0:00:02 > 0:00:04I have crossed the Atlantic,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07to ride the railroads of North America
0:00:07 > 0:00:09with my reliable Appleton's guide.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Appleton's General Guide to North America
0:00:17 > 0:00:20will direct me to all that's novel,
0:00:20 > 0:00:21beautiful,
0:00:21 > 0:00:23memorable
0:00:23 > 0:00:25and striking
0:00:25 > 0:00:27in the United States. THEY CHANT GREETING
0:00:29 > 0:00:31As I journey across this vast continent,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34I'll discover how pioneers and cowboys conquered the West.
0:00:34 > 0:00:35GUNFIRE
0:00:36 > 0:00:39And how the railroads tied this nation together,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43helping to create the global superstate of today.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09The early pioneers made their way across North America
0:01:09 > 0:01:13in wagon trains, but the railroads made possible
0:01:13 > 0:01:17the wholesale settlement of the West.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20I started my journey in St Louis, Missouri,
0:01:20 > 0:01:22then headed to Kansas City.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26From there, I'll forge west across the plains, to lawless Dodge City,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30before arriving in the mountains at Colorado Springs,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33and finally, heading south, through New Mexico.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36I'll end in the awe-inspiring natural wonder
0:01:36 > 0:01:38of Arizona's Grand Canyon.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43On this leg of my journey I'm leaving Missouri's Kansas City,
0:01:43 > 0:01:48and heading west to the college town of Lawrence in the state of Kansas.,
0:01:48 > 0:01:50From there I'll travel to Topeka,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53and on to the infamous Dodge City,
0:01:53 > 0:01:56before finishing on the western edge of the Great Plains,
0:01:56 > 0:01:58in Lamar, Colorado.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02Along the way, I pay homage at the cathedral of basketball.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06- You've got to turn and shoot. Good job.- Yeah!
0:02:06 > 0:02:09..get my hands on a vintage hooter...
0:02:09 > 0:02:10TOOT
0:02:10 > 0:02:11Wow, that was fun!
0:02:11 > 0:02:15..discover what life was like in the Wild West...
0:02:15 > 0:02:17He's got a gun...
0:02:19 > 0:02:22..and hear about the harrowing tragedy at Sand Creek.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27A quote comes to mind in all atrocities -
0:02:27 > 0:02:31"The only thing necessary for evil to succeed
0:02:31 > 0:02:34"is for GOOD men to do nothing."
0:02:41 > 0:02:43On my American odyssey
0:02:43 > 0:02:47I'm continuing to puff westwards, towards the state of Kansas,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50admitted to the Union in 1861.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52By the time of my guide book,
0:02:52 > 0:02:58Kansans had converted this state of prairies and tornadoes into
0:02:58 > 0:03:02"famous wheat and corn fields and immense cattle ranges",
0:03:02 > 0:03:03according to Appleton's.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07But what sort of cultures had blown in on the wind?
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Kansas celebrated its statehood
0:03:15 > 0:03:19as the United States was descending into civil war.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22No stranger to bloodshed, in 1854
0:03:22 > 0:03:26Kansas territory had been a flashpoint in the nationwide battle
0:03:26 > 0:03:29over slavery, when pro-slavers and abolitionists
0:03:29 > 0:03:34clashed over whether their future state should be slave or free.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41And the town of Lawrence, Kansas was named in honour of an abolitionist,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43Amos A Lawrence.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50I've arrived in Lawrence, which, according to Appleton's,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53even THEN had 10,000 inhabitants.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58"Located here with over 300 pupils is the Haskell Institute,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01"a United States Indian school."
0:04:01 > 0:04:06"Indian school" - I find those surprising words in a 19th-century publication,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08a period that one would think
0:04:08 > 0:04:11was dominated by shootouts and scalpings.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18So far on my journey west,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Appleton's has proved a useful guide to pioneer settlements
0:04:21 > 0:04:23and railway boomtowns.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27But I've read little of the people who lived on these lands
0:04:27 > 0:04:30before the arrival of the wagon trains and the railroads.
0:04:34 > 0:04:35When it was founded in 1884,
0:04:35 > 0:04:41Haskell College in Lawrence was one of 60 schools designed to rid
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Native American children of their tribal identity.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50I'm meeting Stephen Prue, part of the Haskell administrative team,
0:04:50 > 0:04:54and a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00I was very surprised to find that
0:05:00 > 0:05:04this school was founded in the 19th century. What was its purpose, then?
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Well, it was founded by the United States government
0:05:06 > 0:05:10in partial fulfilment of trust and treaty obligations.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13American Indians at the time were under the War Department,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15many were still considered hostile,
0:05:15 > 0:05:21so the schools' primary job was not only to educate, but to assimilate.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Kill the Indian, to save the man.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28What was the difference between the culture of the Native American,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30and the culture of those who were coming in from Europe?
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Well, I think the people that came in from Europe,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35their focus was on ownership.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39Native American culture views our relationship not only with the earth
0:05:39 > 0:05:42but with each other in terms of a community,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46and that those resources are here for all to share,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49but not for all to just use for themselves.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Haskell started with just 22 pupils,
0:05:55 > 0:06:02and by 1894 the number had grown to 606, drawn from 36 different states.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Many had been forcibly separated from their families, and transported
0:06:06 > 0:06:09thousands of miles across the country.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15The regime at Haskell was harsh.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19On arrival, the children were stripped of all traditional clothing
0:06:19 > 0:06:22and tribal belongings.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24They were made to work the fields in preparation
0:06:24 > 0:06:27for lives as labourers and servants,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30and in the schoolroom, they were taught white American history.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34- What about language?- They would be disciplined and punished
0:06:34 > 0:06:36for speaking their language, saying their prayers.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40There was even a jail on the campus, where students,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44if they were not following the rules, could be handcuffed,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48brought to the jail and locked and given food and water for the day
0:06:48 > 0:06:50to correct their behaviour.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Not until the civil rights movement in the 1960s
0:06:57 > 0:07:00did government educators begin to adopt a more enlightened approach
0:07:00 > 0:07:02to the education of these people,
0:07:02 > 0:07:07who President Lyndon B Johnson described as "forgotten Americans".
0:07:11 > 0:07:14In 1993, the Indian school
0:07:14 > 0:07:18became the Haskell Indian Nations University.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Business student Chris Sindone combines his degree studies
0:07:21 > 0:07:24with American Indian dance performance.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Would you mind telling me about the regalia you're wearing?
