Episode Details

The Perils of the Northwest Coast. Guest Author: Hampton Sides. Cook mapped the coastline from Oregon to Alaska, enduring foul weather and perpetual fog. While the Spanish sought to arrest him for encroaching on their territory, Benjamin Franklin ordered American captains to protect Cook's scientific mission. The expedition spent a month repairing ships at Nootka Sound, interacting peacefully with the Mowachaht people. Cook meticulously charted the Alaskan coast, even navigating by the sound of walruses in low visibility. However, upon reaching the Bering Sea, he encountered the "ice blink" and an impenetrable wall of ice, proving the "open sea" theory wrong. Threatened by the encroaching pack ice, Cook was forced to retreat, abandoning the search for the season. 7
1810 DEATH OF COOK