The Zafir steamed up close to the bank and opened fire with her Maxims.

Another gunboat sank one large craft and captured two others, and the troops landed and, covered by the fire of the guns, captured a fourth which had grounded in shallow water.
A smaller boat was halfway across the river when the gunboats arrived.
It was seen that there were several women on board, and as the capture would have been of no value, no regard was paid to it.

As it would have been as dangerous to return as to keep on, the boatmen plied their hardest to get across, but the stream carried them down near the Zafir.
The boat was quite unnoticed, all eyes being intent upon the shore.

She was passing about thirty yards astern of the gunboat, when a badly aimed shell from a Dervish battery struck her, and she sank almost instantly.
Gregory, who was superintending the working of the Maxim nearest the stern, looked round at the sound of the explosion.

Several of the occupants had evidently been killed, but two or three of the boatmen started to swim to shore.