0:07:27 > 0:07:31The regalia, this is a traditional prairie chicken dance outfit.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34The beadwork all comes from different pieces and parts
0:07:34 > 0:07:38of my family. I have porcupine needles that are softened up
0:07:38 > 0:07:40on my roach, and I have my eagle feathers
0:07:40 > 0:07:43and I have our prairie chicken pheasant bustle.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47It originates within the Blackfeet community, up in Montana,
0:07:47 > 0:07:48close to the border of Canada.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50At the beginning of the mating season,
0:07:50 > 0:07:54all the male prairie chickens are out there, trying to be
0:07:54 > 0:07:58cocky, you know, they want to impress the best lady out there,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01so they're out there fighting each other to, you know, to
0:08:01 > 0:08:02show their vanity.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Will you honour me with a display, a performance?
0:08:06 > 0:08:07Absolutely, I'd be honoured.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42Ah.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46I have learned one word which I hope will express my thanks
0:08:46 > 0:08:48and I hope I'm going to say it right... Aho.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Aho! Thank you, you said it perfectly. Thank you.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59Haskell is not the only academic institution in Lawrence.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03The University of Kansas, or KU, was founded in 1865.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07Now it has a student body of almost 25,000,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09making it the largest in the state,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13and it accounts for almost a fifth of Lawrence's population.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17"The state university," says Appleton's,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20"is a large and handsome structure
0:09:20 > 0:09:23"standing upon a bluff called Mount Oread
0:09:23 > 0:09:25"in the southwestern part of the city."
0:09:25 > 0:09:30If you were ever asked in a pub quiz what Kansas University is famous for
0:09:30 > 0:09:34and you were to answer "basketball", you would score a slam dunk.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39The Kansas University basketball team is known as the Jayhawks,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43a hybrid of the quarrelsome blue jay and the fighting sparrowhawk.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46It was the name given to those 19th-century abolitionists
0:09:46 > 0:09:49who fought to make Kansas a free state.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54'Curtis Marsh is director of the DeBruce Center at the university,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56'and a Jayhawks fanatic.'
0:09:56 > 0:09:57- Hello, Curtis.- Hello, Michael.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01- How are you?- Good to see you. - Lovely to see you, as well.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03- May we sit down?- Of course.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05And we're sitting next to whom?
0:10:05 > 0:10:08This is Dr James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13He was in Kansas for 40 years until his death in 1939,
0:10:13 > 0:10:18and he helped the university create a historic basketball programme.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23Dr Naismith was a Canadian sports coach and chaplain,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26who came up with the idea of basketball
0:10:26 > 0:10:29while working with a YMCA training group in Massachusetts.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33- Why had he invented the sport in the first place?- Ah.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37There was a very cold winter in the northeast.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42He had a great number of athletes at the school that were used to playing
0:10:42 > 0:10:45American football and rugby, and they were...
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Quite frankly they were restless.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52The winter months were just too cold for those outdoor activities, so he
0:10:52 > 0:10:58was challenged to find a sport that they could play inside where perhaps
0:10:58 > 0:11:00they don't beat each other up and tackle each other,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03and basketball was created.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08Naismith divided his class of 18 into two teams of nine.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11The object of the game was to lob a ball into a goal
0:11:11 > 0:11:13fixed high on the wall.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15The only thing available at the time
0:11:15 > 0:11:16was a peach basket.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Michael, one of the things that we love about this game is that
0:11:19 > 0:11:21the scoring is just astronomical,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24you can have a game where 100 points are scored.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Not when it was a peach basket, because you had to stop the game,
0:11:27 > 0:11:32grab a ladder, head up to the peach basket and take the ball out.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Well, they created a wonderful improvement,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39which was nothing more than cutting a small hole in the bottom
0:11:39 > 0:11:43of the basket, so that a broom handle could pop the ball right out.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46After a few more refinements,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Naismith arrived at KU in 1898,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53where basketball was wholeheartedly embraced.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57In 2016, the university opened a permanent exhibition
0:11:57 > 0:11:59to honour the great man.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02'I made up some more rules. The most important one
0:12:02 > 0:12:04'was that there should be no running with the ball.'
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Two pages of typescript, with Naismith's signature -
0:12:08 > 0:12:11give me an idea of how important this document is.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15This document, which as far as we know is the only
0:12:15 > 0:12:18initiating document for a major sport,
0:12:18 > 0:12:22was purchased at auction for 4.3 million,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25and it was bought by one former student of the University of Kansas
0:12:25 > 0:12:27and donated to us.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31And now you have it behind glass, with electronic paraphernalia...
0:12:31 > 0:12:33I mean, this is like the Crown Jewels.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36I think it's the Crown Jewels of basketball, no question.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38# Jayhawks, come on!
0:12:38 > 0:12:40# Jayhawks, here we go!
0:12:40 > 0:12:43# Jayhawks, come on! #
0:12:43 > 0:12:48All the greats have played here in the famous Allen Fieldhouse Stadium.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51And today there's a new rookie player on the team.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56- Right, how do we begin, Coach? - So, the first thing we're going to do, we're going to get on the block,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58where it gets real dirty.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Real dirty? OK, fine.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04What you're going to do is put your back to the basket.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Yes, and you're going to post up, and when you post up,
0:13:07 > 0:13:09- you're going to get physical. - OK, physical.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11- You're going to get physical. - Get big.- All right, get big!
0:13:11 > 0:13:12Go, Michael! Go, Michael!
0:13:12 > 0:13:14- There you go.- Yeah, there we go.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17Look at that!
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Thanks to the dedication of KU players and coaches,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24basketball soon became a national sport...
0:13:24 > 0:13:25Yeah, that was good, that was good.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27# Michael, Michael... #
0:13:27 > 0:13:29..and in 1936, an Olympic one.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Here we go, get ready. Turn and shoot. Good job! There we go!
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Yeah!
0:13:35 > 0:13:36# KU! #
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Here we go. We're big on high fives at KU. Yeah!
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Curtis, do you remember coming here to watch games?
0:13:42 > 0:13:44I will never forget it, it's what made me a Jayhawk fan.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46What does this place mean to you?
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Next to my family, it's the most important thing in my life.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52The games here are like no other.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55There's so much energy here that it's really like nothing else.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Better get ready now, cos you're going to get licked in your own stadium today.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00You got it, Michael.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03# Go, Michael! #
0:14:03 > 0:14:04Stop him, stop him!
0:14:04 > 0:14:06It's in...
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Good sport!
0:14:27 > 0:14:31In truth, there are not many passenger trains nowadays
0:14:31 > 0:14:34running in the state of Kansas,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37which is why it's a great joy to find a heritage line running between
0:14:37 > 0:14:43Baldwin City and Ottawa at a very dignified speed.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Ladies and gentlemen, all aboard!
