The following story is taken from "Border Wars or Annals of Tryon County", by W. W. Campbell

This fanciful account is repeated by Stone in his 'Life of Brant'. A more realistic version is in Stile's, 'Frontiersmen of New York' shown also on this site.

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CHAPTER VIII.

(Part)

   The following account of a successful enterprise of Col. Harper, was also furnished by the Rev. Mr. Fenn,    who re-ceived the information from him.              "  He informed me that in the year 1777  ,      he had command of   the   fort in Scho-harie,   and of all the frontier stations in this region.        He left the fort in Schoharie and came out through the woods to Harpersfield in the time of making sugar  ,       and from thence laid   his  course  for  Cherry  Valley  to  investigate    the    state  of

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things  there   ;    and  as he was  pursuing  a  blind  kind of  In-dian trail, and was ascending what are now called Decatur Hills, he cast   his eye forward   and   saw   a company   of   men coming directly   toward  him ,  who had   the   appearance of   In-dians.   He knew that if he attempted to flee from them they would shoot him down ; he resolved to advance right up to them,   and make the   best shift for himself he could.  As soon as he   came   near enough   to discern   the white of   their eyes, he knew the head man and several others ;   the head man’s name was Peter,   an   Indian   with   whom Col. Harper had often traded at Oquago, before the Revolution began. The colonel had his great  coat on,so that  his regimentals were con-cealed,   and he was not recognized ; the first word of address on Col. Harper’s part was, "How do you do, brothers?" the reply was,   "Well – how do you do brother?   which way are you bound brother?"     "On a secret expedition – and which way   are   you bound, brothers?"        "Down   the Susquehanna to cut off the Johnstone settlement."(Parson Johnstone,and a number  of  Scotch  families,had  settled  down  the Susquehanna, at what is now called Sidney Plains, and these were the people whom they were about to destroy.) Says the colonel,   "Where do you lodge to-night?" "At the mouth of Scheneva’s creek," was the reply.   Then shaking hands with them,   he bid them good speed, and proceeded on his journey.
      " He had gone but a little way from them before he took a circuit through the woods,   a distance of eight or ten miles, on to the head of Charlotte River, where were a number of men making sugar; ordered them to take their arms, two days’ provisions, a canteen of rum, and a rope, and meet him down the Charlotte, at a small clearing called Evans’s place, at a certain hour that afternoon ;   then rode with all speed through the woods to Harpersfield ;   collected all the men who were there    making  sugar ,   and   being   armed   and   victualled, with

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each man his rope,  laid his course for Charlotte; when he arrived  at  Evans’s  place,  he  found  the  Charlotte  men  there in good spirits; and when he mustered the men, there were fifteen, including himself ;  exactly the same number as there were  of  the  enemy ;   then the colonel made his men ac-quainted with his enterprise.
     " They  marched down the river a little distance,  and then bent their course across the hill to the mouth of Schenevas Creek;  when they arrived at the brow of the hill where they could overlook the valley where the Schenevas flows, they cast their  eyes  down  upon the  flat,  and  discovered  the  fire around  which  the  enemy  lay  encamped.  ‘There  they are,’ said Col. Harper. They descended with great stillness, forded the  creek,  which  was  breast  high  to a man ;    after advancing a few hundred yards, they took some refreshment, and then prepared for   the contest–daylight  was  just beginning to ap-pear  in  the  east.   When  they came to  the enemy,  they  lay  in a circle, with their feet toward the fire, in a deep sleep; their arms, and all their implements of death, were all stacked up according  to  the  Indian custom when they lay themselves down  for  the  night :  these the colonel secured by carrying them off a distance, and laying them down ; then each man taking  his  rope  in  his  hand,  placed  himself  by  his fellow ; the colonel rapped his man softly, and said,  ‘Come, it is time for men of business to be on their way;’ and then each one sprung upon his man, and after a most severe struggle they secured the whole number of the enemy.
    "After they were  all  safely  bound,  and the morning had so far advanced  that they could discover objects distinctly, says the Indian, Peter–––"Ha !  Col. Harper ! now I know thee–– why did I not know thee yesterday?’   ‘Some  policy  in  war, Peter.’   ‘Ah, me  find  em so now.’    The  colonel  marched the  men  to  Albany,  delivered   them  up  to  the  commanding

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officer  there, and  by this bold and well executed feat of va-lour, he saved the whole Scotch settlement from a wanton destruction."