The Battle at Glens Falls Each of the combatants threw all his energies into that effort, and the result was, that both tottered on the brink of the precipice

In preparation for this commission, the artist read and marked an edition of The Last of the Mohicans published by A. L. Burt (Brandywine River Museum of Art, NCWS.95.4334). He also made a short trip to upstate New York where the tale is set. In a letter to his wife dated Feb. 22, 1919, Wyeth told of a visit he made to the exact spot described by Cooper: "It was indeed thrilling to follow Cooper's detailed topography...to stand on the very dome of rock where Major Heyward fought the hand to hand battle with knives with the Huron warrior. As I looked into the boiling water below, I could almost imagine the tossing figure of the blood covered Indian who had plunged off the crag (sic) with Heyward's knife sheathed in his heart" (Wyeth Family Archives).

In addition to photographs Wyeth took of the locale, he also may have used stereoscope cards as image resources--6 cards depicting scenery in Glens Falls were found in his studio, including one of the "water galleries near Dual Gorge."