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508 GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS
himself who stepped into the lime-light and became one of the principals.
On the resignation of Judge Thomas P. Carnes from the judgeship of
the western circuit, Judge Griffin, a brother-in-law of General Clark—
both having married daughters of Col. Mieajah "Williamson—received
from Governor John Milledge an ad interim appointment to the vacant
seat. When the regular election was held by the State Legislature some
time later, Judge Tait, a member of the Crawford faction, successfully
opposed Judge Griffin for this office, though Judge Griffin was unques
tionably a fine lawyer and a man of blameless reputation. Thereupon
an acrimonious controversy ensued between General Clark and Mr.
Crawford, growing out of the issues of the campaign.
Smarting from the defeat of his candidate, General Clark called Mr.
Crawford to task for certain pre-election statements made by him to
the effect that he, General Clark, had influenced the grand juries of
certain counties to recommend his brother-in-law. This brought forth
a reply from Mr. Crawford. With pens dipped in vitriol both men
indited bitter diatribes and branded each other with harsh epithets until
finally Mr. Crawford, exasperated beyond control, challenged General
Clark to a duel, which challenge was, of course, promptly accepted by
the impetuous old warrior.
Col. Thomas Flournoy, acting as second to Mr. Crawford, and Capt.
Howell Cobb, serving in a like capacity for General Clark, arranged the
details for the hostile encounter. As the place of meeting, a secluded
spot was chosen on the Carolina side of the Savannah River, just below
historic old Petersburg and some eleven miles from where Yan Alien,,
two years previous, fell before Mr. Crawford's deadly fire. But the
duel was never fought. At this stage of the proceedings, a number of
disinterested friends besought Governor Milledge to intervene, urging-
the value to the state of both men, whose deadly intent portended fatal
results.
With much difficulty Governor Milledge obtained the consent of
both principals to the appointment of a board of arbitration, charged
with adjusting the difficulties between them. Each belligerent was
given the right to choose two friends to represent him, and these in turn
selected a fifth arbitrator who was really to hold in his hands the balance
of power. Jared Irwin, Abraham Jackson, James Seagrove, David B.
Mitchell, and J. Ben Maxwell constituted this court of appeals; and,
on December 12, 1804, a plan of arbitration was submitted to which
both parties, without loss of prestige, yielded assent.
But the hatchet was only temporarily buried. The smoldering fires
of hostility began to leap into renewed flame ere the ink was dry upon
the paper which both signed in apparently good faith. Still, more
than a year elapsed before matters reached anything like a crisis. On
February 24, 1806, Josiah Glass, a North Carolinian, appeared upon the
scene in Georgia with a warrant for one Robert Clary, charged with the
offense of stealing a negro. Judge Tait, in his capacity as a judge, was
called upon to endorse this warrant, which he readily did as a matter
of form, expecting a trial of the case to establish the facts.
In a few days thereafter, while on the bench, he received a note from