Continuity mistake: At the dinner at the Camerons' lodge Mrs. Cameron's bangs change from shot to shot. (00:06:25)
Continuity mistake: During the scene at General Webb's office things on the desk appear and disappear and change places, like a glass, a water bottle, a candle, etc. (00:09:30)
Continuity mistake: When Magua is leading the troop into the ambush he turns around and walks towards the troop. When it cuts to a shot behind him we see him lifting up his right arm. When it cuts his arm is down. (00:16:55)
Continuity mistake: During the ambush, while Hawkeye is fighting with the axe, his musket is on the left shoulder crossing the chest, but in the following shot when he prepares to shoot Magua, he has it on the right shoulder. (00:19:55)
Continuity mistake: After the fight on the way to Fort Henry Duncan's temple curls disappear. (00:21:15)
Continuity mistake: During the battle over the fort the protagonists' group approaches the fort by canoe, with the women sitting in the canoe and the men guiding it wading through the water. In the shots showing Cora's face Alice is not in the canoe. (00:35:20)
Continuity mistake: When Duncan tries to explain his version of the raid of the Camerons' lodge to Cora part of his uniform is a read seat-belt-like piece of cloth. This wasn't there in the scene preceding imediately. (00:47:30)
Continuity mistake: When Duncan lies to Munro about the raid of the Camerons' lodge Cora's hair is totally dishevelled. Immediately after that when Duncan tries to explain it's nicely done. (00:47:40)
Continuity mistake: When the people are marching out of the fort the same shot of Madeleine Stowe looking back over her shoulder, with a characteristically tattooed man in the background, is repeated 10 seconds later. (01:05:40)
Continuity mistake: When the canoes go down the cataracts the waterfall where they are actually shown going down in close-up is a much smaller one than the one shown in the panorama shot before. (01:15:40)
Continuity mistake: When the Huron chief is talking and Duncan is translating, he is translating faster than the chief can talk. (01:27:00)
Continuity mistake: When Magua lowers his knife, you can see that it's not the same knife he had when he killed Uncas, nor is it the one he draws from his belt when Chingachgook fights him, it's a simple kitchen-like knife. (01:45:45)
Continuity mistake: When Daniel Day Lewis, his brother and father are going after the Munro girls and the officer, in one scene where the dark haired Munro girl falls against a bush and breaks the branches. If you look closely at the scene before, the branches are already broken.
Continuity mistake: During the walk to Fort William Henry, at one point, Uncas, the true Mohican son, turns to look at Alice who is struggling and his earring is in his right ear. During the rest of the movie, the earring is in the left ear.
Continuity mistake: When Uncas single-handedly attacks Magua's party on the mountain, he shoots an opponent who is filmed falling off the side of the mountain. When the camera cuts back to the fight, you can see him fall down again on the far left (while Uncas is attacking the next one in line).
Answer: During inclement weather, dry sheepskins were used to keep rain from entering the barrel. During battle, wet sheepskins were used to cool down the barrel to decrease the likelihood of the powder exploding prematurely.
Greg Dwyer