and was inspired to learn more about colonial history than I ever knew even as a social studies teacher.

Meanwhile, Rich’s book had been published and had its own website, and from that point on, a whole new doorway opened not only into the lore of the movie Mohicans, but into related subjects as well.  I finally got to meet Soldier #2, who really lived just a holler down the road from me all along.  Over the past few years the Mohican memories have grown: A snowy trek up Table Rock; a climb in costume up Cliff Trail; the MMM in repose where DDL once lay; an up close and personal evening with Eric Schweig.

In the last century, our lives began to be shaped more by the media than by tradition.  I am just thankful that in such creations as The Last of the Mohicans, a product of modern technological society can spark an interest in things past.  For me, it has been a means of getting in touch with who my ancestors were, and how I might apply some of their culture and tradition to enrich my own life.

-Susan V. Houck-
04-27-00

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION

Well, Mom and Dad and me and our dog Mr. Whiffles got in the car to go to Disneyland, and on the way Dad got reeeeally mad and tried to throw Mr. Whiffles out the window because he got carsick ALL OVER, and Mom said... Oops! Wrong essay! My apologies. *hem! hem!*

WHAT MOHICANLAND MEANS TO ME

Now as I was saying before I so rudely interrupted myself, long long ago when the world was new and dinosaurs ruled the earth, there was a comely maiden who didn't know what she wanted. She sat day after day in a lonely tower of her own making, until one day she happened to whang a video in her VCR and beheld a ripply-muscled, bare-chested primo specimen running hell-for-leather through an untrammeled wilderness, long black hair flying out behind him. Hour after hour she watched and rewound, watched and rewound, a tiny thread of drool falling unheeded out of her open mouth. The only words anyone could get out of her for the next three days were, "Mommy, buy me dat!" At last, the maiden knew what she wanted. Later, as the fair maiden was being shamefully berated by her then-husband for leaving kissy lip prints and claw marks all over the television screen, the Master of Life took pity on her plight, and sent her two messages.

1) Thou shalt get rid of that clunkhead thee art married to, and

2) Seek others as wacko as thyself. Climb down from thy
tower and findest them, and live in peace among the
others of your kind.

So I (the maiden) accomplished the first task, and thanks to a hint from a friend I came upon the Land of the Famiglia Federici, where was being peddled a location guide to LOTM. Now I could walk in the very footsteps of my beloved Hawkie-poo, and I could roll to my heart's content in any of his leftover DNA molecules on rocks and tree trunks and so forth. And then to stumble upon the LOTM website where there were photos that made my little heart go pitty pat! And a bulletin board, where questions of vital import were grappled with ... such as, did Hawkeye's bikini line seem to need a waxing when he fell down and went whoopsie in the Huron Camp??

Yes, I had found the elusive "others" of my kind. The Master of Life was good, indeed. As I have often told the Fabulous Federicis, if I hadn't found this outlet I would now be chained to the walls somewhere, being fed with a forked stick. Where else could you find a group of historians, expert reenactors, gunsmiths, woodsmen, movie buffs, craftspeople, artists, authors, and those who might be kindly termed wingnuts (myself among them!) all gathered in one place, exchanging information, good will, and flights of good-humored lunacy? We've seen those "not of the body" come and go. We've been merciless with troublemakers, and we've all had our snitfits when we've gone stomping off and then sheepishly returned, to be enveloped in Mohican Madness once more. We've all supported each other in times of real pain and need. *sniff! sniff!* Awww, hell! GROUP HUG!! GROUP HUG!!

So for all of us who've been told time and time again, "Geez, get a life, weirdo!" I like to say, "We have. Oh yes...we have."