0:14:46 > 0:14:49All aboard!
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Thank you.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54'After the end of the American Civil War in 1865,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57'the United States government began to speed up settlement of the West
0:14:57 > 0:14:59'by investing in the railroads.'
0:15:01 > 0:15:04At first, settlers hailed the railroads
0:15:04 > 0:15:05as the bringers of prosperity.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Many also invested in their construction,
0:15:09 > 0:15:10and sought to influence the routes.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16'I'm meeting Kansas historian Virgil Dean,
0:15:16 > 0:15:20'to find out how all that changed when the railroad companies
0:15:20 > 0:15:24'became over-mighty, and how the people fought back.'
0:15:24 > 0:15:25Hello, Virgil.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28- Michael.- Good to see you. - Good to see you, yes.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32The public got involved in these railroads as investors, did they?
0:15:32 > 0:15:38Exactly, especially if you were in a rural area, just getting started,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41they were vital to a town's success, and so towns would
0:15:41 > 0:15:44get into bidding wars over railroads
0:15:44 > 0:15:49just like they do with businesses or corporations, factories now.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Once the railroads have become a settled part of the landscape,
0:15:52 > 0:15:54how do people feel about them then?
0:15:54 > 0:15:56I think you could say, as some people have,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59that it was kind of a love/hate relationship with the railroads
0:15:59 > 0:16:02from the very beginning. People lost money on them.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Railroads didn't always live up to their promise.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07They might just decide at the last minute to go this direction,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11instead of this direction, and miss your town,
0:16:11 > 0:16:13or planned town, altogether.
0:16:17 > 0:16:18In the late 19th century,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22numerous privately-owned railroad companies operated in Kansas,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26including the Santa Fe, the Kansas Pacific and the Union Pacific.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31How was it that they affected people's lives?
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Well, they're very important to people,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37but they also see abuses from time to time.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42Most commonly, what you'd hear is that railroads charged too much
0:16:42 > 0:16:45for hauling freight, and that the passenger fares were too high.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50By the 1870s, the political corruption,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53which a lot of people tied to the large railroad companies -
0:16:53 > 0:16:57and other businesses, but railroads in particular - is a big issue.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01In the 1880s and '90s,
0:17:01 > 0:17:05a combination of drought and competition from overseas
0:17:05 > 0:17:09had left farmers struggling and angry with the wealthy railroads,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12whom they accused of naked greed.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15They formed a political party, the Populists,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19to demand, amongst other things, that the railroads be nationalised.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22So would it be going too far to say
0:17:22 > 0:17:24that amongst rural communities anyway,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26at the end of the 19th century,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29the banks and the railroads have become villains?
0:17:29 > 0:17:31Yeah, that's definitely the case
0:17:31 > 0:17:33when you get to the Populist movement
0:17:33 > 0:17:39during the 1890s, where you have attacks on Wall Street, even,
0:17:39 > 0:17:44railroads and bankers, banks,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47similar to what we have today with the talk about
0:17:47 > 0:17:49too much concentration of wealth and power
0:17:49 > 0:17:53and how much of a corrupting influence that has on
0:17:53 > 0:17:55society in general and individuals.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01'In the end, people power didn't win the day.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03'The railroads stayed in private ownership,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06'and the Populist Party petered out.'
0:18:06 > 0:18:08- Thank you very much. - You're welcome.- Off to the loco.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13'But on this train, at least, the people are firmly in control.'
0:18:13 > 0:18:14Hello, guys.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Hello, how you doing?
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Rob, are you a volunteer?
0:18:22 > 0:18:23We are all volunteers.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25What's the impulsion to come and do this volunteer work,
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- why do you do it? - I love old machinery.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30- Do you?- Old cars, trucks.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33- I'm a gearhead. - MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:18:36 > 0:18:37Would you mind if I pulled the hooter?
0:18:37 > 0:18:40You've got to go long...long...
0:18:40 > 0:18:42- short, long. - OK.
0:18:42 > 0:18:43No traffic over here, are we good?
0:18:43 > 0:18:45Yep!
0:18:45 > 0:18:47- Long...- Long...
0:18:47 > 0:18:49- ..long...- long...
0:18:49 > 0:18:51..short...
0:18:51 > 0:18:52and long.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54TOOT
0:18:55 > 0:18:59- Wow, that was fun! - All right. You got it.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03It's a terrific view, the track here is dead straight.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10When you get out here you realise that
0:19:10 > 0:19:12normally in a train you only have about
0:19:12 > 0:19:14a half or a quarter of the experience,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17because you only see what's going by the sides.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Here I can lean out, I can see what's ahead...
0:19:19 > 0:19:23I've got the sun on my head, I'm in the open air.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25THIS...is the way to ride a railroad.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38Now we cross one of the highlights of the route for me, Sand Creek,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41on the little rickety wooden bridge like something out of a western.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Rob, we appear to be approximately in the middle of nowhere,
0:19:53 > 0:19:57and I think this is my stop - if you'd very kindly let me off that would be great.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00All right, I will let the conductor know.
0:20:00 > 0:20:01Thank you.
0:20:05 > 0:20:06Bye, Rob! Thanks for the ride.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09- Bye, Michael!- Safe journey.- You too.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Travelling through the lush farmland of Kansas,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18at a stately 20 miles per hour,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21it's hard to imagine a more peaceful place.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30But, the area has its surprises.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36This is Tornado Alley,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40where dry air from the Rockies meets moist air from the Gulf,
0:20:40 > 0:20:44creating more tornadoes than anywhere else in America.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51The weather centre in Topeka gathers vital meteorological information,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53and there I'm meeting Mike Smith,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56one of the country's foremost tornado experts.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02Did you become a tornado expert by following tornadoes around,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04by being a so-called tornado chaser?
0:21:04 > 0:21:09I was one of the very first tornado chasers in 1972,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12while I was attending the University of Oklahoma.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15But that's not how I got interested in tornadoes.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18I got interested in tornadoes when I was five years old,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20and an F5,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23the most intense type of tornado, passed a few blocks to my south.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27When I saw all of the damage the next day,
0:21:27 > 0:21:29the thought went through my mind,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32anything that could do this had to be pretty interesting.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Mike has turned his passion into a business,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42and amongst his clients are railroad companies.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43What have you been able to do, then,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46to help the railroads to avoid disaster?
0:21:46 > 0:21:50We tell the railroads in advance where the tornado is going to cross
0:21:50 > 0:21:54the track on a milepost by milepost basis,
0:21:54 > 0:21:58and they will stop the trains in that area.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01And do you believe that you have avoided catastrophe?
