0:00:02 > 0:00:07I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America
0:00:07 > 0:00:09with my reliable Appletons' Guide.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Appletons' General Guide to North America will direct me
0:00:18 > 0:00:20to all that's
0:00:20 > 0:00:23beautiful, memorable
0:00:23 > 0:00:25and striking in the United States.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
0:00:27 > 0:00:30As I journey across this vast continent,
0:00:30 > 0:00:34I'll discover how pioneers and cowboys conquered the West...
0:00:35 > 0:00:39..and how the railroads tied this nation together,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43helping to create the global superstate of today.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05TRAIN HORN
0:01:09 > 0:01:12My rail journey along the Upper Mississippi has brought me
0:01:12 > 0:01:16to a part of the river where Appletons' says there's
0:01:16 > 0:01:19"grandeur and sublimity in every mile.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22"It becomes monotonous after a time,
0:01:22 > 0:01:26"the eye becoming surfeited with too much beauty."
0:01:26 > 0:01:29In my travels around the United States, I've learned that you can't
0:01:29 > 0:01:34understand the nation's history or even its psyche without grasping
0:01:34 > 0:01:36the geography of its rivers.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40With 31 states draining into the Mississippi
0:01:40 > 0:01:45and two Canadian provinces, this is the mightiest of all the waterways.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50I want to understand how white settlers altered its flow,
0:01:50 > 0:01:55supplanted its population, and introduced new customs.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11I started my journey in Minnesota in the Twin Cities.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15I'm now travelling alongside the Mississippi River
0:02:15 > 0:02:18before crossing into Wisconsin at La Crosse.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20I'll then head east
0:02:20 > 0:02:23towards the shore of Lake Michigan at Milwaukee.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Turning south, I'll spend time in Chicago
0:02:26 > 0:02:30and then travel the length of Illinois via Centralia.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32I'll rediscover the Mississippi
0:02:32 > 0:02:35as I end my journey in Memphis, Tennessee.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Today's leg runs along the river.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42First, I'll aim for Red Wing, Minnesota,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46to find out about a famous settler storyteller.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48I'll learn about the Native Americans
0:02:48 > 0:02:51forced off their lands at Winona,
0:02:51 > 0:02:53before crossing the river to take in
0:02:53 > 0:02:55the Wisconsin city named after
0:02:55 > 0:02:58what has become an international sport.
0:03:00 > 0:03:05On my travels, I immerse myself in Native American culture...
0:03:05 > 0:03:09- How do you like it? - I love it.- Yeah?
0:03:09 > 0:03:12..visit an extraordinary wildlife refuge...
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Is it a healthy bald eagle colony?
0:03:15 > 0:03:18At one point, we had single digits for eagle nests
0:03:18 > 0:03:21and now we're up over 300.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24..and take a crash course in lacrosse.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27That's all right. We've got a helmet for a reason!
0:03:27 > 0:03:28Didn't even see it!
0:03:45 > 0:03:49My first stop will be Red Wing, which Appletons' tells me is
0:03:49 > 0:03:53"beautifully situated on a broad level plain
0:03:53 > 0:03:55"at the foot of majestic bluffs.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58"A favourite resort in summer
0:03:58 > 0:04:01"for hunting, bathing, fishing and sailing."
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I want to find out what the place was like
0:04:04 > 0:04:06before the tourists arrived,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09when the settlers wrestled with raw nature.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20Named after a Native American chief, Red Wing is on tribal land.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Like much territory west of the Mississippi,
0:04:22 > 0:04:27this area was bought by the United States from France in 1803,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
0:04:30 > 0:04:31Within 50 years,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35white settlers began to arrive in this unknown wilderness.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39These were the determined pioneering Americans
0:04:39 > 0:04:43whose lives were made famous by the popular children's TV series
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Little House On The Prairie.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Many of us grew up watching the show,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52which was based on the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56The stories reflect her own settler childhood,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58just across the river from here.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03Pamela Smith Hill is the author of Laura's biography.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07- Hello, Pamela. - Hello. How nice to meet you.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Michael. What sort of life was her father trying to have?
0:05:10 > 0:05:14I think he wanted a very...uncomplicated life.