XXXXX
Mary

The first time that I saw the movie "The Last of the Mohicans" was in the Summer of 1997. It blew me away. Immediately I started searching the  net for more information and quickly landed at a site called "On the Trail of the Last of the Mohicans". The site blew me away too. I couldn't believe the wealth I found and spent hours and hours exploring it. The Musings, the Script and everything else.... Finally I got to the message board and spent some more hours there to check out every thread that was posted. I loved the discussions, the exchanges, the joking, and the wit of those participating. From then on, I became a daily visitor, always enjoying Mohicanland, but still lurking until at last I worked up the nerve to get involved early '98. Since then my life has changed. I made many friends in faraway places. However, those places don't feel that faraway anymore because I made friends there. I've already crossed the ocean twice to meet them, and will do so again. Mohicanland has greatly enriched and expanded my world. I have met interesting people with interesting thoughts and a great sense of humour, people I would have never met without this site. Coming to the board and reading the threads, chatting with the Mohicanlanders, feels much the same as going to my favorite hangout over here to meet with my Dutch friends. Mohicanland is, in this way, a real place to me; and a special place.
Thank you, Elaine and Rich, for building it.

June 4, Rotterdam, The Netherlands ... Ilse


My Journey to MohicanLand

“And what he greatly thought, he nobly dared.”

[Homer: The Odyssey II. (trans. Alexander Pope)]

     I would NEVER, in a million years, have dared to write a book about location sites, for crying out loud, of a movie. Where does an idea like that come from?  I don’t know. I don’t care. I’m just glad that the idea did come, and that it came to a person who has persevered in carrying the magic torch that continues, eight years now since the release of the movie, to touch so many folks around the globe.

     I was blind-sided by the movie The Last of the Mohicans about six months after it had appeared in theaters. I say blind-sided, because one weekend my then husband had picked up a few movies at the local video rental store, and past experience catapulted my anticipation of the evening’s fare back into the realm of last week’s “Terrrrrr-ific Movie” Eraserhead. Needless to say, my husband’s tastes in movies NEVER paralleled mine. I remember saying, “A cowboy and Indian movie? What, no WWII airplanes or subs, no social deviants made out to be heroes?” so I dove into a book as the movie started. But shortly after the PLAY button had been selected, some captivating music yanked my head up from my book, my eyes fixed on two gorgeous men running through the woods, and I don’t think my mouth closed for the next, what, 114 minutes. WOW, who was that Daniel Day-Lewis guy? Never heard of him. Where on earth was this Shangri-La that this movie was filmed in? Why hadn’t I heard about this movie from my friends? Surely everyone else was as blown away with it as I was. Oh, I almost forgot... my husband hated it, so I divorced him. Okay, there were a few other little reasons too, but THAT was the main one.

     Over the course of that same weekend, I watched the movie several more times and even invited a few of my friends, with the same impeccable taste as my own, to join me. My friend Cecelia, who always likes what I tell her to like (just kidding), was aptly impressed and we talked about it for days. Then the conversations moved on to other things and LOTM was a memory...UNTIL ...one day while visiting my brother in Newland, NC, the family decided to pop over to Linville Falls for a hike. My brother said, “You know, part of that Last of the Mohicans movie was filmed on this trail,” and I turned around to see the leaning tree over the trail out to the falls and my eyes about bugged outta my head! “Oh my God”, I turned and tackled my brother and beckoned “What else do you know, tell me everything or I’ll...I’ll...”. Naw, I didn’t really do that (yeah, right). So he proceeded to tell me “Oh yeah, and that island in the lake near the fort scenes, that was filmed at Lake James. It’s the same island as seen in the closing scene from the Hunt for Red October, too. And the cliff scenes were filmed at Chimney Rock Park and so were the Indian village scenes.” Well, I couldn’t get home fast enough to call Cecelia and make plans to go on our own search and discover mission of the movie location sites. I told her, “Hey, just tell people we’re going camping, ‘cause they’d think we’d lost our ever-lovin’ minds if they knew what our real intentions were.”

