On 9 September 1884, an armoured steamer, the "Abbas" on its way to Cairo was captured by the "Ansar" for the first time and all aboard were killed. Among the dead were Gordon's unofficial spokesman, the passionate wordsmith and "Times" journalist Frank Powers, Gordon's Chief of Staff Colonel Stewart and the French consul in Khartoum Léon Herbin, all of whom Gordon was sending to Cairo to plead for relief. Gordon received a letter from the Mahdi taunting him over the murders of his friends Powers and Stewart, warning that he would be next if he did not surrender. Bitterly Gordon wrote in his diary: "It is impossible to have any more words with Mohammed Achmed, only lead."