Flight from Cleveland to Washington and on to Johannesburg - A Short Safari Adventure Among Africa's Thorny Bushveld Wildlife - page 58

We had about 20 or 30 of these pigs. Some of them used to disappear every now and again
and whether it was a leopard or some other predator or humans that were taking them, we
never knew. Most likely it was some predator since there were never any human tracks or
trails that we could detect. The local Africans used to put snares in the grass tunnels and every
now and again would capture animals but never a leopard since they were too smart. My pet
rabbits, guinea pigs, ducks, cats, and sometimes our dogs, would also disappear at night, taken
by silent killers. The Kamhlabane Mountains behind Shongwe, the place named after the local
Swazi Chief, a descendent of King Mswati II's two successful fighting generals, were infested
with baboons, monkeys and leopards. The mountains, between Shongwe and Barberton have
also become famous as the oldest supposedly known landmass, dating back some 3.6 billion
years. Of interest, based on the tidal markings on the rocks from the tug of the moon, a month
was only 18 days long. In Southern Africa, Barberton is also famous for Barberton Daisies
known to the rest of the world as Gerber daisies, the third most common cut flower in
bouquets, although nobody seems to know why Czarina Anna's physician and herbalist Gerber
should have been accorded that naming honor. Barberton is also where gold was discovered in
South Africa after Piggs Peak and Jeppes Reef.