following extract from a letter written at that time will convey some
idea of the crowded, ill-ventilated condition of the vessel:

"We have now been on board the transport a week, and are getting into
a frame of mind suitable for desperate work. If you can imagine 1000
men crowded into space needed for 500, and then kept there without
room to stand or move or sit for seven days, under a tropical sun, in
foul holds utterly without ventilation (just imagine it!), endured
without a single murmur or complaint, not stoically, but patiently and
intelligently, while every officer on board is kicking as hard and as
often as possible for the relief of his men, then you will have some
idea of the situation. The men are very patient, but they know someone
has blundered. Talk about the heroism of the Light Brigade! It is
nothing to the heroism that goes cheerfully and uncomplainingly into
the Black Hole of Calcutta (there is nothing else that will compare
with these transports), all because it is duty. When will the people
appreciate the heroism of the Regular Army?"

This was the actual condition of affairs on board the Cherokee
up to the time of leaving port on the 14th of June, and it was
modified only by the hoisting of wind-sails, after we got under way.
These were not very efficient and there were only two of them, so very
little relief was given to the overcrowded berth-deck. Most of the men
spent their time on the upper deck, and one whole company was
quartered there. At night, after 8 o'clock, Col. Comba authorized the
men to sleep on deck, and there was always a rush, when the ship's
bell struck the hour, for good places on the quarter-deck. The only
thing that made the voyage endurable was the good weather which
prevailed. This prevented seasickness, to a certain extent.