0:05:14 > 0:05:19He liked being in the wild. He liked being surrounded by wild animals.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21He was a hunter and a trapper
0:05:21 > 0:05:25and I think that's a love that he instilled in his daughter, Laura.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Laura's first book, Little House In The Big Woods,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32was inspired by the cabin where she was born,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35a replica of which stands here today.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38It sounds rather desolate for a childhood.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43I think so and if you drive out from Pepin today,
0:05:43 > 0:05:45it's about a six mile drive
0:05:45 > 0:05:49on a windy road and if you think about all the miles and miles
0:05:49 > 0:05:53of wood, that makes this cabin seem even more isolated.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58You can really get a sense for how alone the family was out here.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00So what happened to the family?
0:06:00 > 0:06:04The family moved from here outside of Pepin
0:06:04 > 0:06:06when Laura was about two years old
0:06:06 > 0:06:10and they eventually settled in Indian Territory
0:06:10 > 0:06:15on the Osage Diminished Indian Reserve in about 1869.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19They lived there for a couple of years and then moved back to Pepin,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23and when Laura was about five or six,
0:06:23 > 0:06:28she was back here and Little House In The Big Woods is based on her
0:06:28 > 0:06:31memories of the second time the family lived there.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Charles Ingalls had this incurable wanderlust,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37and he sent the family further west
0:06:37 > 0:06:40after a few years here in Pepin.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45The family shifted between Wisconsin, Minnesota,
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Kansas and South Dakota,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50all before Laura was a teenager.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56I think her overriding theme is an American family, moving west,
0:06:56 > 0:07:01struggling against adversity to find the Promised Land.
0:07:01 > 0:07:02But beyond that,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06there are themes that deal with courage in the face of adversity,
0:07:06 > 0:07:11how to deal with poverty. There's also the sense of Laura growing up.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17The family was like thousands of others on this new frontier -
0:07:17 > 0:07:20self-sufficient and hard-working people,
0:07:20 > 0:07:24setting forth, seeking success.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28In Pepin, each year the community celebrates those times
0:07:28 > 0:07:31with a festival devoted to Laura.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39UPBEAT FIDDLE MUSIC
0:07:39 > 0:07:42- Good day.- Good day. That is the darndest instrument I ever saw.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44- What is it?- It's a cigar box fiddle.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48Something that folks would make in the United States here
0:07:48 > 0:07:50if they couldn't afford a nice violin.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53- Where did you get this one from? - I made that.- Wow!
0:07:53 > 0:07:56That is extraordinary. I mean, it's not exactly a Stradivarius, is it?
0:07:56 > 0:07:58No, sir. Not a Stradivarius!
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Does that simple life appeal to you at all?
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Oh, without the health care and all the doctors and medication
0:08:05 > 0:08:08and things, it would have been tough. It was a hard life.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11If you cut yourself with your axe, what do you do?
0:08:11 > 0:08:14What happens when your wife is delivering a baby and you're out
0:08:14 > 0:08:16there all alone in the snow storm?
0:08:16 > 0:08:18It was very difficult.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21- How do you do?- What is the appeal, do you think, of Laura Ingalls?
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Why are these people gathered here to celebrate her?
0:08:24 > 0:08:26It's a simple, innocent time.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32- And I think all of us need that in life.- A very tough time.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Laura's mother wouldn't have known any different.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37She only knew she had to get the meal on the table.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40They only knew they had to get the haystack.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44They only knew they had to get the crop in.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53This is a very enjoyable and also very impressive festival.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56There is a genuine enthusiasm
0:08:56 > 0:09:01for their local heroine, Laura Ingalls Wilder.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04And the tribute is paid in all sorts of ways,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07not least by so many people wearing the bonnet.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11And the settlers also learned a thing or two
0:09:11 > 0:09:13from the Native Americans
0:09:13 > 0:09:16who'd known these lands for thousands of years.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Hello.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21- Now, what are you offering here? - We're throwing tomahawks.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26- We are, are we?- Yes, we are.- All right. And who would have done that?
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Native Americans, frontiersmen, hunters.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Any ideas on technique?
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Keep your wrists straight, bring it up over your head,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36- step into it like you're throwing a ball.- OK.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38- Wow!- Perfect!
0:09:38 > 0:09:41No, over the top, that one.
