David Shipman (colonist) the author's youth, Shipman would often appear at the Cooper home, "Otsego Hall", to offer the family some of his latest products. Susan Fenimore Cooper wrote that "rude equipments, dogs, and rifle, had much attraction for the lads of the house". James Cooper referred to Shipman in his "Chronicles of Cooperstown" as "the 'Leather Stocking' of the region, ... could at almost any time, furnish the table with a saddle of venison". David Shipman (colonist) David Shipman (1730 – 1813) is generally considered to be the real-life inspiration for James Fenimore Cooper's character Natty Bumppo in the "Leatherstocking Tales" along
Grim Prairie Tales Simcox appeared in "Grim Prairie Tales" as the wealthy rancher Horn. In an acting career from 1962-1991, he appeared in eight "Gunsmoke" episodes and in other television westerns. Stephen Holden from "New York Times" wrote, ""Grim Prairie Tales" aspires to be a sort of western "Twilight Zone," but the stories it tells are so flat and lacking in tension and atmosphere that the movie generates no tingles." Hal Hinson from "Washington Post" offered the film similar criticism, stating that the film wasn't particularly scary. Grim Prairie Tales Grim Prairie Tales is a 1990 American independent western-horror film, written and directed