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
Tales from Watership Down "Watership Down", Hyzenthlay, a doe, rises to the position of Co-Chief Rabbit with her mate, Hazel. A reviewer for "The New York Times" wrote that while it was a "lighthearted companion piece" to "Watership Down", it was "a little disjointed as a stand-alone volume". The book was praised by another reviewer at Salon.com, who wrote: "The pure, unfamiliar feelings evoked in "The Story of the Three Cows" and in the gory "The Hole in the Sky" — just two of the stories here—persist for quite a while after you've finished reading them". Tales from Watership Down Tales from Watership Down