Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1857-07-16

| WllCl, ne Udu uJcuoeu, WOulu nave udue
the tree the Americans funeral pile.
"Brother, my Oah is fulfilled! I have ap-
peased the angry demon that called for a
recompense of your slaughter. Now, then," !"
continued the riasman, who was no other,
as the reader m,y have anticipated, than
Charles Piggot-aNow, then, take good aim
and bring me down. I am out of ammuni-
tion, have killed as many of you as I had
determined to, and have no further cause for
remaining here. Fire and if more than
one shot in proportion 10 FIVE hits me, you
are better handlers of firearms than I think
you are"
The soldiers were evidently won to favor
him by his intrepidity. He was entirely di-
vested of clothing expecting short pair of
yellow breeches, His feet, legs, body and
head were destitute of covering, but begrim-
med by powder, smoke, dust and perspira-
tion. As he looked down upon the men
from the tree, (the descendant and near re-
lative who gives US these facts says he was,
even in his miserable plight, commanding
and admiration claiming picture. There was
some hesitation in the platoon when Piggot
commanded them to bring him down, and
the men looked to their officer as if for fur
ther instructions. The officer was "unused
to the melting mood" nor could he have
succeeded to any feeling of compassion con-
sistently with his duty or his aspirations as
a true Englishman. The memory of his
brethren was to be welded to some retribu-
tive act worthy of their bloody destinies, and
he gave the signal for the last effect in the
drama of Piggot's enacting. They fired as he
shouted-"I die satisfied !-brother, I can
meet you without shame p and he pitched
over, swayed in the branches moment, and
then dropped, heavily, senseless clod upon
the ground.
The word was soon given that the invisi-
BILE foe whom they had all feared, was pun
ished; and ere that eventful and (to Wash
ington) disastrous battle was concluded, no
one who wore red coat or fingered his Maj
esty's pay wasted seconds thought upon
poor Charles Piggot.
When the wounded were picked up and
the dead buried-a duty performed by the
inhabitants and the English-Piggots body
was found where it had fallen. A hole,
called by courtesy grave, was scooped out
for its reception at the foot of the oak The
riAe-the unerring, vengeful riAe-was so
firmly clenched in the left hand that it could
not be removed, but was buried with him.
Thus the thoughtless and unintentiopal pre-
diction to the old Albion islander, Locksley,
that Charley would "die with his rifle in his
hand" was too truly and literally accom-
plished.
Not many years ago, 1--WE have not the
date an old tree in the vicinity We have
mentioned was uprooted in heavy gale, and
along with its massive roots, which were
wrenched with great force from the ground,
came the dark, discolored, mouldly SEM
blance of a mans skeleton. Upon looking
around in the mould, the curious also found
remnants of a long rifle. The old inhabi.
tants, who had heard the story of the "uner.
ring marksman," at once concluded that
they had found Piggot's skeleton, and that
the Frustrated oak was the one from the TOP
of which he had so bravely thinned the ranks
Of freedoms opponents. The bare supposi
tion entitled the relics to grave with mill
tary honors and monument. There is nc
death so glorious as that honorably met on the
battle-ground of liberty, and no character SC
noble as that of the active, practical patriot
There are still rifles like Piggot's in the
United States; but far distant be the day
whereon they shall be called to do execution
among men whose consanguinity is too plair
to warrant us in estimating them as a race
or the members of nation, distinct from
ourselves of our country.