Satanstoe by James Fenimore Cooper

First published: 1845

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Historical romance

Time of work: 1751-1758

Locale: New York State

Principal Characters:

• Cornelius (Corny) Littlepage, the narrator
• Hugh Roger Littlepage, Corny’s grandfather
• Dirck van Valkenburgh, called Dirck Follock, Corny’s friend
• Abraham van Valkenburgh, called ’Brom Follock, his father
• Herman Mordaunt, a wealthy landowner
• Anneke Mordaunt, his daughter
• Mary Wallace, her friend
• Guert ten Eyck, Corny’s friend, in love with Mary
• The Reverend Thomas Worden, a clergyman
• Jason Newcome, a schoolmaster from Connecticut
• Mother Doortje, a fortune-teller
• Major Bulstrode, a British officer, in love with Anneke
• Jaap, Corny’s black slave
• Mr. Traverse, a surveyor
• Susquesus (Trackless), and
• Jumper, Indian guides and runners

The Story

As a lad, Cornelius Littlepage, usually called Corny, studied classics under the Reverend Thomas Worden at Satanstoe as a preparation for going to an American university. Satanstoe was owned by Corny’s father and was so named because it was a peninsula shaped like an inverted toe. When Corny’s father felt that he was prepared to attend a university, a discussion was held with Abraham Van Valkenburgh, or ’Brom Follock, as he was called, to decide on which university Corny was to attend. Follock also had a son, Dirck, the same age as Corny. After comparing the New England manners at Yale with the manners of Newark, later Princeton, it was decided to send Corny to Princeton.

Before settling at Newark, Corny went with his father to visit New York City. They arrived there during a holiday and toured the streets. Because the Patroon of Albany was visiting the city, a crowd had gathered. Corny noticed a beautiful girl named Anneke who had been insulted when a butcher’s boy knocked an apple from her hand. Corny gave the boy a dig in the ribs and then exchanged blows with him. Turning to see the girl again, Corny found that she had disappeared.

In 1755, after completing the four-year course at college, Corny returned to Satanstoe. There he renewed his boyhood friendship with Dirck Follock and met Jason Newcome, the new schoolmaster from Danbury. Newcome took strong exception to New York habits and manners, as exampled by the Reverend Mr. Worden, who played whist with Corny’s mother. Newcome, because of his Connecticut upbringing, was not as well educated as were the Littlepages, and he could not understand their leisure. He felt that Corny should work for a living.

When Corny was twenty, he and Dirck traveled to New York City. On the journey, Corny learned that their fathers had jointly purchased some land from the Indians and that probably, next year, they were to be sent to look over the land, which was not far from Albany. While on the road, Dirck pointed out Lilacsbush, the summer home of Herman Mordaunt, his mother’s cousin. Corny suggested that they stop there, but Dirck explained that Mordaunt and his motherless daughter Anneke remained in their winter home in New York City until after the Pinkster holidays, around Easter time. Dirck declared that Anneke was one of the prettiest girls in the colony. The pair stopped at Mrs. Light’s inn where they heard some gossip about Anneke’s many admirers.

In New York City, Corny visited his aunt, Mrs. Legge, while Dirck stayed with relatives in the town. Jason Newcome, being on a holiday, also made his appearance. Soon after their arrival, the three young men went to the town common to watch the Pinkster frolics, a holiday celebrated by the blacks. There they met Anneke Mordaunt, Dirck’s cousin, who remembered that Corny had fought the butcher’s boy for her sake. The group visited a lion’s cage, and Corny was able to save Anneke’s life when the crowd pressed her close to the bars, and the animal seized her with one paw. In addition to Anneke’s gratitude, Corny also earned that of her father, who invited Corny and Dirck to dine with him. At the Mordaunt house, Corny met several British officers who were numbered among Anneke’s admirers. One, Major Bulstrode, asked Corny why he had not enlisted to fight in the war against the French. Corny replied that his grandfather would not have allowed him to join the colors. Later, he expressed his opinion that the war was not really the concern of the settlers but a quarrel between the English and the French.