0:22:01 > 0:22:04Oh, we know we have. The railroads tell us that.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07In the case of the Greensburg, Kansas tornado,
0:22:07 > 0:22:11another EF5 tornado back in 2007,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15they were able to keep the trains out of the area,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17and the two trains stopped
0:22:17 > 0:22:20were able to watch the tornado in the darkness
0:22:20 > 0:22:24pass safely in between them, illuminated by lightning.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30This is the first known image of a tornado on the Great Plains,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33taken by a Kansas farmer in 1884.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Back then, there was no way of predicting where or when
0:22:37 > 0:22:40these forces of nature would strike.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46Nowadays, any dramatic shifts in air pressure and humidity are monitored
0:22:46 > 0:22:49from the weather centre's upper air building.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51Every day, meteorologist Brandon Drake
0:22:51 > 0:22:54sends two of these balloons up into the atmosphere.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57The instruments will send back data,
0:22:57 > 0:23:01which can be used to forecast tornadoes.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04This balloon's going to go up about 35 km.
0:23:04 > 0:23:05Once it does that, it'll pop,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08and it'll fall back down with the instrument attached still.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11This thing will take a profile of the atmosphere
0:23:11 > 0:23:13roughly above this location.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15- May I watch the launch?- You may.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19On the Great Plains, spring is tornado season,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22but they can occur any time.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24- Er, don't let go...!- I won't.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27- OK...- Let me know when you've got it.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29- I've got a good grip on it. Wow! - OK.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31I must say, this is very distinctly different
0:23:31 > 0:23:33- from holding on to a party balloon, isn't it?- It is.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36- Brandon, ready for lift-off? - Ready for lift-off, Michael.
0:23:36 > 0:23:37Here goes.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Yee-hah!
0:23:40 > 0:23:42Whoa, watch it go!
0:23:45 > 0:23:48The Great Plains make up about a third of the whole landmass
0:23:48 > 0:23:52of the United States, but here in the Midwest
0:23:52 > 0:23:55the climate has created a very particular ecosystem,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57known as tallgrass prairie.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00- Hello, Paula.- Hello!
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Paula Matile is a rancher,
0:24:02 > 0:24:06who heads a conservation project in the Kansas Flint Hills.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09It's the largest area of prairie to survive.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18Paula, how much prairie do you have left here?
0:24:18 > 0:24:21The national preserve is about 11,000 acres.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25And before this was disturbed by the white man,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29how much prairie was there in what we now call the United States?
0:24:29 > 0:24:34Tallgrass prairie once covered about 170 million acres,
0:24:34 > 0:24:39and now we're estimating less than 4% of that is still around.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47A rare herd of American buffalo, also called bison,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49roams freely over the whole preserve,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53so we're extremely fortunate to come across them.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55Oh!
0:24:55 > 0:24:57You have to drive very carefully, don't you?
0:24:57 > 0:25:00This is... I never thought I'd ever be this close to a bison.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03What fantastic animals. Aren't they?
0:25:03 > 0:25:08Yeah, we reintroduced the bison to the preserve in 2009
0:25:08 > 0:25:11with 13 head, and we're up to about 100 head right now.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16They graze differently than cattle, so they leave these little
0:25:16 > 0:25:20micro-habitats for different species of bird.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25The immense treeless horizon of the prairie was shaped by the constant
0:25:25 > 0:25:30grazing of the buffalo, and by fires caused by violent electric storms.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34Oh, that is beautiful. That is very, very beautiful.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37This is such an important landscape.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40It's getting developed and it's getting ploughed up
0:25:40 > 0:25:43and it's disappearing right before our eyes,
0:25:43 > 0:25:48and the tallgrass prairie IS American history.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53This was the American Dream - to be out in the tallgrass prairie
0:25:53 > 0:25:54and to make a living.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02The Kansas prairie has been mythologised in American culture.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Bye-bye, Paula. Thank you very much.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13One writer in particular fixed the landscape in the public imagination.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15The poet Walt Whitman.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20Known as America's bard, he was born in New York in 1819,
0:26:20 > 0:26:25but in later life adopted the persona of a western frontiersman,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27complete with beard and Stetson.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30- Hello, Philip.- Hello, Michael.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33'Philip Barnard is an English professor
0:26:33 > 0:26:35'at the University of Kansas.'
0:26:35 > 0:26:37Who was Walt Whitman?
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Walt Whitman is one of the greatest of American poets.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42What is the impact that this landscape,
0:26:42 > 0:26:43these prairies, have upon him?
0:26:43 > 0:26:46He idealises the prairies.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50They represent for him a fertile new territory, where a new society
0:26:50 > 0:26:55can be built, that's both modern and democratic
0:26:55 > 0:26:59and free from the influences and limitations of the past in his mind.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02A distinctively American society for him.
0:27:02 > 0:27:03What do you mean by that?
0:27:03 > 0:27:07He felt that US culture to the mid-19th century
0:27:07 > 0:27:10was still derivative on its European origins,
0:27:10 > 0:27:14and envisioned a more modern, a more egalitarian culture
0:27:14 > 0:27:19linked by railroads and growing in vast spaces, like the prairies.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22Did he write specifically about railroads in his poetry?
0:27:22 > 0:27:24There's a very beautiful poem called To A Locomotive In Winter,
0:27:24 > 0:27:30where he celebrates the railroad and locomotives as engines of modernity.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32"I hear the locomotives rushing
0:27:32 > 0:27:34"and roaring and the shrill steam whistle.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36"I hear the echoes reverberate
0:27:36 > 0:27:38"through the grandest scenery in the world.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40"I cross the Laramie Plains.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43"I note the rocks and grotesque shapes, the buttes.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47"I see the plentiful larkspur and wild onions, the barren,
0:27:47 > 0:27:48"colourless sage deserts.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52"I see in glimpses afar or towering immediately above me
0:27:52 > 0:27:53"the great mountains.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56"I see the Wind River and the Wahsatch mountains."
0:27:56 > 0:28:02So here's a man who celebrates nature, but also the railroad,
0:28:02 > 0:28:06which, after all, is violating the nature.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08For Whitman, the railroad is part of nature.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10It's a modern window onto nature,
0:28:10 > 0:28:12through which one can appreciate nature differently.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25The landscape of the prairie and the expansion of the West
0:28:25 > 0:28:29continue to inspire American artists today.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32The composer Mark O'Connor is one of them.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35This is his beautiful Poem For Carlita.
