Why did the population of jamestown plummet between 1609 and the spring of 1610?

The Era of Famine was one of the most horrible periods in the beginning of colonial history. Villagers took refuge in Jamestown exposed to the siege of indigenous attacks and without enough food to withstand the winter.  They began to consume dogs, horses and cats, but eventually even those resources were exhausted.  The survivors were mostly women and children, and from a colony of 300 people, only 50 managed to survive.

first it was savannah, then it was augusta, louisville, milledgeville, then atlanta.

i live in georgia.

-seth