The ship is said to have been clean and well ventilated. There were some Chinese "doctors" on board, of whom one died.
The disease which was so prevalent was scurvy. Terribly fatal, the disease spread rapidly.
The causes of the disease were not hard to seek. Many of the people are said to have been Opium smokers and debilitated, some were old. They were crowded on board with little more clothing than what they wore. They were constantly wet, and they felt extremely the change from the warm climate of Cuba to the damp and cold of the ship, and from constant active employment to the insufferable idleness of the voyage.
Add to this that the only anti-scorbutic on board was citric acid, and it is not surprising that sickness should have prevailed in a very aggravated form, and that in the absence of proper Medical aid (for the native doctors appear to have been of no use) it should have proved so fatal. Neither the ship doctor, who was a Chinese "Master", nor the Officers appear to have recognized the real nature of the disease.
The case shows the importance of not allowing Emigrants - especially those of Asiatic origin - to proceed on such voyages without proper precautions.