     That was in 1993, and Cecelia and I had one of the most fun weekends of our lives. We got out the map, and circled all the places in the movie that we had been told about. We spent the first afternoon in Chimney Rock Park and then later that evening we kidnapped Bubba’s Dad (of Bubba’s General Store fame), the then current Chairman of the Chimney Rock Chamber of Commerce, and demanded directions to the Indian Village in exchange for his release. Actually, we just asked him politely, and he told us “ Just follow the road behind the store up the mountain...Oh heck, it’s almost closing time. If you can wait a minute or two, I’ll get you started, ‘cause it’s a little tricky at first. The land belongs to the Park, but folks go up there all the time.” We waited outside for, uh, Bubba’s Dad (Bubba is a dog by the way), and then headed up the hill. After a few turns, Bubba’s Dad bid us farewell, and we continued up the hill, STRAIGHT up the hill. My God, what a climb! AT LEAST a sixty-degree grade. Did I mention I fish also? Anyway, we’d stop about every fifty feet to catch our breath (and have a cigarette) until finally Cecelia (not having been bitten “quite” so hard as I by the Mohican bug) said, “Okay, that’s it for me,” and plopped down on a rock (and lit another cigarette). The steep incline would not deter me however, so I continued on and agreed to signal if I found anything. I wouldn’t have to wait long. Around the next bend in the road, I stepped into another world it seemed. There I was at precisely the point where Hawkeye and Cora turn to look back as they exit the Huron village. I just stood there for a long time as my eyes danced over the longhouses. I broke the sweet silence of that moment and whistled to my friend. We walked through the village, straight past the fire pit of Duncan’s demise, and took a slight left turn to see Hickory Nut Falls across the gorge as it appeared over the Sachem’s shoulder. We didn’t talk for a long time. The feeling of that village is something I’ll never forget.

     We each took turns doing the obligatory “Duncan, being burned at the stake” pose for a picture. He had seemed so high up in the movie, yet the fire pit stakes seemed so short. We were able to enter the longhouses, only to be brought back to reality by the blue Lowe’s stamp on the modern two-by-fours inside. We gathered some of the burnt wood from the stakes and each took a pole that leaned against the longhouses (I know, we were bad, bad, girls for doing that). We used what little bit of light was left and took a few more pictures and headed back down the mountain...in the dark. Coming off that mountain at night was a bit scary, but the hum in our heads from the day’s adven-cha was well worth it.

     Day two found us back at Linville Falls, where we took lots of pictures, and then on to Lake James, where we took lots and lots of pictures, and laughed when we realized the sequence and directions of the shots on the river (ahem...lake). They head toward the cove and then are paddling for their lives out on the lake, and then from the other side of the island, head for the same cove again, “Head for the river” Hawkeye cries. Oh well, works for me. Yep, we took some more pictures!

     That was a great weekend and I tried to think of ways to find out about other locations in the movie (i.e., Cameron’s cabin, Massacre valley) but had no idea how to go about that, so I filed those thoughts away for another time.

     In 1995, I purchased my first computer (I was a MAJOR newbie), got online via AOL and s-l-o-w-l-y taught myself the ins and outs of the Internet. Sometime later, while doing a search looking for more information on DDL, I came across the On the Trail of the Last of the Mohicans site. WOW, it was a Close Encounters of the Third Kind moment “We are not alone!”  I enjoyed the site every chance I got, but was never brave enough to even visit the message board until much later.  In the fall of 1997, I moved to Greenville, North Carolina to join the faculty of East Carolina University and had internet access at my desk, not to mention a much faster machine and connection. I quickly added the site to my bookmarks, purchased the guidebook, and perused the multitude of offerings on the site whenever time permitted. In the summer of 1998, I timidly popped over to the message board. I was so totally depressed to find a “Gathering” of folks, just like me, taking place at that very moment. Talk about feeling like you’d missed the boat! Well, I couldn’t wait for everyone to get back to the board to hear how things went. I was even more depressed to hear what a wonderful time all had had. When mention of a second Gathering came to light, well...wild horses couldn’t keep me away.

The MohicanLand Experience

“A principle fruit of friendship is the ease and discharge of the fullness and swellings of the heart which passions of all kinds do cause and induce.”

