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 Appletons' Guide.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in the late-19th century,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Appletons' General Guide To North America
0:00:17 > 0:00:23will direct me to all that's novel, beautiful, memorable
0:00:23 > 0:00:25and striking in the United States.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27INDISTINCT SHOUTING
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...
0:00:34 > 0:00:35GUNFIRE
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.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08In the boom decades immediately before my guidebook was published,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12intrepid pioneers piled into the American West,
0:01:12 > 0:01:16determined to build new lives in territory
0:01:16 > 0:01:19that they regarded as vacant but was, in fact, home
0:01:19 > 0:01:22to hundreds of thousands of Native American Indians.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30As I continue to roll westwards across the United States,
0:01:30 > 0:01:32travelling through Missouri,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35it strikes me that these tracks follow the trails
0:01:35 > 0:01:39that were first blazed with boot leather and wagon wheels.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43I want to see what traces remain of the pioneer spirit
0:01:43 > 0:01:46that drove people to cross the Great Plains
0:01:46 > 0:01:49and to understand how the arrival of the iron horse
0:01:49 > 0:01:53changed their lives for better or worse.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59I began in St Louis, Missouri,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02gateway to the West across the Mississippi.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Continuing westward, I'll take in Kansas City and Dodge city.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12I'll discover a surprising British outpost in Colorado Springs
0:02:12 > 0:02:18before turning south to Hispanic Albuquerque in New Mexico.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22My journey will end at Arizona's extraordinary natural wonder...
0:02:22 > 0:02:23the Grand Canyon.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30On this leg, I begin in the railroad town of Sedalia
0:02:30 > 0:02:33and find myself at the old trailhead
0:02:33 > 0:02:36for those heading west in Independence.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38I'll end this part of my journey
0:02:38 > 0:02:42on the outskirts of Kansas City, Missouri.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Today, I'll discover the hidden pleasures
0:02:46 > 0:02:48of 19th-century railroad workers...
0:02:48 > 0:02:50One of the St Louis newspapers referred to Sedalia as
0:02:50 > 0:02:53"the Sodom and Gomorrah of the Midwest".
0:02:53 > 0:02:58..confront the brutal hardships faced by early pioneers...
0:02:58 > 0:03:01400,000 people made that journey.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05They claim at least 9% died along the way.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09..and find out that, when it comes to American freight trains,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11it's all about size.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14So let's say the average length of a car is 20 yards
0:03:14 > 0:03:16and you've got 100 cars.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19That's 2,000 yards. That is more than a mile!
0:03:19 > 0:03:22We do have some long trains here, yes.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35My next stop will be Sedalia, Missouri,
0:03:35 > 0:03:37which, according to Appletons',
0:03:37 > 0:03:40is "a busy manufacturing town and railroad centre.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44"The principal street is 120 feet wide,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48"finely shaded, and has many handsome buildings."
0:03:48 > 0:03:52I'd like to investigate the shady side of this railroad town.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04Founded in 1860, Sedalia retains its period character,
0:04:04 > 0:04:06with wide streets and old buildings.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18When my guidebook was published, this was an important railroad town,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22full of engineering workshops and storage depots.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Railroad workers and passengers looked for entertainment
0:04:25 > 0:04:28and Sedalia was proud to deliver.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Rhonda Chalfant is an historian.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41Paint me a picture of this railroad town in the late-19th century.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Lots of businesses, lots of industry, lots of noise.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Something like 24 trains coming through each day.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51And along West Main Street, lots of brothels.
0:04:51 > 0:04:52- Brothels?!- Yes.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56In the upstairs rooms of what were legitimate businesses.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58- Were these brothels legal? - Of course not!
0:04:58 > 0:05:02But the prostitutes contributed a great deal of money
0:05:02 > 0:05:03to the town's economy.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05They dressed nicely, most of them.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Some of them owned property and paid property taxes
0:05:08 > 0:05:12and they appeared in court to pay their fine.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15If they paid their fine, their house was not raided.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18By the 1890s,
0:05:18 > 0:05:2212 buildings in a single Main Street block housed brothels,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25with others scattered throughout the town.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28- Was that typical of small-town America?- No.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31One of the St Louis newspapers referred to Sedalia
0:05:31 > 0:05:34as "the Sodom and Gomorrah of the Midwest".
