ile the regular and trained hirelings of the king marched with haughtiness to the right of the line, the less pretending colonists took their humbler position on its left, with a docility that long practice had rendered easy (Cooper 6).
The humility which allows Hawkeye and others to survive is in part psychological, then, with respect to the attitude of mind required to deal with natural and human threats, but of course there are also physical aspects. For example, a matter as simple as clothing becomes paramount. Meeting Hawkeye for the first time, we are informed that "He wore a hunting-shirt of forest green, fringed with faded yellow." Further, we are informed in the author's note that "The colors are intended to imitate the hues of the wood with a view of concealment" (Cooper 23). This physical aspect having to do with clothing and appearance is more than concealment, however. It is a material statement of the willingness of the individual to humbly respect the environment, not merely to conceal himself, but to even more importantly be as natural as possible a part of the natural surroundings.
Hawkeye has learned this humility and respect from his own experiences in nature, as well as from the Indians themselves. Again and again, Cooper makes us aware that the wisest of the Indians have long recognized that the world of nature, as brutal and mysterious as it can appear to be, is nevertheless an expression of the force of creation which human beings must meet with a truly spiritual attitude. In fact, the spiritual health and survival of the individual is based, in Cooper's world, on that individual's ability to appreciate his proper place with respect to God and nature. This is so that they themselves can survive, as well as affect the survival of those less suited to the wilderness:
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