How did Giles stop Mr. Putnam from taking his land? Why did he do it that way?

In the play, Giles Corey stopped anyone from taking his land by refusing to submit a plea to the court when formally presented with the accusations against him.  Elizabeth Proctor tells John at the end of Act Four that "if [Giles] denied the charge they'd hang him surely, and auction out his property," and this would have rendered it available for Mr. Putnam to purchase.  Instead, Giles refused to speak, and so -- under the...

In the play, Giles Corey stopped anyone from taking his land by refusing to submit a plea to the court when formally presented with the accusations against him.  Elizabeth Proctor tells John at the end of Act Four that "if [Giles] denied the charge they'd hang him surely, and auction out his property," and this would have rendered it available for Mr. Putnam to purchase.  Instead, Giles refused to speak, and so -- under the law -- the court could not seize his land, and that land passed to his children.

Giles was not hanged, then, since he could not be convicted.  Instead, the magistrates employed and old English tactic to get him to speak, a strategy called "pressing."  Giles lay on his back on the ground with a great wooden slab atop his chest; heavy stones were then piled on this slab in an attempt to get him to enter a plea.  According to Elizabeth (and history), Giles would not give them what they wanted but would only utter the words "more weight" before he was eventually crushed to death.  By retaining his silence in this way, he was able to save his land.