What was the source of the stench in the hold

People were so close together in the hot space. People were also dying,

"The stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so intolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for any time, and some of us were permitted to stay on the deck for the fresh air. The closeness of the space, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us . . . . The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable."