"Before hostilities had actually begun, refugees from Johannesburg began to pour down to Natal and the Cape, and there were daily reports of insults received by the Uitlanders at the hands of the Boers. Ladies were spat upon, and passengers suffered indignities sufficient to make an Englishman's blood boil. ... The European exodus from all quarters continued, defenceless men and women alike being subjected to insult and ill-treatment by the Boers."