0:09:42 > 0:09:43Right idea.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Oh, that was a poor one.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Sadly, just beginner's luck!
0:09:53 > 0:09:58Returning to Red Wing, I'm picking up the Empire Builder service,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01which runs over 2,000 miles across North America.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05Today, though, I'm travelling only about 60 miles.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Next stop - Winona, Minnesota. Appletons' says,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22"A prosperous little city, one of the most important
0:10:22 > 0:10:26"lumber distributed points on the upper Mississippi.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30"As a grain shipping point, it ranks amongst the first."
0:10:30 > 0:10:34You can be sure that if it was a strategic place for the white man,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38it was also precious for the Native American.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53The settlers founded Winona in 1851.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57And by the end of the century, there were more millionaires per head here
0:10:57 > 0:11:01than in any other city in the United States.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05The extreme wealth was generated by the lumber and wheat industries
0:11:05 > 0:11:07that sprang up on the river.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12To find out what happened to that industry, I'm meeting Kurt,
0:11:12 > 0:11:16who maintains a wildlife refuge on the Mississippi.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19- Hello. - Welcome to the refuge.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21- It's wonderful to be here. - It's beautiful weather.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24- Great day to get out on the water. - Beautiful spot. Let's go.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26All right, hop on.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34At over 2,300 miles long,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38the Mississippi is the greatest river in North America.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40And it teems with wildlife.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Kurt, this is the most beautiful riverscape.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Is this a natural environment we're looking at?
0:11:54 > 0:11:59Well, it's a combination of natural and man-influenced landscape here.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04The water level is unnaturally high now compared to previous times,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07before the lock and dam, because they had to raise the water level
0:12:07 > 0:12:09to maintain the navigation channel.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12So the mighty Mississippi was not navigable?
0:12:12 > 0:12:15It would be subject to extreme water level changes.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18There would be dry land here where you couldn't even get one of these
0:12:18 > 0:12:20boats through in certain places.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23- Who undertook that work?- That was the US Army Corps of Engineers.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26They built all the locks and dams
0:12:26 > 0:12:30from Saint Louis all the way to Minneapolis-Saint Paul.
0:12:30 > 0:12:31In the 1860s,
0:12:31 > 0:12:36the Corps cleared the river of debris such as log and tree stumps.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41For that heavy-duty work, they used impressive twin-hulled boats
0:12:41 > 0:12:44which became known as Uncle Sam's Tooth Pullers
0:12:44 > 0:12:47because of their capacity to extract whole trees.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Did the river stand a chance against the railroads?
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Apparently it did, cos it's still here and still functioning.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Are you moving freight on the river on the Upper Mississippi today?
0:12:56 > 0:12:59Oh, yeah. There's lot of freight going up and down the river today.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02It's still a very viable source of transportation.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05If we're lucky today, what wildlife might we see?
0:13:05 > 0:13:11If we're lucky today, we'll see some pelicans and some bald eagles.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Is it a healthy bald eagle colony?
0:13:14 > 0:13:16At one point, we had single digits
0:13:16 > 0:13:21for eagle nests on this refuge and now we are over 300.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Use of the river for navigation
0:13:27 > 0:13:31takes its toll on vegetation and wildlife.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35The winds that blow across these vast stretches of water make it hard
0:13:35 > 0:13:37for plants to regenerate.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45So as part of the environmental restoration programmes,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48the Corps and the Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies have come
0:13:48 > 0:13:53in and built these man-made islands to help break-up that fetch.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Trees can grow again and vegetation gets re-established,
0:13:56 > 0:13:58so the water is cleared up,
0:13:58 > 0:14:02it's not muddy and it continues
0:14:02 > 0:14:07the ongoing cycle of vegetation and habitat creation.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11The light is wonderful. The colours are beautiful.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13The water is still.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16We can hear nothing but the sound of our own boat.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19- Divine!- Some pelicans up ahead of us.- Yes. I wondered what those
0:14:19 > 0:14:22white things were. I thought they were too big to be egrets.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25They're pelicans, are they?
0:14:25 > 0:14:28One of Kurt's jobs is to check the growth of the vegetation on which
0:14:28 > 0:14:31the wildlife depends.
