Note 48 — THE EARLY NOVELS OF JAMES FENIMORE COOPER (1821–1831)

Like many other romantic stories, it rests upon insufficient authority, Cf. Fiske, John. The Beginnings of New England, p. 218; “The story rests chiefly upon the statements of Hutchinson, an extremely careful and judicious writer.... Goffe kept a diary which came into Hutchinson’s possession.... A paramount regard for Goffe’s personal safety would quite account for the studied silence of contemporary writers like Hubbard and Increase Mather.”