- Francis Bacon: Of Friendship

     I visited the board almost everyday (usually just lurking), as I still do, and Cecelia and I made plans to attend the Second Annual Great Mohican Gathering. The anticipation was almost too much to bear. We were finally going to meet all the neat folks on the board. There was not one ounce of hesitation about meeting “strangers from the internet”, because things had gone so well the previous year and you just knew from “meeting” these folks on the board that it would be a memorable time. We had one of the best weekends of our lives. We concluded a chapter in 1999, which saw the addition of many very special new friends that continue to enrich our lives daily.

     The personalities and characters that inhabit MohicanLand are such a diverse group of individuals who each bring their own important interests (for some passions), talents, and much loved qualities to what I think is the most congenial and unique cyber-community in the world. This is a place where you never have to worry about being scammed or “spammed” or “flamed” for having visited here. All visitors are treated with the utmost respect and dignity not only by the proprietors of the site, but by each other as well. The worst one can expect to encounter is a difference of opinion, which intelligent, mature people should welcome in broadening our understanding of the world’s history and thus ourselves and our future.

     Some of the folks in MohicanLand are some of the funniest, sweetest, caring, giving, kindest, big-hearted folks I have had the privilege of knowing! Doctor Mary never fails to provide a chuckle, if not sidesplitting laughter, during times of intense discussion or times of merriment. Marcia Meara (MMMMarcia) and Eric Hurley (Soldier #2) are two of the sweetest, most giving individuals on this planet for their contributions to the annual assemblage of this international group of movie fans. Throughout the year, a lot of folks try to get together also for short visits, when geography permits, for strong lasting friendships are cultivated in this MohicanLand.

     In the fall of 1999, the area where I live encountered the worst natural disaster in North Carolina history with the flooding from hurricanes Dennis and Floyd. I didn’t suffer any personal lasting damage, but many of my friends, family and co-workers did. It was a very sad time for us, but the outpouring of concern and well wishes from my MohicanLand friends was so uplifting and something I will never forget and I could never express how thankful I am for them. I received a call from Canada from Bea and Michael, on a particularly rough day during the flooding, and was so touched to think people from that far away, whom I’d never met in person, would care enough to just say “How’s it going?” It made the rest of that day much brighter.

The Center of the MohicanLand Universe

“The price of greatness is responsibility”
                                              -  Winston Churchill

     At the center of the MohicanLand universe I have found two of the most occultly intelligent, talented, and generous people I’ve ever met. Rich and Elaine Federici have regular busy lives, just like the rest of us, but never wane in their care and attentiveness of their website and thus the MohicanLand citizenry. I am constantly in awe of their tenacity and unflinching dedication to an endeavor that at times has been a source of heartache, a source of disappointment, and has led them to question whether or not the trials incurred in sustaining the site were worth moving forward. Thank God, for one reason or another, they have spurned on. All of us who frequent this site receive so much more than we are able to give back. Rich & Elaine have created an extensive masterpiece of a website which has grown from an homage to a great film into an honorarium to the time period surrounding the French and Indian War and Early America. So, in answering Churchill’s charge, I am thankful to the Federicis for their great accomplishment and for accepting the responsibility of nurturing, entertaining, teaching, leading, and loving all of us Mohican Maniacs. We love you right back! ... D.S.

SEE THE VOLLEY FIRE The Mohican Press Opinion Page!

BITS & PIECES

just visited your site for the first time, and simply wanted to thank you for a job well done. even though i understand it when webmasters don't update websites for movies/books that have been out for a half dozen years, i really hate it. Your website was updated very recently, and just wanted to let you know that your hard work isn't going unnoticed. thanks again.

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This web site is the best...it's awesome! I thought I was the only one who was this fanatical about this movie. I am a reenactor with the Donegal Township Riflemen...a historical militia group in Pennsylvania. We reenact the French and Indian War and the Rev. War. A few weeks ago I was having coffee with some of the reenactors after a day at an event at Fort Hunter, in Harrisburg, PA. Something in our conversation caused all of us to recite Gen. Webb's comments about the French and Gen. Montcalm (their Latinate voluptuousness) and Magua. At that moment I knew I was not alone in my fascination with LOTM. (The reenactors were Lenapi and I am a Colonial Teacher/Preacher). This union made me think that maybe there are people out there who are as into this movie as us. So, I did the web search on Yahoo and here I am. I've been checking out the site off and on all day. I can't believe what I am seeing. The interviews, the pictures, the comments, the back ground data...it's all fantastic.

