60 HISTORY OP brought for the occasion, was killed and roasted. The cere- monies were conducted in all the novelty and pomp of Indian custom, and Harper, painted as one of them, and dressed in Indian costume, mingled freely in all their performances, and partook with a hearty relish of the roasted viand. The repast being over, the chiefs and great ones assembled around their hostage, when a crown, which consisted of a belt richly deco- rated with beads, was placed upon his head as a mark of dis- tinction, and which entitled him to a voice in the deliberations of the Six Nations.* Harper having successfully accomplished his mission, accom- panied by his companions, returned to the Johnston settle- ment, where he joined his regiment, and from thence returned to Harpersfield. It was, I believe, unusual for the Indians so far to forget their native prejudices as to bestow this mark of distinction upon 2i>pale face, and I have never read of any other person excepting Sir William Johnston, upon whom the favor has been bestowed ) and although the long struggle which imme- diately followed, was calculated to place him at enmity with the Indians, his bravery and the humanity he exhibited, still the more endeared him to them. He never took life when he could avoid it, and never sulFered himself or those under his command to commit any of those barbarities which placed so dark a stain upon the history of the border warfare of the Revolution. The following is an exact copy of a manuscript letter found in possession of the Rev. Mr. Boyce, of Harpersfield, who married a niece of Col. Harper, and which goes to show that the intimacy existing between Harper and the Six Nations was
- I procured this information of the Rev. Mr. Boyce and others, of
Harpersfield. See also Stone's Border Wars, and the Proceedings of the Provincial Congress of New York.
