Why does he do this? How does he begin to develop the elements of an American myth in the second half of the novel?
In Chapter 18, Cooper calls into question the idea of historical accuracy. The fact that there is an actual William Henry massacre in colonial history indicates that Cooper is playing with time and is writing fiction about real events. It is important to keep in mind while reading that this is a piece of literature, not an historical document. Thus, all characters and events are subject to more bias than usual. We are primarily concerned with characters and authorial attitude towards what happens to them but we should remember that while they are based on real people, the author is not writing for history.
http://www.gradesaver.com/last-of-the-mohicans/study-guide/section4/
