This is John Bachelor, conversation with the author Hampton's Sides.

His new book, The Wide, Wide Sea, Imperial Ambition First Contact,

and the fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook.

This is the second hour of our conversation. And

here is the approach of Captain Cook and his crew to an island they did not know

existed.

Kauai, part of the Hawaiian chain.

And what did the Kauians make of these men smoking,

these men who could reach into their pockets. This is first contact.

Hampton sides, the wide wide sea, Captain Cook's final voyage.

More of this tonight.

He can't believe it. He thinks it's a mistake at first.

He wonders if it's an optical illusion or something.

But as they get closer, they realize it's a major volcanic island that one of many in a chain and he

Realizes immediately that this is a major find this is not know, some tiny little at all somewhere uninhabited. This is a, this is, there's a whole thriving civilization here as the ships come closer.

All these canoes are launched out to meet him

and greet him is as a true first contact experience for both sides and the

Hawaiians the men and women of Kauai don't know what to make of Cookships.

There's all sorts of oral history passed down that they thought they were some kind of giant

manta rays that had emerged from the sea or that they were gods or that they were from outer space.

All kinds of weird ideas and then as they got closer they saw these sailors smoking.

They never seen smoking before so they call them the volcano people.

...