|
NEW YORK FOLKLORE QUARTERLY
Vol. XX, No. 4, December, 1964
HUNTING THE HUNTER: NAT FOSTER TODAY
by Eleanor Franz
NAT FOSTER needs no introduction to any lover of New
York’s folklore. The legendary marksman, trapper,
hunter, Indian fighter and explorer of the Adirondacks
has become a vivid character in the folklore of pioneering days.
Clad in his buckskins, Foster announced in a St. Johnsville tavern
in 1787 that his name was “Leatherstocking,” and 26 years after
that incident James Fenimore Cooper undoubtedly used him as
the prototype for Natty Bumppo’s adventures. Jeptha Simms, who
collected oral traditions in the Mohawk Valley, recognized Foster’s
exciting and colorful career in his Trappers of New York, or a
Biography of Nicholas Stoner and Nathaniel Foster, published
first in Albany in 1851 and in at least two later editions. Simms
used a very formal title in this biography, for to most of the pioneer
settlers, and to all of their children, Foster was always known
as “Uncle Nat.” Arthur Lester Byron-Curtiss reported new details
about Nat’s exploits in The Life and Adventures of Nat Foster,
Trapper and Hunter of the Adirondacks (Utica, 1897). More recently, Harold
W. Thompson provided a capsule account of the
tales told about Foster in six pages of Body, Boots and Britches
(Philadelphia, 1940). It would appear to be impossible to add
any new particulars about Foster’s prodigious activities.
Yet the ghost of the buckskin clad figure still stalks the Adirondack
foothills around the Town of Salisbury, in Herkimer County.
Here Foster made his home for approximately 30 years. And to the
people of this neighborhood, Foster is both a heroic and historic
character....
Voices is the membership magazine of the New York Folklore Society. To become a subscriber, join the New York Folklore Society today.
TO PURCHASE A BACK ISSUE of the New York Folklore Quarterly, visit our online book store.
TO PURCHASE THIS ARTICLE from the New York Folklore Quarterly, use the form here.
 BACK TO THE NEW YORK FOLKLORE QUARTERLY.
|
|
New York Folklore Quarterly
PURCHASE A SINGLE ARTICLE
To order a single article, please enter volume number, issue number, and title of the article you wish and click on an order button below to purchase through Paypal or with your credit card. We will send you a PDF of the article via e-mail upon receipt of your order.
ITEM #603
Single Article $3.00
|
|
|
Member Price $2.00
|
|
|
|
|