0:14:31 > 0:14:32Tool of the trade.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35And grab some vegetation.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37- Is it this stuff you want to look at?- It is.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39Anything under the water there.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Lots of wild celery hanging on that rig. That's a good sign.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50So this long leaf right here is wild celery.
0:14:50 > 0:14:51That's good. We want to see that.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Favourite duck food for the canvasback.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56A sort of spaghetti for ducks.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58So the islands are doing their job?
0:14:58 > 0:15:02- The islands are doing the job.- And I think I'm looking at a happy man.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Pretty happy, pretty lucky!
0:15:08 > 0:15:10The name Mississippi
0:15:10 > 0:15:14comes from a Native American word for "great river."
0:15:14 > 0:15:16The Dakota Sioux Indians
0:15:16 > 0:15:20had lived around Winona since the 17th century.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22But settlers were hungry for land
0:15:22 > 0:15:27and the US negotiated two treaties with Dakota tribes to buy
0:15:27 > 0:15:30all but a fraction of their lands.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34The United States broke those agreements and there followed
0:15:34 > 0:15:36a century of hatred.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Appletons' perfectly describes
0:15:40 > 0:15:43the scenery that I see here around Winona.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46"Bluffs with precipitous fronts,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49"worn by the weather into most fantastic shapes,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52"the river almost filled with islands."
0:15:52 > 0:15:58Winona was apparently a young Dakota maiden who loved a young hunter.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02But she leapt over the precipice to her death rather than marry the man
0:16:02 > 0:16:05of her parents' choice.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08The tribes have experienced much suffering.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11And today, groups of people gather
0:16:11 > 0:16:14to understand the past and to be reconciled.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21SINGING
0:16:21 > 0:16:26Today it's the annual Dakota Gathering, a modern-day pow wow.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30It's a gorgeous display of colour, dance, and joy.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39What we have here is a gathering of many Native American tribes,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41but not at all exclusive.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44There are lots of non-Native Americans here as well.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47And the dancing is not by way of a performance or a display -
0:16:47 > 0:16:52it's an invitation to the non-Native Americans to learn about the customs
0:16:52 > 0:16:57and to participate, to join in friendship and to heal old wounds.
0:17:04 > 0:17:05- Hello, Michael.- Hello.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08You can join me in circle in a tribal dance.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10- Of course. Thank you. Lead the way. - All right.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31- How do you like it? - I love it.- Yeah? Good.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39- Not too bad, right? - Not too bad at all.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Despite the treachery of the past,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46these days there's a unifying spirit.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Aaron Camacho is the event's president.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51- Hello, Aaron.- Hello, how are you?
0:17:51 > 0:17:53What a wonderful day.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56- Thank you.- How long have you been having these gatherings?
0:17:56 > 0:17:58It's the 13th annual gathering.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00And what's the idea behind it?
0:18:00 > 0:18:03The idea behind it is reconciliation, right?
0:18:03 > 0:18:07When they were celebrating the 150th anniversary of, you know,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Minnesota being here, they wanted to have Native Americans come in
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and just kind of dress up for them and they realised that that wasn't
0:18:14 > 0:18:19quite equitable and so what we decided to do as a city is make sure
0:18:19 > 0:18:22that we're representing Native American culture
0:18:22 > 0:18:24in an accurate and appropriate way.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26What do you think you've achieved?
0:18:26 > 0:18:28A lot. If you think about it, in the circle,
0:18:28 > 0:18:33there are people of all different nationalities and we were all able
0:18:33 > 0:18:38to do this in a peaceful way and everybody was smiling together.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Think about the 1960s, you know?
0:18:40 > 0:18:42That wasn't happening.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46The hatred lasted for decades.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50The United States reneged on the land deal and paid the Dakota
0:18:50 > 0:18:53less than a fifth of the agreed price.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57It led to the US Dakota War of 1862,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01during which 600 civilians and United States soldiers
0:19:01 > 0:19:04and up to 100 Dakota Indians were killed,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08and a further 38 Dakota were hanged.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11To find out more about the bitter legacy,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13I want to talk to Danny Seaboy.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16Hello. May I tuck in here for a moment?