During the stay in New York, Corny and Dirck frequently visited the Mordaunts. When the officers gave a dramatic performance to which the Mordaunts and their friends were invited, Bulstrode, the starring performer, was offensive to Anneke’s sensitivities, theatrical performances not being highly considered in the Colonies. Corny and Dirck then rode with the Mordaunts and Mary Wallace to Lilacsbush. In spite of Corny’s efforts to prevent him, Jason Newcome managed to travel with them on the journey back to Satanstoe. On their return home, Corny related the events of his trip, including his meetings with Anneke, to his mother, who was greatly pleased.

In the following March, Dirck and Corny traveled to Albany in order to inspect the land their fathers had bought. They carried with them a quantity of merchandise to sell to the army, which was stationed in Albany. At the inn where they stopped, they learned that the Mordaunts were also there as well as Bulstrode’s regiment and that Herman Mordaunt wanted Anneke to marry Bulstrode. Corny and Dirck had the Reverend Mr. Worden and Jason as their companions, as well as Jaap, a faithful black servant. In order to reach Albany, they were forced to cross the Hudson on ice. Although many other wagons had made the crossing, Worden refused to ride in the sleigh and ran alongside, thus acquiring in Albany the title of the “loping Dominie.” In Albany, Corny met Guert Ten Eyck, an irresponsible young man who took Corny sledding in the center of the town and humiliated him by guiding the sled to the feet of Anneke and her friend, Mary Wallace; sledding was considered a child’s sport. Guert was in love with Mary, who admonished his action severely.

Guert, who helped Corny dispose of the goods he had brought from Satanstoe, invited his friends to dinner. Discovering that the army had stolen his dinner, he tricked Corny and Worden into helping to steal their dinner from the mayor. That official, learning of Guert’s trick, invited them to a second dinner that night. Present at the mayor’s house were the Mordaunts and Mary Wallace. That same night, Corny told Anneke that Guert loved Mary and then admitted that he loved her. Anneke, hearing his declaration, turned pale.

When Corny met Bulstrode in Albany, the British officer spoke of his love for Anneke and of his hopes of obtaining his father’s permission for their marriage. They discussed the war and the relationship between England and the Colonies. Guert Ten Eyck, wishing to go riding with Mary, asked Corny to try to obtain Mr. Mordaunt’s approval of a sleigh ride he was planning.

Mr. Mordaunt agreed to accompany Anneke and Mary on the sleigh ride with Guert, Corny, and Dirck on the following Monday. Then, over the weekend, the ice melted on all the roads because spring had arrived suddenly; Guert and Corny feared their trip would have to be postponed until the following year. The Hudson River was still frozen over, however, and Guert’s suggestion that they go for a ride on the river itself proved a plan agreeable to the whole party.

The sleighs rode on the ice to Kinderhook without mishap. On the return trip, people frequently called out from the land, but the sleighs were going too fast for the occupants to understand what was being told them. Suddenly, to their dismay, they realized that the warm weather had caused the river to flood, breaking the ice apart and separating the sleighs from dry land. Fearing for the safety of the women, Corny promised to care for Anneke’s life, and Guert promised to look after Mary. In their efforts to reach shore safely, the groups were separated, each attempting to save themselves by another route. Through courage and effort, everybody reached shore safely.

Because of their heroism on the ice, Guert and Corny became well-known in Albany. Bulstrode, congratulating Corny, learned for the first time that the young man was in love with Anneke. Although he received this news coolly, Bulstrode said that he saw no reason why he and Corny could not remain friends.