0:30:09 > 0:30:14Excited to be heading to the wildest of Wild West towns,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17famed for its gunfighters and gamblers, Dodge city.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20From there, I'll cross into Colorado,
0:30:20 > 0:30:23finishing at Lamar, on the Great Plains.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42This splendid train is known as the Super Southwest Chief,
0:30:42 > 0:30:47and it runs on the old Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52Now operated by Amtrak, it runs between Chicago and Los Angeles,
0:30:52 > 0:30:56travelling in darkness and light over three days.
0:30:56 > 0:31:01I've arrived in cowboy country, but that is a misnomer -
0:31:01 > 0:31:05for this land once belonged to the Native American and the buffalo.
0:31:13 > 0:31:18The night train from Topeka, Kansas, reaches Dodge City before dawn.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21So new arrivals must wait until sunrise
0:31:21 > 0:31:25for their first glimpse of America's fabled Wild West town.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33Today, Dodge City has a population of around 30,000.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Many work in the meat processing industry.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42150 years ago, the arrival of the railroads sparked rapid growth in Dodge,
0:31:42 > 0:31:47and unleashed a tide of lawless behaviour that made it notorious.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53Dodge City, nicknamed "cowboy capital of the world",
0:31:53 > 0:31:55"Queen of the cow towns",
0:31:55 > 0:31:57"wicked little city",
0:31:57 > 0:32:00"bibulous Babylon of the frontier."
0:32:00 > 0:32:05I wonder what it did to earn that reputation, and whether it deserved it.
0:32:06 > 0:32:11Dodge City was no more than a mud hut, or sod house, and a saloon
0:32:11 > 0:32:14before the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad
0:32:14 > 0:32:19built a depot and laid rails in 1872.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23Buffalo hunters, then cattlemen were magnetised
0:32:23 > 0:32:25by the business opportunities,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28and used the railroad to transport hides,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31meat and cattle on an industrial scale
0:32:31 > 0:32:34to the cities of the East and North.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38To hear more about this western boom town,
0:32:38 > 0:32:44I've come to a reconstruction of Dodge's famous Long Branch Saloon.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46Brent. Put it there.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48Howdy, pardner. Welcome to Dodge.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50Glad to finally have you here.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53'Brent Harris of the Boot Hill Museum
0:32:53 > 0:32:56'keeps the spirit of the Old West alive.'
0:32:56 > 0:32:58How did Dodge City get started?
0:32:58 > 0:33:02It started in 1872, the train arrived in Dodge.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06Shortly after come the longhorn cattle from Texas.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Along with them comes the young Texas cowboy.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14They have just spent three months driving a herd of more than 1,000
0:33:14 > 0:33:19longhorns, facing more danger and working harder than ever before in their life.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21These boys are weary, they're tired,
0:33:21 > 0:33:22they're probably a little bit angry.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24They're ready to let their hair down,
0:33:24 > 0:33:28paint the town red, and we're here to help them do that.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34The cowboys arrived off the trail in early spring,
0:33:34 > 0:33:37with three months' pay in their pockets.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40And the railroad company shipped in fine liquor,
0:33:40 > 0:33:42boots and guns for them to spend it on.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50They turned a blind eye to the violence and lawlessness
0:33:50 > 0:33:53in the town's many bars, brothels and gambling dens.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57What about law enforcement?
0:33:57 > 0:33:59They hired Wyatt Earp,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02legendary Wyatt Earp, probably the best in the business.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05And of course, the first thing he wanted to know - what are the laws,
0:34:05 > 0:34:06what are the ordinances?
0:34:06 > 0:34:08The mayor at the time said,
0:34:08 > 0:34:12"The only laws are - don't kill the customers."
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Now, a year here in Dodge was early spring, late fall.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16In the winter, nothing happened.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19One year he was credited with 374 arrests.
0:34:21 > 0:34:26Earp's part in the legendary shootout at the OK Corral earned him a place in history.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30But the fearless lawman portrayed by Hollywood was more
0:34:30 > 0:34:34was more accurately a gambler and a gunslinger.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38Do you think there'll be any trouble in town today?
0:34:38 > 0:34:42Well, if history is any indication, it's...it's possible.
0:34:42 > 0:34:43But uh...
0:34:43 > 0:34:46first we're going to have to do something about that outfit.
0:34:46 > 0:34:47You look like a city slicker.
0:34:52 > 0:34:53Is that better?
0:34:59 > 0:35:04Dodge City's reputation as the hell on the plains was well-deserved.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07SCREAMING
0:35:10 > 0:35:12Oh!
0:35:12 > 0:35:13Oh!
0:35:25 > 0:35:27He's got a gun...
0:35:32 > 0:35:33He's dead.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37- What happened here? - You keep that barrel pointed down.
0:35:37 > 0:35:38- Show your hands!- Hands up!
0:35:50 > 0:35:53I think half the town just got wiped out in front of me.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01By the mid-1880s, the railroads reached directly into Texas,
0:36:01 > 0:36:04heralding the end of the cattle drives,
0:36:04 > 0:36:08and the cowboy capital became
0:36:08 > 0:36:10just another farm town on the plains.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18Shortly before the first cattle drives headed for Dodge, in the mid-1870s,
0:36:18 > 0:36:23buffalo hunters piled in to use the railroad to transport their kill.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27The name of Dodge City will forever be associated
0:36:27 > 0:36:29with the demise of that magnificent beast.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Here's a poignant passage from Appleton's.
0:36:35 > 0:36:41"At every little station, heaps of buffalo bones lie along the tracks.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44"The number of these gigantic animals
0:36:44 > 0:36:48"slain by hide hunters in two or three years
0:36:48 > 0:36:53"in the territory tributary to the railway must have been over half a million."
0:36:53 > 0:36:57"For many trainloads have already been hauled away,
0:36:57 > 0:37:01"and the industry of bone-picking is profitable."
0:37:02 > 0:37:06I feel ashamed, because surely we measure our humanity not only
0:37:06 > 0:37:10by how we treat one another, but how we behave towards animals.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12Especially the buffalo,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15that man used for survival,
0:37:15 > 0:37:17and to further his progress.
0:37:19 > 0:37:24Vast herds of buffalo roamed the grasslands of North America for
0:37:24 > 0:37:3010,000 years, but within 50 years of the white man's arrival in the West,
0:37:30 > 0:37:33they were hunted close to extinction.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37Earlier in my journey in the Flint Hills of Eastern Kansas,
0:37:37 > 0:37:40I was lucky enough to encounter a small herd.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46Here on the plains around Dodge, it's wonderful to see more.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50They're being reintroduced by the Wild West Heritage Foundation,
0:37:50 > 0:37:52led by president Ryan Birch.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Ryan, as we approach the bison and the buffalo,
0:37:56 > 0:38:00you better give me the dos and don'ts. What are the safety rules?