0:19:16 > 0:19:18- Sure.- You've been MC-ing today.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22- Congratulations.- Oh, well, I've been doing it for 14 years.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Danny's great-great-grandfather
0:19:24 > 0:19:27was a chief who signed one of the treaties.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31After 1862 came about,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34then a decision was made by Congress
0:19:34 > 0:19:40to eliminate the land that we were given along the Minnesota River.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43It took a lot of harsh feelings to what happened to us.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45So there's uprising.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50When we left here, knowing that signing this...
0:19:50 > 0:19:55His name, or using his X and witnessed it, that's who he was.
0:19:55 > 0:20:01It was for the betterment of the people that he was a chief for.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05And he felt very...
0:20:05 > 0:20:06betrayed.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Today, despite everything,
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Danny wants to get along with his neighbours, whatever their history,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16to live happily, to understand each other.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19With all that the Native Americans have suffered,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22how can you be so big-hearted, so generous?
0:20:22 > 0:20:26I guess I've been through a lot. We don't all have the point of hate.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30We don't all have a point of revenge.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35But if we can make them understand that
0:20:35 > 0:20:37we've got to forget this.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Given all that the Native Americans have endured,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52I've been struck by the generosity of spirit displayed by their
0:20:52 > 0:20:54representatives here today.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58But this has been a gathering of people on all sides
0:20:58 > 0:21:02who wish to be reconciled. They've thrown a pebble in the water.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07And the question is, how far will the ripples spread?
0:21:22 > 0:21:24Picking up my journey,
0:21:24 > 0:21:28I'm about to leave the state of Minnesota and cross into Wisconsin.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43I'll be leaving the train at La Crosse, Wisconsin,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45which Appletons' tells me
0:21:45 > 0:21:47"is a city on the east bank of the Mississippi,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50"where the train crosses over the river
0:21:50 > 0:21:55"and follows the West Bank amidst remarkably picturesque scenery."
0:21:55 > 0:22:00I shall be intrigued to visit a little city with a sporty name.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10- PA SYSTEM:- 'Attention, ladies and gentlemen. We are now approaching
0:22:10 > 0:22:13'our next station stop of La Crosse, Wisconsin.'
0:22:27 > 0:22:30This had long been a Native American settlement.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35French fur traders came here in the late 17th century.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37But it was New Yorker Nathan Myrick
0:22:37 > 0:22:41who started a trading post here in 1841.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45The railroad arrived within 20 years and La Crosse quickly became
0:22:45 > 0:22:50an important commercial and transport hub.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53And it has strong ties to the sport of lacrosse.
0:22:53 > 0:22:54At the University of Wisconsin,
0:22:54 > 0:22:59I'm meeting the president of the men's team, Joel Vitrano.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03- Hello, Joel.- Hello.- I'm Michael. - Nice to meet you, Michael.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Good to see you. The sport of lacrosse,
0:23:07 > 0:23:09how was that invented or discovered?
0:23:09 > 0:23:11Well, when the first fur traders came to the area initially,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14they saw the Native Americans playing the game.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17- The Indians played it the way you do today?- No, not at all. The game was
0:23:17 > 0:23:20originally played with upwards of thousands of players at a time.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24It was a game for combat. They used it to train and to settle disputes.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27So they were hacking away at each other with their sticks?
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Correct. It's kind of how the game a little bit today still goes.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33We're allowed to hit each other and it's a lot of fun.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36Have you any idea how it passed from being a Native American sort of
0:23:36 > 0:23:39curiosity to becoming a mainstream sport for white people?
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Yeah. In the second half of the 19th century, William George Beers
0:23:42 > 0:23:45created a set of rules which was about the same set
0:23:45 > 0:23:46of rules for years today.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48It remains a very physical sport.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50What it is you're allowed to do in lacrosse?
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Well, in the sport of lacrosse, we're given lots of equipment.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55We're given helmets, shoulder pads, elbow pads and gloves
0:23:55 > 0:23:58and our sticks, of course, which allow us to hit each other
0:23:58 > 0:24:01from the shoulder pads down, waist up. Anything on the head
0:24:01 > 0:24:04is malicious and you get a minute penalty and you have to sit out.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07- And you volunteered for the sport? - Yeah. It's really great.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10One of the first weeks of volunteering, I got my nose broken.