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Is that because there was a special kind of clientele in Sedalia?
0:05:36 > 0:05:37Somewhat.
0:05:37 > 0:05:44The number of transients - railroad workers, travelling salespeople,
0:05:44 > 0:05:49that were in and out - did create some of the demand
0:05:49 > 0:05:53but also, apparently, there were quite a number of men
0:05:53 > 0:05:55who just sought the services of the ladies.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Rhonda has brought me to a place that she promises
0:06:00 > 0:06:04will offer a glimpse into Sedalia's disreputable past.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Rhonda, what den of iniquity have you brought me to?
0:06:08 > 0:06:11This is 217 West Main.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14It is listed on the National Register Of Historic Places.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16When it was listed in 1996,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19it was the second brothel to be so recognised.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21MICHAEL CHUCKLES Let's go inside.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26- Michael, this way. - Thank you.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30'Jack Lewis now owns the building.'
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Thank you.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39This room was a place where the ladies met their clients,
0:06:39 > 0:06:40- is that right?- Yes.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43I would say this was the social room.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46They would play games, drink, might have had a piano in here.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48You know, women sitting on their laps.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51- And you've been stripping away the wallpaper, is that right?- I have.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54- And some people did it long before I did.- And what have you discovered?
0:06:54 > 0:06:58- All of this graffiti? - Drawings, names, addresses...
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Wow. And this will date back to when, do you think?
0:07:01 > 0:07:03First date we found was 1874.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06And what are the sort of things that they are writing on the wall
0:07:06 > 0:07:10- that you can tell me about? - Old ballads, old poems
0:07:10 > 0:07:13from very risque to very colourful.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16You know, it refers to the ladies, it refers to the era,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18a lot of railroad stuff.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23"Bertha, best in the house."
0:07:24 > 0:07:27"Josie, the best-looker on Main Street."
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Appreciative comments from clients,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33railroad workers and others,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36who never imagined that their graffiti
0:07:36 > 0:07:39would become a matter of historical record.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43So, Jack, if you wanted to know the written history of Sedalia,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45- read the brothel walls. - That would work.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Brothels offered more than one sort of entertainment.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54Sedalia's red-light district
0:07:54 > 0:07:57provided a venue for black musicians to perform.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03The town became known as the cradle of a new musical genre...
0:08:03 > 0:08:04Ragtime.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08And its most famous composer was Scott Joplin.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10- MAN:- # Won't you come home, Bill Bailey?
0:08:10 > 0:08:13# Won't you come home? #
0:08:13 > 0:08:15What a lovely building!
0:08:15 > 0:08:17Clearly a former railroad station
0:08:17 > 0:08:20of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25And from the "KT" in the middle of those initials, known as Katy.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28- MAN:- # I know I've done you wrong
0:08:29 > 0:08:32# Remember that raining evening
0:08:32 > 0:08:34# I threw you out
0:08:34 > 0:08:38# With nothing but a fine toothcomb
0:08:39 > 0:08:42# Yes, I know that I'm to blame
0:08:42 > 0:08:44# But ain't that a shame?
0:08:44 > 0:08:48# Bill Bailey, won't you please come home?
0:08:50 > 0:08:53# Bill Bailey, won't you please come home? #
0:08:53 > 0:08:55HE PLAYS ON THE HARMONICA
0:08:55 > 0:08:57MUSIC STOPS
0:08:57 > 0:08:58Fantastic!
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Oh, I enjoyed that! That gets rid of the blues, doesn't it?
0:09:01 > 0:09:03So, is this ragtime?
0:09:03 > 0:09:05- Yes.- And what distinguishes ragtime?
0:09:05 > 0:09:09- A combination of overlapping rhythms...- Mm-hm.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14..where a rhythm is given as much attention as the melody.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18That's what signifies and characterises ragtime.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20And was Scott Joplin really the pioneer of that?
