INCORRECT James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851), author of the epical American novel series The Leatherstocking Tales, was not a woman. The Leatherstocking Tales chronicle the life of Natty Bumppo (also known as Leatherstocking, Hawkeye, the Pathfinder, and the Deerslayer), a white frontiersman raised by native people. The best known work in the series is probably The Last of the Mohicans.