Owen Coffin tragically died as a result of starvation and a desperate act of cannibalism among the survivors of a maritime disaster, having lost a lottery to determine who would be sacrificed.
The Desperate Plight and Grim Decision
In January 1821, Owen Coffin and other survivors found themselves in an extreme situation after being adrift at sea. Faced with severe starvation, they were forced to resort to desperate measures for survival. Initially, they consumed the bodies of crew members who had already died.
The Lottery of Survival
As this grim resource eventually ran out, only four men remained alive in Captain Pollard's boat. To prevent all four from succumbing to starvation, they made a harrowing agreement: they would draw straws to decide which of them would be killed to provide sustenance for the others.
Owen Coffin tragically lost this lottery. In the dire aftermath of this decision, he was shot and subsequently eaten by his fellow survivors, a desperate act taken to ensure the continued survival of the remaining crew members.