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I have been "lurking" at your amazing web site for about five months now, and I have finally gathered the courage to write and tell you how much I have enjoyed spending time there. I just finished reading Rich's account of how he came to fall in love with the film---and, consequently, everything associated with the film---and it so closely approximates my own experience, that I finally felt prompted to write.
I have been a "closet" LOTM addict ever since I first saw the film on video, shortly after it had been released (and cursing myself for not having seen it at the theatre!) I just wasn't prepared for the effect it would have on me. I still am not sure why that is, but to have discovered that I am not alone has been so encouraging---and has even led me to freely confess that I do love the movie!
Last night, I finally took the plunge and bought the video, something I have longed for but somehow felt silly doing. (I wonder why that was?) I have always been in love with the beautiful mountain region of North Carolina, so I wasn't surprised to learn, while reading the credits the first time I watched the film, that the movie was filmed there. My family are planning a return trip there later in the summer, and since my children have never been, I am most anxious to share the experience with them. I am going to send for your book as soon as I can. Thanks for your time, and, again, for the devotion you have put into, this site so that others like me can continue to "relive" the unique experience that is "The Last of the Mohicans."

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Thank you. I am enjoying your Mohican pages tremendously. The report of the Daniel Day-Lewis safari was delightful. More importantly, the area you have photographed is where I have wanted to visit for some time. Here is surely the impetus. What a delightful evening I have spent with your web page. Never
would have dreamed of such a thing when I first read Fenimore Cooper's novel in childhood. And such a beautiful film, wasn't it?

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I just finished the LOTM video (I saw the original theatrical release)
and am looking forward to a June visit to NC. Your fabulous site will be a tremendous resource as we plan our visit. I shall look forward to "exploring" it in the coming weeks.
Thanks a million for your enthusiasm and help.

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I love your web site!!! it's great...i can't get the smile off my face since entering this page to the music of the last of the mohicans...it's awesome!!! i love it!!!

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Thank you so very much for this site. I love Last Of The Mohicans and Eric Schweig has been one for my favorite actors for years. He was wonderful in The Broken Chain and I was amazed at his acting ability in Tom and Huck. Eric has one of the most beautiful speaking voices but was able to mask it and become Indian Joe! Again I than you for this wonderful site. I will be back because there is so much to see, I can
not possibly see it all tonight! A very impressive site!!!!!

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I have just discovered your site and have spent the better part of an hour cruising through the maze of wonderfully tantalizing pages. You are correct in your supposition, for the movie and all its varied parts and facets continue to captivate many people's imaginations. Including mine. I have gotten the biggest kick out of visiting your pages.
I will return to this spot (I have book marked it) very soon and order your book. I have many friends in North Carolina and it would be fun to visit the sites together (although I was there on the movie set for seven weeks, I did not see all of the places used in the filming).

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I am greatly enjoying your web site!!! I can't believe you have the entire script, wonder how on earth you ever got it. The whole thing is wonderful (great to see these rehearsal photos), love the bits about the bloopers (I'll have to go home and watch it again to try to catch them!) and the personal recollections of cast and crew. Thanks again for all the work you must have put into these pages. Great to see that you sent a copy to Daniel Day-Lewis and that he wrote you back, how nice of you to share that with us!

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I am a high school American Lit. teacher and I use the film LOTM every year to begin the course. Your site is great! I have
not gotten everywhere on it, but I would like to be able to send my
students here if there is no objectionable material. It doesn't look good when a teacher sends her students to sites that contain less than enriching material. I am personally a big fan of the film but have noticed over and over the lapses. Thanks for filling me in on what the uncut version would have looked like. Again, thanks for the site, and the script. Students when they write about the film, can access the script to use direct quotes for their work.

