The Iroquois Trail 1950

In 1757, with French forces looming around Montreal, a young American volunteer in the British Army, Tom Cutler, Don Garner, is entrusted with a vital dispatch that orders Fort Williams to reinforce the vulnerable Crown Point outpost. On the treacherous journey, Tom is murdered by two men posing as British scouts—one of them an Ogane, a Huron aligned with the French. Because the relief never arrives, Crown Point falls to the French, marking a grim early setback in the frontier war.

Two years later, Tom’s elder brother Nat, known as “Hawkeye,” George Montgomery, returns home with his Delaware ally Sagamore Monte Blue to uncover the truth behind Tom’s death, a mystery that authorities have already branded as treachery. Nat and Sagamore volunteer as scouts for the reinforcements headed to Fort Williams, and they take on dangerous duties as they escort the British Captain Jonathan West, Glenn Langan, bearing important despatches, along with Marion Thorne, Brenda Marshall, the fort commander’s daughter. Their mission stands at a crossroads between loyalty and suspicion, as their steadfast resolve puts them at odds with the expectations of the time.

During the perilous march, Nat, Sagamore, and their small party foil Ogane’s scheme to betray them to the Hurons, guiding them safely toward Fort Williams. Yet their apparent insubordination casts a shadow over their loyalty in the eyes of those who command. Inside the fort, Montcalm is being fed information by a spy, a thread that is pulled through Ogane’s cunning. Montcalm’s forces ambush a squad of American infantry and push forward, laying siege to the fort. In a crucial moment, Hawkeye exposes the traitor as Captain Brownell, Reginald Denny, a French-born officer serving as quartermaster to the British, but the revelation comes too late to stop further intelligence from reaching Montcalm.

As the siege intensifies, Montcalm offers the besieged garrison favorable peace terms, an offer that Ogane greets with rage and a thirst for vengeance against the Anglo-Americans. Ogane leads a brutal night attack that leaves many defenders dead and Marion kidnapped, increasing the stakes for Nat and his companions. Hawkeye, Captain West, and Sagamore pursue the Hurons through a perilous chase until they seek refuge among the Ottawa, rivals of the Hurons. The Ottawa leader presents a grim choice: they may go free if one can defeat Ogane in single combat. In a decisive duel, Hawkeye kills Ogane, and the trio earns safe passage home.

The ordeal culminates with Hawkeye earning a new leadership role, as he is appointed chief scout to the British forces as they prepare a renewed offensive for the following year, ensuring that the frontier drama will continue to unfold and the memory of those who fought—like Marcel Gourmet as Gen. Montcalm—remains etched in the story of the war.