By this time I had come almost to my rill, when I entered upon a large plat of ground miserably over-run with weeds, matted together very thick. These choked up my wheels in such a manner that I could neither free them with my hands, nor get either backwards or forwards, they binding my cart down like so many cords; so that I was obliged to cut my way back again with my hatchet, and take a sweep round in the wood, on the outside of these weeds. In all my life I never saw anything of its size, for it was no thicker than a whipcord, so strong as this weed; and what raised my wonder was the length of it, for I drew out pieces of it near fifty feet long, and even they were broken at the end, so that it might be as long again for aught I know, for it was so matted and twisted together, that it was a great trial of patience to untangle it; but that which was driest, and to me looked the rottenest and weakest, I found to be much the strongest. Upon examination of its parts, I discovered it to be composed of an infinite number of small threads, spirally overlaying and enfolding one another. As I saw but few things that I could not find a use for, so this I perceived would serve all the common purposes of packthread; a thing I was often in want of. This inclined me to take a load of it home with me. Indeed the difficulty of getting a quantity in the condition I desired it, puzzled me a little; for, says I, if I cut up a good deal of it with my hatchet, as I first designed, I shall only have small lengths, good for little, and to get it in pieces of any considerable length, so as to be of service, will require much time and labour. But reflecting how much I needed it, and of what benefit it would be, I resolved to make a trial of what I could do; so, without more hesitation, I went to work, and cutting a fibre close to its root, I extricated that thread from all its windings, just as one does an entangled whipcord. When I had thus disengaged a sufficient length, I cut that off, and repeating the like operation, in about three hours' time, but with no little toil, I made up my load of different lengths just to my liking. Having finished this task, I filled the gourd, brought for that purpose, with water; and having first viewed the whole remaining part of the rock, I returned over the stone bridge home again. This journey, though it took me up several days, and was attended with some fatigue, had yet given me great satisfaction; for now I was persuaded I could not have one rival or enemy to fear in my whole dominions. And from the impossibility, as I supposed, of there being any, or of the ingress of any, unless by the same passage I entered at, and by which I was well assured they could never return, I grew contented, and blamed myself for the folly of my imaginary voices, as I called them then, and took it for a distemper of the fancy only.