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I was looking for the JFC Society's address when I ran across your exceptionally beautiful LOTM home page. Having read some Cooper, I was more than pleased with the way Michael Mann captured the essence of the Leatherstocking saga even where departures from Cooper's plots and
characterizations needed to be made. I thank you for your web effort
and sharing your enthusiasm for the movie.

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I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy the board. I know that things were getting a little touchy there for a moment, but it is so great to see everyone's input. We all are drawn here for different reasons, and that's what makes Mohicanland such an informing and entertaining place. Where else can one learn about Inuit spirituality AND discuss the finer points of Col. Munro shaving his legs!!!!!! Out of all the boards I have ever visited, this is by far and away the best around. The intelligence level of the posters here never ceases to amaze and amuse me. I can have a truly crappy day, but find myself laughing and forgetting all my problems after checking out the daily Mohicanland happenings. You both have put so much love and work and hours into this site--and it shows in the loyalty of your posters. We appreciate all that
you two have done to make being a LOTM/Cooper fan such a special thing!

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What does The Last of the Mohicans mean to me???? Well, a good stop at a site where I have met a wealth of friends that have the same interest as me. It is a pleasure to talk to them; as well as the web site owners.... The movie?? Well, after my hubby rented it 5 years ago; the household will never be the same. We have studied more history, our sons have gotten more interested in what actually happened at the time; and a good lesson for "MOM"
to teach; as the schools have so much to cover.....

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I've been online for about four hours now, and I can't believe what you have created.
I am eighteen, and first saw The Last of the Mohicans when it originally
came out. In simplest terms, it changed my life. I read the original novel, memorized the soundtrack and script, and even obtained a 1920 version of the film. I myself did some light research to find out where Mann's production was filmed, and I got as far as finding Asheville on a map. But you have
gone to incredible lengths! I haven't seen the book yet, but I am sure it will be what I have had dreams about. (I trust you'll save me a copy, my check's in the mail.) Again, I would simply like to congratulate you on your efforts and wish you the best success for your book. I am astounded!!

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I am just popping in to say how much I love this web site!!!!! IT IS
WONDERFUL!!
Please keep up the good work.

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just thought i'd say how you have done an excellent job on the web page. there's some fascinating topics in there and layout is splendid! well done!

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what a good site you have put together. history has been restored. thanks

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As A HUGE fan of the movie, LOTM, I just adore your website! Photos were great, and everyone did a fabulous job on the film. First time
I saw it in the theatre, I cried as the first shots of the mountains came up, and the music started. As a lover of history, I felt like I'd come home!

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I just wanted to tell you that I thought that your page has to be the best that I have seen to this date!!! I'm recommending it to everyone.

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This is an excellent site. You are to be congratulated for your work. Thanks!

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I am a freelance writer for Ladies Home Journal working on a travel piece on movie sites, and I found your page on the internet. I'm looking for sites that offer a little "something extra," to do, and your Great Mohican Gatherings definitely seem to fit the bill. I'm hoping one of you, or else someone involved in the organizing of this event, would please give me a call to discuss further  ...

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My class have recently completed a film study on Last of the Mohicans, they found this website extremely informative and useful. Keep up the good work

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great web site. as a mature student doing american studies and particularly the native american and fenimore cooper`s leatherstocking tales your web site is valuable. thank you.

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I just wanted to drop a line to let you know how excited I was on finding your website and being able to purchase your guidebook. I, too, fell in love with the movie "Last of the Mohicans". I saw it on TV about a year ago and had to go out and buy the video. I've probably watched it at least 50 times by now. I was astounded by the scenery, the passion, the characters, the soundtrack, etc. . Thanks again for making my day! I am looking very forward to receiving my book!

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Congratulations on the completion of this project, the book and the site!
Once again, thank you so much for all the work and love you poured into it.  It's nice to know that others were deeply affected by this film: by the story, by the performances, by the incredible cinematography of those beautiful locales, and by the wonderful music.
By the way, the music won the British version of the Academy Award for best score. It was richly deserved, I think. Also, the film got an Academy Award for "best sound," which I think you'll also agree was well-deserved. Too bad it wasn't recognized for more. But that's okay... there are those of us out here who found it to be "deeply stirring to our blood."  Thanks again.

