Page 171 - The Diary of A. H. W. Behrens

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The twins were well and first had to get used to father and mother again. Grandmother had taken good care of them.
Then I quickly picked up my work again, also with the Mosupatsela Newspaper, the school harp and the widows’ fund besides all my work in the congregation.
In February/March 1893 we had a big rain that continued for many days and nights and this caused major flooding of the Crocodile River. The Hartebeespoort Dam did not yet exist
and also no bridges. The Magalies River, the Jukskei River,
the Swartspruit and the Crocodile River poured their water through the port in the Magaliesberg and rose far beyond their river beds and swept away houses, harvests, cattle, people, fertile soil, animals, monkeys and snakes and large trees. Everything backed up before Vliegpoort and the large plane on this side of Vliegpoort was under water. The Kemsley family on Landdrift lost everything and spent the entire night on a tree that swayed to and fro in the storm and the next day we had
to fetch them out of the dirt to Bethanie. The same with the Eckhart family. All the farmers along the river suffered great losses and in Pretoria and Johannesburg clothing and other goods were collected to help where there was need.
Cousin August was in Pretoria with two wagons and had unyoked in the evening on a hill between the Magalies and the Crododile Rivers.