0:38:00 > 0:38:03Well, I wouldn't recommend getting out and petting them.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06That's why we're in the back of this truck going down here rather than walking.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13The herd is made up of a rare golden bull buffalo, known as Buck,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17and three cows, who all gave birth during the summer.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25It's good to see some handsome specimens of buffalo here today,
0:38:25 > 0:38:27I've been reading about the slaughter of them.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30Before the slaughter, what kind of numbers were there?
0:38:30 > 0:38:33You know, back in the mid-1800s
0:38:33 > 0:38:37there was nearly 60 million of these buffalo roaming the plains.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40And what was their relationship with the Native American?
0:38:40 > 0:38:43You know, the buffalo were such a tremendous asset,
0:38:43 > 0:38:44but not just as a source of food.
0:38:44 > 0:38:49Starting with their hides, which were used for bedding, clothing, tepees.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51The brain of the buffalo was used to tan the hides.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54The bones were used for weapons and tools.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58The stomachs and the bladders were even used for containers,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01and all the way down to the manure was used for fuel.
0:39:01 > 0:39:02So the Native Americans hunted them,
0:39:02 > 0:39:06but there was no danger in those days that they would be hunted to extinction?
0:39:06 > 0:39:07That's correct.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12The arrival of the railroad spelled the end of the buffalo.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16The enormous herds delayed trains and destroyed track.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20Rail companies responded by offering "hunting specials",
0:39:20 > 0:39:24from which passengers would shoot the animals for sport.
0:39:24 > 0:39:30One Dodge City trader reportedly shipped 200,000 hides at a time back east,
0:39:30 > 0:39:32where they were made into coats and hats,
0:39:32 > 0:39:34as well as leather belting,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37to drive the machines of America's Industrial Revolution.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42What is the attitude of the white American when he arrives in the territory?
0:39:42 > 0:39:47You know, it's more of a young man coming in for adventure, and trying to make a profit.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50There was individuals that could kill 100 or 250 a day,
0:39:50 > 0:39:53and when they could sell those for three dollars a hide, you know,
0:39:53 > 0:39:55it was a very lucrative business back in the time
0:39:55 > 0:39:58when the average worker was making about a dollar a day.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02Now, from what you've told me, the relationship with the Native American,
0:40:02 > 0:40:05this must have impacted the Native Americans too, enormously.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08Absolutely. The population of the Native Americans went down greatly,
0:40:08 > 0:40:10as they depended on these animals.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21MUSIC PLAYS
0:40:21 > 0:40:22I'm drawn to the Dodge City Depot
0:40:22 > 0:40:26by the unmistakable sounds of a big band.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37The Dodge City Cowboy Band, founded in the early 1880s,
0:40:37 > 0:40:40is still going strong.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43THEY PLAY THE STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER
0:40:56 > 0:40:59Wow, that was fantastic.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02Very patriotic. The Stars And Stripes Forever.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04I never saw it conducted with a gun before.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07THEY LAUGH Tell me about that. What are you doing with a gun?
0:41:07 > 0:41:12It's in the tradition of Chalkley Beeson, who began the Cowboy Band
0:41:12 > 0:41:16here in Dodge City. He conducted with a gun - for show, of course,
0:41:16 > 0:41:20but he said that if any person
0:41:20 > 0:41:23played a false note, he'd kill 'em.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Anyone you want to pick out today(?) THEY LAUGH
0:41:26 > 0:41:32Chalkley Beeson was a buffalo hunter turned cowboy, then saloon owner.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36His band began playing nightly outside the Long Branch Saloon.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38Its fame quickly spread.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43The band serenaded the governor, and in 1889 travelled to Washington DC
0:41:43 > 0:41:48to play at the inauguration of President Benjamin Harrison.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54They weren't working cowboys of the day - they may have owned steers and cattle,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57they wanted to give that impression of what Dodge City was.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01Now, at the risk of someone getting shot this time,
0:42:01 > 0:42:03can I have a few more bars?
0:42:03 > 0:42:05Oh, here comes the revolver. THEY LAUGH
0:42:05 > 0:42:08THEY PLAY THE STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER
0:42:23 > 0:42:25With the oppression of the Native American,
0:42:25 > 0:42:28and the extermination of the buffalo,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32the story of the Wild West is quite morally complicated.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36But the cowboy is the enduring hero.
0:42:36 > 0:42:41This booted and spurred figure, through literature, through stage shows,
0:42:41 > 0:42:43through movies,
0:42:43 > 0:42:46has become the greatest source of entertainment
0:42:46 > 0:42:48that the world has ever known.
0:42:54 > 0:43:00I'm up early to leave Dodge as I arrived, under cover of darkness.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04I'm catching my old friend the Super Southwest Chief,
0:43:04 > 0:43:06which will carry me to my next destination.
0:43:11 > 0:43:12- Good morning.- Morning, sir.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14- Bright and early.- Oh, yeah.
0:43:20 > 0:43:21The next stage of my journey
0:43:21 > 0:43:25takes me through an area known as the Breadbasket of America.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31As I follow the old Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe route,
0:43:31 > 0:43:34I'm tracing the history of the West.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38This land was once home to the Plains Indians,
0:43:38 > 0:43:41but was granted to the railroad companies by the government,
0:43:41 > 0:43:43for sale to prospective settlers.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46In the 1879 edition of Appleton's
0:43:46 > 0:43:51there's an intriguing advertisement placed by a railroad, luring people
0:43:51 > 0:43:54to Kansas to buy wheat-growing land.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58At the next stop, Garden City, a lady, Jannetta, will get on,
0:43:58 > 0:44:02who's going to tell me the story, with reference to her own family history.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07Watch your hands...
0:44:08 > 0:44:10Jannetta?
0:44:10 > 0:44:13- Jannetta!- How are you? - Good morning, welcome aboard.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17- It's a big step up now. - OK... There we go.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19There we are, that's better. Come on in.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21All right.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23I'm using this Appleton's from 1879,
0:44:23 > 0:44:27and there's an advertisement there placed by the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30"Lands, lands.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33"The leading wheat state in the Union in 1878.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36"Kansas. A farm for everybody.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40"62,500 farms. Five million acres for sale.
0:44:40 > 0:44:45"The best land in America, from 2 to 6 per acre."
0:44:45 > 0:44:48Wow. It really was an interesting time, wasn't it?
0:44:48 > 0:44:53Oh, definitely. Well, the government wanted to break this all open,
0:44:53 > 0:44:58and the early surveyors were like, "Oh... There is nothing out there but desert,
0:44:58 > 0:45:00"you don't want people to go out there."