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i must say ,that i enjoyed your w/page ..in fact love it  well done ...  i live in northeast pennslyvania , rich in history .  i first read "last of the mohicans'' when i was 9 or 10  it still is my favorite thank you for the time this morning ...enjoying your page and links.

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You Mohican Press folks should be proud of what I consider a fascinating, attention-riveting
view into real and imaginary history of critical times during the incubation of the Free and Independent United States of America. Rascal and rouge, hero and heroic, all are touched with the insightful brush of the author/s. Especially refreshing is a treatise on General Webb, one of Britain's less noteworthy officers. Revealed as an unbelievably self-centered and egotistical coward, watching the author divulge his stupidity is a delight to read! You folks have done an outstanding job. You set a standard for the rest of us that will take effort, research and elbow grease to equal. I'm impressed, to say the least!

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you are 'good' to communicate with, you are friendly in every sense of the word, you are sensitive to native issues. i have come across so many people/websites that mean well but they take the native 'whatever' and make it theirs and twist it until it's not native but a bastardization of what is native. and these people are upset when native people point this out. but i haven't found this with mohican press. thank you very much for that.

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I have to tell the two of you, fooling around with this festival business, I've checked out a lot of web pages, and your web page is one of the best promotional pieces that I've come across yet! It's very tastefully done. 

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I do have an idea of how much work has gone into the website, and I must say I'm very impressed at your dedication. I'll be stopping in regularly.

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I extend my wholehearted thanks and high praise for your creativity, management, and hospitality. Visiting the site and the board is like visiting friends. You've established an outstanding example of the best of www possibilities

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I just wanted to let you know that I think your website
is outstanding.
I am a lurker who often reads the message boards
but I am too "cybershy" to post my own message.
Your work is very much appreciated.
Best wishes....

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This has to be the coolest, most fantastic site I've ever seen! Found it today by accident and was immediately hooked (I spent over two hours there!). I can't wait for my book to arrive and my very own Uncas earrings (can you tell who my favorite character is?). I saw the movie in the theater and was totally overwhelmed by it - the sound, the characters, the locations most of all since I've been to all of them at one time or another. My dad lives not too far from Chimney Rock and I've spent summers there off and on for over 25 years. Now, when I get the book, I'll have a really good reason to go back and haunt the hills. Thanks so much for the most interesting site I've come across yet. As Arnie said, I will be back....

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The web site is an amazing resource and I
would like to thank you for all the effort you have put forth to make it an
enjoyable site.

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I absolutely love your 'On the Trail of the Last of the Mohicans' web site. Ivisit it often. That is definitely one of my favorite movies, if not my very favorite. I was so upset to learn that there was actually an Uncas/Alice love
scene cut out of the movie. That would have enhanced the ending so much more! Their deaths would have at least been a little more meaningful, had they left
that scene in the movie. Maybe we should all protest so that they will put
out a version with it in there----or at least put out a 'what got put on the
cutting room floor' VHS tape (I don't have laser disk player). Once again, great site---and photos and interviews and everything!

MOHICAN GENESIS || FROM THE MOHICANS' LAND TO MOHICANLAND || SIX DEGREES TO LOTM || ALICE IN MOHICANLAND.... An Essay || MR. TWAIN'S CRITIQUING OFFENSES || MOHICANS 101 || THE COURIER || DEAR DOCTOR MARY || DOCTOR MARY'S THERAPY ROOM || COUSIN EUGENIE SPEAKS OUT ... || LETTERS TO THE EDITORS || THE COURIER CLASSIFIEDS || TREKKING IN THE WILDERNESS || NOTES FROM THE TRAIL ... || THE MOHICANLAND MASSES || THE Mac WILLIAM CHRONICLES PHOTO GALLERY || THE VOLLEY FIRE || OPINE, O'MINE!

READ ABOUT THE REAL-LIFE CONSEQUENCES OF MEETING THROUGH THIS WEB SITE!
GREAT MOHICAN GATHERINGS ... Past, Present & Future


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