Elizabeth is saved from an attacking panther, though her father, Judge Templeton, attempts to arrest her mysterious rescuers who include Oliver Edwards, Indian John, and Natty Bumppo.  
The opening scene of this novel depicts a dispute over a slain deer.  One of the characters delivers a soliloquy about the demise of his tribe both at the turkey shoot and at the pivotal scene on Mount Vision.  Trouble begins when local magistrate Hiram Doolittle begins prowling around the protagonist's cabin.  Elizabeth is saved from an attacking panther, though her father, Judge Templeton, attempts to arrest her mysterious rescuers who include Oliver Edwards, Indian John, and Natty Bumppo.  FTP, identify this novel by James Fenimore Cooper, the first volume of the Leatherstocking Tales.
The opening scene of this novel depicts a dispute over a slain deer.  
The Pioneers