0:45:00 > 0:45:02And what they would do then
0:45:02 > 0:45:09is to get people interested they would sell plots of land very cheaply to build up towns.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12Tell me about your ancestor, who was involved in this business.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16My ancestor - I happened to bring a picture of him - is IR Holmes,
0:45:16 > 0:45:19and he was the land agent for Santa Fe.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23And he came to Garden City
0:45:23 > 0:45:26and sold thousands of acres there,
0:45:26 > 0:45:28then moved up the train
0:45:28 > 0:45:31and he was one of the founding fathers of Lamar, Colorado.
0:45:31 > 0:45:37And then he would go down to Texas and run the routes down there.
0:45:37 > 0:45:42And so, made his millions being a land agent.
0:45:43 > 0:45:49In the 1860s, the population of the state of Kansas tripled to a million,
0:45:49 > 0:45:54as settlers flooded onto the Great Plains and began to farm the land.
0:45:55 > 0:46:00- Further east, where I started my journey, there was an awful lot of corn.- Right.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03Corn on the cob, as we would say. What made people here farm wheat?
0:46:03 > 0:46:08I do believe that where they came from,
0:46:08 > 0:46:09in Germany, Russia,
0:46:09 > 0:46:13that kind of area, they were very familiar with the grains.
0:46:13 > 0:46:19In fact, my last name, Heberle, is German for "keeper of the grains".
0:46:20 > 0:46:22The government and railroad companies
0:46:22 > 0:46:25knew that the climate on the Great Plains
0:46:25 > 0:46:26would suit only settlers
0:46:26 > 0:46:29with experience of prairie-style agriculture.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32So advertisements were placed in northern Europe,
0:46:32 > 0:46:36including Russia and Scandinavia.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38The early European immigrants who responded
0:46:38 > 0:46:43managed successfully to grow winter wheat on a large scale in Kansas.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47And it remains one of the state's most important crops.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51I have a surprise. I baked this loaf of bread for you yesterday.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55- You baked it?- I did. - Oh...! Smells delicious.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57So, we're going to break the bread, Michael.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01This is what nice, fresh bread looks like.
0:47:02 > 0:47:03Mmm!
0:47:03 > 0:47:08Very nice taste. Nice bit of crispness around the crust... Very nice.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11Well, Jannetta, thank you. You have brought me bread
0:47:11 > 0:47:13from the Breadbasket of America.
0:47:13 > 0:47:16- Fresh from my kitchen, even. - SHE LAUGHS
0:47:32 > 0:47:33During the late 19th century,
0:47:33 > 0:47:38there seemed to be no limit to the power of the railroads.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46We've crossed into Colorado, and the clocks go back one hour -
0:47:46 > 0:47:52we've moved from Central Standard Time to Mountain Standard Time.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55Before the railroads established time zones,
0:47:55 > 0:47:59every town set its own time according to dawn and dusk.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02By the 1880s, when the time zones were introduced,
0:48:02 > 0:48:05the power of the railroads was resented.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09One newspaper commented, "The sun is no longer the boss.
0:48:09 > 0:48:15"55 million people must eat and sleep and work, as well as travel,
0:48:15 > 0:48:17"by railroad time."
0:48:17 > 0:48:21But in fact, the railroads had brought order out of chaos.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37- Thank you very much, sir.- Thank you.- Y'all enjoy.- Thank you.
0:48:38 > 0:48:44Lamar, Colorado, a railroad town named after a 19th-century senator,
0:48:44 > 0:48:46boasts a fine Art Deco cinema.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52Having had an early start, breakfast is on MY mind.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57- Good morning, gentlemen. - Good morning.
0:48:57 > 0:48:58Do you come here regularly?
0:48:58 > 0:49:01Yes. He has coffee here every morning.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04And what have you had for breakfast today?
0:49:04 > 0:49:06I had eggs and bacon.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09That's fairly standard. What did you have?
0:49:09 > 0:49:11Eggs, bacon, biscuits.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13And the biscuit is a little round thing,
0:49:13 > 0:49:16- it's like what I would call a scone. - Well, we eat biscuits like this.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19- Oh, do you?- Yeah. - I'm in Colorado now.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21Big biscuit country.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24I've ordered pancakes today, think that's a good choice?
0:49:24 > 0:49:26Yeah. That's a real good choice.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Ah, thank... That's for me. Thank you very much.
0:49:31 > 0:49:32Some maple syrup.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36You're supposed to pile them all up, one on top of the other.
0:49:36 > 0:49:38Oh, really? Well, let me try that.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40Pile them all on top of each other.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45- Am I doing better now? - Yeah, you're doing better now, but you need more maple syrup.
0:49:45 > 0:49:49- Maple syrup on there.- Pancakes have a tendency to be dry.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52- Are they good that way?- They are.
0:49:52 > 0:49:53That is the right way to eat them.
0:49:55 > 0:49:56THEY CHUCKLE
0:49:56 > 0:49:58- Hello.- How you doing?
0:49:58 > 0:50:01- Good morning. Good to see you, my name's Michael.- I'm John.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03- Are you a trucker?- Yeah. - What's your route today?
0:50:03 > 0:50:06From Texas to Eugene, Oregon.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08How many miles would that be?
0:50:08 > 0:50:10Uh, 2,230.
0:50:10 > 0:50:132,230. 2,230 miles?
0:50:13 > 0:50:16- Yeah.- How long will that take you? - Three days.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18What kind of a life is it?
0:50:18 > 0:50:20- It's enjoyable. - Really? I love it, yeah.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23Why? Isn't it rather lonely?
0:50:23 > 0:50:26It's... It's not that, it's the enjoyment
0:50:26 > 0:50:29of delivering everything that America needs.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32So it's... You know,
0:50:32 > 0:50:38whether it's toys for kids or it's pilings that build a bridge,
0:50:38 > 0:50:41it doesn't matter - you know, it's what keeps America together.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43That's a great attitude.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51I'm heading 50 miles north of town,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55to a long-since abandoned stop on the railroad line.
0:51:07 > 0:51:12The first noteworthy station in Colorado, says Appleton's,
0:51:12 > 0:51:14is Kit Carson.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16It's gone now.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18"Situated on Sand Creek,
0:51:18 > 0:51:24"about 20 miles above the spot where Colonel Chivington's Indian massacre
0:51:24 > 0:51:25"took place."
0:51:25 > 0:51:28The United States has not been particularly keen
0:51:28 > 0:51:32to own up to atrocities against Native Americans,
0:51:32 > 0:51:36and so it's interesting to find in an 1891 publication,
0:51:36 > 0:51:40that it's already described as a massacre.
