This letter, written from El Obeid in the Sudan, illustrates the conditions under which General Gordon was working in 1877. In 1873 he had accepted employment under Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Egypt and took up the work of opening up the equatorial Nile, establishing a chain of posts and steamer routes. After a year in England he returned in 1877 as Governor of the Sudan. For three years he reconnoitred his vast territory, surrounded by enemies, and against great odds managed to achieve feats of engineering that were admired worldwide. However, the fever-ridden conditions eventually became too much for him and he resigned in 1880.