James Walker sued William Morrison in debt and received a judgment for $130 at the April 1823 Term of the Superior Court. Clerk David McKinney then ordered Arkansas County sheriff James Hamilton to levy on William Morrison's property, and to jail Morrison if his property was not sufficient to satisfy the debt. Hamilton's deputy William Pugh apparently received the writ of execution on Sept. 5, 1823.

Apparently the writ was not served, because there is no return from the sheriff stating that he served it. In October, Samuel Roane, Morrison's attorney, notified Ambrose Sevier, Walker's attorney, that Morrison would be petitioning for an injunction to postpone the execution. Morrison swore in an affidavit before Judge Andrew Scott that the previous July, his son John had sworn in another affidavit that William Morrison, his father, was ill and unable to attend court. Thus the suit had been continued. Robert Oden, Morrison's attorney at the time, was supposed to take depositions of witnesses, but Morrison believed that the sheriff had never served notices to the witnesses. Since July Morrison had been ill, and unable to procure the depositions. However, he was feeling better now, and believed that he had a good case against Walker.

In Morrison's bill for an injunction, he alleged that in 1820 he had traded 130 acres of land from the Winter Grant to James Walker for a mare. The men agreed that if the Winter Grant was not confirmed then Morrison would owe Walker "$130 in horseflesh." They agreed to hire an attorney to draw up the agreement, but in the meantime Walker wrote a draft. Morrison could not read, and thus could not tell whether it accurately reflected their agreement. According to Morrison, instead of the contingent agreement they had intended, Walker drew up a "writing obligatory," or a note, obligating Morrison to pay money with interest. Before the trial, Morrison had hired William Trimble as his attorney, but claimed that he had not asked Trimble to examine the note because he was still "not mistrusting the integrity of Walker"--even though Walker was suing him--and that was why he had lost the case. He asked for a hearing in equity. Judge Scott issued an injunction and stayed the enforcement of the writ of execution pending a hearing in equity.

In November, Sheriff Henry Armstrong served the summons to the equity hearing on James Walker in Little Rock, Pulaski County. On December 19, Walker filed his answer himself, not using an attorney. In it he refuted various points of Morrison's bill. He claimed that a two year limit had been set for the confirmation of the Winter Grant. More than two years had passed and the grant was still unconfirmed. Walker further disputed that he had agreed to payment in horse flesh. He stated that Morrison had merely loaned him the mare to ride home on, and that Morrison instructed him to "turn her out in the range" when he got home, which he did, and that Morrison had later sold the horse to Lemuel Curran.

On December 20, Judges Benjamin Johnson, Andrew Scott and Joseph Selden dissolved the injunction and decreed that Walker should have the benefit of his judgment and recover from Morrison. However, at the same time the court continued the case in equity and gave the parties permission to procure depositions. Apparently this had the effect of staying the execution of the judgment.

The final document is an affidavit by Morrison's son John, sworn to in March 1824. In it the younger Morrison states that William had left for a trading voyage to New Orleans on November 20, 1823. He had intended to return within a month or so but "from a variety of circumstances" his departure was delayed and he had not arrived home until March 6. He was in bad health. John had received notice from the court in January to take depositions, but he had not done so in the absence of his father. William Trimble was the circuit judge who witnessed the affidavit.

At the April Term the court continued the case. Nothing more appears in the record book until the April Term of 1825, when the court dissolved an injunction and ordered Walker to recover the amount owed by Morrison. We can only assume that Walker was able to do so with the help of a sheriff.

This case is notable for its mention of the Winter grant, one of the largest grants claimed after the Louisiana Purchase. The Winters claimed a grant of land from Baron de Carondelet to Elisha, William and Gabriel Winter of over one million arpens. The Winters in turn sold parts of this grant to others but it was never confirmed by the United States, despite the diligent efforts of the Winters and their purchasers, who brought various lawsuits (see Winter v. United States, Hempstead 344, 30 F. Cas. 350, No. 17,895 (1848) for the suit brought in Arkansas). Thomas Nuttall mentions the uncertainty over the validity of the Winter grant as an obstacle to the settling of Arkansas.

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