Disappointed in his courtship of Mary, Guert proposed that Corny accompany him on a visit to Mother Doortje, a fortune-teller. The Reverend Mr. Worden, not a strictly moralistic man, went with them, as did Dirck Follock. Although they disguised themselves, the seer recognized them and advised Guert to follow Corny into the woods during the summer. She also identified Worden as the loping Dominie and advised Jason Newcome to buy land for making a mill-seat. When Guert was told he might never marry, the fortune-teller’s words caused him to give up almost all hope of winning Mary.

After the arrival of Lord Howe, the British troops moved northward. A short time later, Mr. Mordaunt announced that he was going to visit land of his own, a tract known as Ravensnest, which was very near the Littlepage and Follock property of Mooseridge. The group traveled together to Ravensnest. From there Corny, Dirck, Guert, the surveyor Mr. Traverse, two axmen, two chainbearers, Jaap, and Guert’s black servant Pete set out to find Mooseridge. One the way, they met Jumper, an Indian whom they hired as a guide. Later a second Indian, Susquesus, or Trackless, was added to the party. Because of Susquesus’ skill in woodcraft, they soon located the boundary marker and immediately began the work of surveying the tract. For shelter, they built a rude but comfortable log cabin.

Learning from the woods runner that the English were about to begin operations against Ticonderoga, Corny, Dirck, Guert, and Jaap, guided by Susquesus, set out to join the expedition. The British were badly defeated at the battle by a smaller force of French and Indians, and Lord Howe was killed. Under Guert’s leadership, the volunteers escaped after learning that Bulstrode had been seriously wounded and sent to Ravensnest. Jaap had taken a Canadian Indian, Musquerusque, but he was forced to release his prisoner so that the group could make an escape. Jaap thrashed the Indian before freeing him; Susquesus warned that Jaap had done a very foolish deed. Guided by Susquesus, the party returned to Mooseridge, where they found the surveying party gone.

Susquesus, going to warn the surveyors of the danger of Indian raids, found strange Indian tracks and followed them. That night, the men returned from Ticonderoga, and all slept in the locked hut. In the middle of the night, Corny was awakened by Susquesus, who led him in the direction of cries for help. They found Pete, who had been with the surveyors, tortured and scalped. Later they found the body of one of the hunters and axmen and, a little farther on, the surveyor, his two chainbearers, and the second axman, also scalped and dead. Susquesus said that Musquerusque had taken his revenge for the beating.

Returning to Mooseridge, they found Jumper, the Indian scout, with a letter from Mr. Mordaunt inviting them to join him at Ravensnest. On the way, they came upon a party of Indians and dispersed them in a surprise attack.

At Ravensnest, Corny took the opportunity to press his suit. Anneke, in turn, confessed her love for him, adding that she had never loved Bulstrode. Mary Wallace, however, refused to marry Guert. During an Indian raid on the house, Guert fought with reckless courage. After he and Jaap had been captured, Mary realized that she loved him after all. Guert was mortally wounded, however, while escaping with Jaap from the Indians, and he died in Mary’s arms. Bulstrode, confined to his bed because of his wound, did not learn until much later of Anneke’s decision to marry Corny. When the two met again at Lilacsbush, Bulstrode offered his rival his hand and best wishes.

Corny’s mother was overjoyed to hear of her son’s approaching marriage, and Mr. Mordaunt, who had originally favored Bulstrode for his daughter’s hand, decided to settle his property on Corny and his bride. After their marriage, Anneke and Corny settled at Lilacsbush. On the death of his grandfather, Corny acquired still more land. He and Anneke lived for many years in peace, and became the happy parents of a son whom they named Mordaunt.

Jason Newcome acquired a mill-seat from Mr. Mordaunt on a cheap lease. The Reverend Mr. Worden returned to Satanstoe. He had decided that missionary life was too difficult and that the only people who should be Christians were people who were already civilized.