0:51:45 > 0:51:49The Sand Creek massacre was one of the most shameful incidents
0:51:49 > 0:51:53in the wars between the United States and the Indian tribes
0:51:53 > 0:51:58who found themselves in the way of white settlement of the Great Plains.
0:52:00 > 0:52:05Jeff Campbell is consultant historian for this national historic site.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08A former police investigator,
0:52:08 > 0:52:13he's devoted the past 16 years to examining evidence from the terrible
0:52:13 > 0:52:17events which took place here in November 1864.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22A melancholy sight.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25What was the background to the massacre?
0:52:25 > 0:52:28This was a reservation area
0:52:28 > 0:52:30from Sand Creek down to the Arkansas River.
0:52:30 > 0:52:35It was assigned to the Cheyennes and Arapahos in 1860, by treaty.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42That treaty greatly reduced Native American Indian lands.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46And in response, they stepped up raids on white settlements.
0:52:46 > 0:52:51The governor of Colorado territory declared war on all hostile Indians.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54In August 1864, with tensions rising,
0:52:54 > 0:52:58tribal chiefs resumed talks with the territorial government
0:52:58 > 0:53:00and the United States Army.
0:53:00 > 0:53:04It was the understanding of the chiefs and most of the people there
0:53:04 > 0:53:08that negotiations would continue.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11The Cheyennes returned to this area,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14they set up a camp here.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17They felt that they were under the protection of the military.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20On the 28th of November,
0:53:20 > 0:53:24a group of US cavalry left Fort Lyon and rode through the night,
0:53:24 > 0:53:28arriving at Sand Creek at six on the morning of the 29th.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32They were led by Colonel John Milton Chivington,
0:53:32 > 0:53:35a former elder of the Methodist Church,
0:53:35 > 0:53:39well known for his violent hatred of the Plains Indians.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45Over what area, looking from here, did the massacre occur?
0:53:45 > 0:53:48The soldiers came from the south,
0:53:48 > 0:53:51and they came up around the bottom of this hill,
0:53:51 > 0:53:54and we've pretty well located that from soldier testimony.
0:53:54 > 0:53:58They came across here, and they went up the valley,
0:53:58 > 0:54:03and as I point to the village stood in there,
0:54:03 > 0:54:05it was about a half a mile from end to end.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08Women were up, maintaining the camp.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11They were getting water, cooking morning meals,
0:54:11 > 0:54:15and they heard, in this quiet, calm morning,
0:54:15 > 0:54:19what they thought were the sounds of many, many hooves.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23And they went back to the tents, or the tepees, and they were saying,
0:54:23 > 0:54:26"The buffalo are coming, the buffalo are coming!"
0:54:26 > 0:54:28What they heard were the soldiers,
0:54:28 > 0:54:33and about 675 horses, plus four pieces of artillery.
0:54:34 > 0:54:36Over nine hours,
0:54:36 > 0:54:40between 200 and 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians
0:54:40 > 0:54:44were killed, and a similar number wounded.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46Eyewitness reports from two United States officers
0:54:46 > 0:54:49who refused to take part
0:54:49 > 0:54:51describe horrific scenes,
0:54:51 > 0:54:54as soldiers tortured women and children
0:54:54 > 0:54:56and looted and burned the camp.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00And was this action maverick, or officially sanctioned?
0:55:00 > 0:55:02We may never know.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04Because there is very little
0:55:04 > 0:55:07written word or orders or anything
0:55:07 > 0:55:09to the effect to attack these people.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11In the aftermath,
0:55:11 > 0:55:15there were at least five general and staff
0:55:15 > 0:55:17that discredited and disavowed
0:55:17 > 0:55:20the attack on Sand Creek
0:55:20 > 0:55:22as unprofessional,
0:55:22 > 0:55:24breaking of trust and honour,
0:55:24 > 0:55:26uh...
0:55:26 > 0:55:28ungentlemanly-like,
0:55:28 > 0:55:31unmilitary-like,
0:55:31 > 0:55:33against the flag of truce...
0:55:35 > 0:55:38Neither Colonel Chivington nor any of his soldiers
0:55:38 > 0:55:41was ever indicted or tried.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44In 2007,
0:55:44 > 0:55:47Sand Creek was designated a National Historic Site
0:55:47 > 0:55:50in recognition of its significance, and every year,
0:55:50 > 0:55:56prayer ceremonies and healing rituals are held at this spot.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01We've had actually descendants of soldiers come here.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04During those ceremonies there are blessings and prayers,
0:56:04 > 0:56:08and paying homage to the
0:56:08 > 0:56:12remains of ancestors that are buried in the burial ground.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15During the commemoration of the 150th,
0:56:15 > 0:56:19the governor of the State of Colorado for the first time
0:56:19 > 0:56:23made an apology to the tribes, for what happened here.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27You must have reflected on this event a great deal -
0:56:27 > 0:56:29how do YOU feel about it?
0:56:29 > 0:56:32A quote from the British...
0:56:32 > 0:56:37philosopher Edmund Burke comes to mind...
0:56:37 > 0:56:41as in all atrocities.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43"The only thing necessary
0:56:43 > 0:56:46"for evil to succeed
0:56:46 > 0:56:49"is for GOOD men to do nothing."
0:56:54 > 0:56:59The Native Americans suffered because of the greed of land-grabbers,
0:56:59 > 0:57:03cowboys and railroads as they pushed west.
0:57:03 > 0:57:08But remember that most of the white Americans were of European descent.
0:57:08 > 0:57:12When the Spanish had colonised Peru and Mexico,
0:57:12 > 0:57:15they had been equally villainous and murderous
0:57:15 > 0:57:17with the indigenous population.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21It was the English that introduced slavery to Virginia,
0:57:21 > 0:57:23bequeathing to the United States
0:57:23 > 0:57:28a bitter legacy not fully resolved to this day.
0:57:28 > 0:57:33If the treatment of the native is a stain on American history,
0:57:33 > 0:57:37then the Europeans have no reason to be smug.
0:57:46 > 0:57:50'Next time, I'm transported back to the Mexican-American War...'
0:57:50 > 0:57:54- You ready?- Yes, sir. - That's the spirit.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57'..I explore gun culture in the Old West...'
0:57:57 > 0:58:02You have to remember there was not a lot of law and order.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05'..discover the perils of an historic railroad...'
0:58:05 > 0:58:08They actually built forts along the canyon walls
0:58:08 > 0:58:12and aimed their guns at each other, shots were fired back and forth...
0:58:12 > 0:58:15'..and descend to 14,000 feet.'
0:58:15 > 0:58:21Oh, my word, we are going to the very...
0:58:21 > 0:58:23edge, that's unbelievable.