Don't Go That Way!

About a month ago I wrote about reading the journals of Captain James Cook in this blog.

After struggling to find time to read I'm nearly finished with the book.  I already know how his life ends and I know that I'm very close to that point in the book.  In these closing chapters of his final voyage I feel like screaming at him, "No! Don't go that way"!

It's kind of like watching the Titanic movie.  Everyone that went to see that movie knew exactly what was going to happen.  But for an hour we watch and wait for that ice berg to hit.

Cook visited the Hawaiian islands during his third voyage.  He was the first European to discover the islands and the natives were impressed with the ships and iron tools.  At that time Cook named the islands the Sandwich Islands.  He stopped and traded with the natives there before heading North in search of the NW passage that Europeans were searching for in the late 18th century.  

After exploring the coast of Canada and Alaska, Cook sailed back to Hawaii where, after staying a while, the natives killed him.

The book I'm reading is the journals of all three voyages around the world and all the places and people that Cook discovered along the way.  In all of his travels he makes a point to have friendly relations with the native people he encountered.

It's really exciting to read about his discoveries and his descriptions of the people and places that Europeans had never seen before.  I don't want that excitement to end so I keep turning the pages hoping that there is just a little more adventure on the page before he returns to Hawaii for the final time.