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April 26, 2008
Cannibalism? A Difference of Opinion.
Westport’s most gruesome catastrophe befell the crew of the Janet in 1849. While chasing a whale, the master and several members of her crew were separated from the ship and left to drift in their small whaleboat for 2 weeks. Two survivors wrote an account of their ordeal, one written by Captain Francis Hosmer and another, considerably more dramatic and gruesome, was written by one of the crew members. How did they manage to survive without food or water? Both accounts describe how straws were drawn to determine who would be sacrificed for the greater good of the crew. The number of victims and nature of their demise, however, differs according to each account.
Read each account here.
Posted April 26, 2008 4:34 AM