Critical Evaluation:

To James Fenimore Cooper, who always felt himself to be a passionate advocate of democracy, property rights were vital to the democratic system. His most emphatic statements on the subject were made in a series of essays entitled THE AMERICAN DEMOCRAT (1838) where he stated: “As property is the base of all civilization, its existence and security are indispensable to social improvement.” In the 1830’s, he felt its “existence and security” were in grave jeopardy. In the 1840’s the situation, in Cooper’s view, became even worse and stimulated The Littlepage Trilogy, the first of which is SATANSTOE.

The initiating events were a series of antirent wars which took place in upper New York State from 1839 to 1846. The issue involved attempts by the rich descendants of early Dutch settlers to collect long neglected rent payments from tenant farmers who held their land through perpetual or long-term leaseholds. The tenants reacted strongly, even violently, against what they felt to be a grossly unfair arrangement, eventually winning the right to purchase their lands outright. Although Cooper felt the long-term leasehold system to be archaic and inefficient, he saw the antirent agitation as a threat to the rights of property itself, and so he fought against this latest evidence of “leveling” with the only weapon he had, his pen.

It was Cooper’s intention in the Littlepage Trilogy to follow a single family of landed gentry through four generations largely by concentrating on biography and realism rather than emphasizing plot and action. The three novels trace the family’s fortunes from the establishment of the estate (SATANSTOE), through the beginnings of social unrest and agitation (THE CHAINBEARER, 1845), and ending with the contemporary antirent controversy (THE REDSKINS, 1846). This chronicle thus establishes, in Cooper’s view, the validity of the landed gentry position by demonstrating their long-term superiority.

In each of the novels, the issue of property rights and natural aristocracy versus forced equality and unmitigated majority rule is argued at great length, and these arguments represent one of the important debates in United States history. Unfortunately, Cooper was never able to integrate successfully his ideas into the action of the stories; the rhetoric remains just that, argument for the sake of argument; and since each novel in the trilogy is increasingly polemical, each is artistically inferior to its predecessor.

Therefore, SATANSTOE remains the best of the Littlepage Trilogy because its rhetoric is the most muted. To be sure, it lacks the action, intensity, and firm plotting of many earlier Cooper novels. Except for a few incidents, such as the almost disastrous sleigh ride on melting ice, SATANSTOE is a very leisurely, almost aimless book. The pleasures of the novel reside in the careful, accurate description of mid-eighteenth century life among the landed gentry—social customs, manners, rituals, tastes, courting behavior, life-styles—presented with a gentle, ironic humor. The most evident quality of this society is a sense of security derived from a fixed social order and a stable environment. The disruption of this security, only hinted at in SATANSTOE, was to be the subject of the subsequent novels as well as the bane of Cooper’s later years.

Bibliography

Barker, Martin, and Roger Sabin. The Lasting of the Mohicans: History of an American Myth. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1995.

Clark, Robert, ed. James Fenimore Cooper: New Critical Essays. Totowa, N.J.: Barnes & Noble Books, 1985.

Darnell, Donald. James Fenimore Cooper: Novelist of Manners. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1993.

Dyer, Alan Frank, comp. James Fenimore Cooper: An Annotated Bibliography of Criticism. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.

Fields, W., ed. James Fenimore Cooper: A Collection of Critical Essays. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1979.

Frye, Steven. Historiography and Narrative Design in the American Romance: A Study of Four Authors. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 2001.

Long, Robert Emmett. James Fenimore Cooper. New York: Continuum, 1990.

McWilliams, John. The Last of the Mohicans: Civil Savagery and Savage Civility. New York: Twayne, 1995.

Newman, Russell T. The Gentleman in the Garden: The Influential Landscape in the Works of James Fenimore Cooper. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2003.

Peck, H. Daniel, ed. New Essays on “The Last of the Mohicans.” New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Ringe, Donald A. James Fenimore Cooper. Updated ed. New York: Twayne, 1988.

Verhoeven, W. M., ed. James Fenimore Cooper: New Historical and Literary Contexts. Atlanta: Rodopi, 1993.