0:24:10 > 0:24:11I think I was hooked ever since!
0:24:11 > 0:24:13MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:24:13 > 0:24:16It's a curious way to get addicted!
0:24:17 > 0:24:21Aside from all the violence, the idea of the sticks is to catch,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25carry and throw the ball down the field and into your opponent's goal.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Now, I'm rather reluctant to say this, because it sounds really like
0:24:29 > 0:24:32a pretty brutal and physical sport but would you mind showing me
0:24:32 > 0:24:35- a few pointers?- Definitely. We'll get you a helmet and pads
0:24:35 > 0:24:38- and we'll rough you up a little bit. Let's get started.- Sounds...great(!)
0:24:40 > 0:24:45It seems like...getting right back to Native American times here.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Going to battle!
0:24:57 > 0:25:00- Let's go.- Thank you for that!
0:25:00 > 0:25:02- Hello, coach. - How's it going?- I'm Michael.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05- Mike, nice to meet you. - Now, I've never played this before.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06Give me some basics here.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09All right. First, let's start with scooping up the ball off the ground.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11So the ball is going to be down.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14And you're going to come with two hands towards the ground
0:25:14 > 0:25:16and you're going to scoop, just like shovelling snow,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18and up to your ear.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22Right. Hands well down, stick, come in low, a bit of speed and off.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24We could turn you into a pro yet!
0:25:24 > 0:25:25Catching wrist, just going to slide up.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28- So one hand's right at the top, one hand in the middle.- Gotcha!
0:25:28 > 0:25:31- Arms out.- Yeah. - And when it comes in,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34- you're going to watch it in and then just give it a go.- OK.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39That's all right.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Didn't even see it.
0:25:43 > 0:25:44- There you go.- Whoa!
0:25:45 > 0:25:48That's all right. We got a helmet for a reason.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Got it. Perfect.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04- Ready for the team?- That was nice. Ah...not quite yet.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06We do have something I think can handle, though.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10- Oh.- We're going to do a face-off. - Oh, face-off. OK. Great, great.
0:26:12 > 0:26:13Down!
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Get those sticks squared up. Get those sticks squared up. OK.
0:26:17 > 0:26:18Set!
0:26:21 > 0:26:22Go!
0:26:26 > 0:26:28I don't know what I've started here.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Suddenly, the field is populated with screaming people
0:26:31 > 0:26:34hurling the ball around. Quite apart from all the physical violence,
0:26:34 > 0:26:38the ball moves at the speed of a bullet, or I should say,
0:26:38 > 0:26:40a small cannonball.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44- There we go. Nice.- You can see at once how the Native Americans
0:26:44 > 0:26:47used this for war training. It's the most brutal and vicious game.
0:26:47 > 0:26:48They're smashing into each other.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Kill, kill!
0:27:00 > 0:27:03While modern-day lacrosse gives us
0:27:03 > 0:27:05a mere flavour of the Native American game,
0:27:05 > 0:27:11the influence of the tribes is still felt heavily across this area.
0:27:11 > 0:27:12The gathering that I attended
0:27:12 > 0:27:16brought together Native and non-Native Americans who were
0:27:16 > 0:27:18intent on reconciliation.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22Even so, probably not many white citizens fully acknowledged
0:27:22 > 0:27:24the heritage that is owed to the tribes
0:27:24 > 0:27:28but is evident in names like Winona and Mississippi
0:27:28 > 0:27:31and in lacrosse - a game which, oddly,
0:27:31 > 0:27:33bears a French name.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37The river has retained or regained gained its beauty,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40despite being a major freight thoroughfare.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43And its wildness fosters a nostalgia
0:27:43 > 0:27:49for the pioneering days that were chronicled by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52TRAIN HORN
0:27:57 > 0:28:02'Next time, I bury myself in a Thanksgiving harvest...'
0:28:02 > 0:28:07We're moving a vast number of cranberries!
0:28:07 > 0:28:11'..take the plunge in the water park capital of the world...
0:28:16 > 0:28:18'..and find out how the railroad
0:28:18 > 0:28:21'spread the joy of the greatest show on Earth.'
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Here comes the train and there's an elephant trunk sticking out of
0:28:24 > 0:28:26one of it. There's a clown sitting on the vestibule of another.