0:09:20 > 0:09:22- Pioneer of classic ragtime.- Yeah.
0:09:22 > 0:09:28I mean, the genius of Scott Joplin is he fused African American rhythms
0:09:28 > 0:09:32with classical European composition.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35You could say it was the first authentic
0:09:35 > 0:09:38widespread popular American music. Indigenous.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41RAGTIME PIANO
0:09:41 > 0:09:47Born in Texas, a young Scott Joplin moved to Sedalia in the 1880s
0:09:47 > 0:09:52and enrolled in the George R Smith College for Negroes to study music.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08His big break came when the owner of a music store in Sedalia
0:10:08 > 0:10:12published his Maple Leaf Rag in 1899.
0:10:17 > 0:10:23It sold half a million copies and set off the ragtime craze.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36- Hey! You really tickle the ivories. - Thank you!
0:10:36 > 0:10:39- Doesn't she swing a mean finger? ALL:- Yes!
0:10:50 > 0:10:51Are you a Sedalia man?
0:10:51 > 0:10:54I am. I've lived here for about eight years now.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57- Where did you come from before that, then?- I was born in Boston.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Is there much difference between Massachusetts and Sedalia, Missouri?
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Huge difference. In Boston it is such a rat race.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Whereas here...you meet people, you know?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09And I love it that you can meet somebody out on the street
0:11:09 > 0:11:11and just have a conversation with people.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15I'm using a 19th-century guidebook and, at the time,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19Sedalia was known as "the Sodom and Gomorrah of Missouri", I think.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21- Is it still Sodom and Gomorrah? - It is not.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Today we have this swathe that we call the Bible Belt
0:11:25 > 0:11:27and we're right in the middle of that.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Missouri is really a big part of that.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32What does it really mean to be in the Bible Belt?
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Generally speaking, it's middle-class America.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40It's hard-working, average people.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43And they believe in what God has for us.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47It's about following a different way of life than our own, er...
0:11:47 > 0:11:49natural tendencies.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51And what practical difference does that make
0:11:51 > 0:11:53to the way that people behave towards each other?
0:11:53 > 0:11:55We love each other. It's all about love.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58And does that love extend to people who aren't like you?
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Black people, non-Christians, Muslims?
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Oh, sure it does, yeah.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Love... Love transcends all, doesn't it?
0:12:05 > 0:12:08I will have that thought in mind as I board my train.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Good! Thank you, Mike.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23From Sedalia, my journey following in the footsteps of the pioneers
0:12:23 > 0:12:25is taking me 84 miles westward
0:12:25 > 0:12:28on Amtrak's Missouri River Runner service.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33My next stop will be Independence, Missouri,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35which Appletons' tells me is
0:12:35 > 0:12:39"a neat and thriving town with much business activity".
0:12:39 > 0:12:41I wonder what made its wheels go round
0:12:41 > 0:12:43before the railroads called into town?
0:12:44 > 0:12:46- Hello, ladies.- Hi!
0:12:46 > 0:12:50I spotted you, because you are being very jolly. What you are up to?
0:12:50 > 0:12:53- Why are you having so much fun? - We're on our mother-daughter trip.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57- Ah, lovely.- Yes.- And where is your mother-daughter trip taking you?
0:12:57 > 0:13:00- To Kansas City.- Now, I'm doing a journey through history.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02- Do you like history? - I teach history, so...
0:13:02 > 0:13:04- You teach it?- I teach history.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Do you ever think about the old days?
0:13:06 > 0:13:08I mean, before the railroads,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11what about the wagons and the frontiersmen and the settlers?
0:13:11 > 0:13:15I do. I mean, I just think it would be neat to go back in time
0:13:15 > 0:13:17and see all of that, just be a part of it.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20You'd wear a lot of clothes and you'd be dirty more frequently.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23But I think it would be neat to find out.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28And once again, ladies and gentlemen,
0:13:28 > 0:13:30our next stop is Independence, home to Harry S Truman,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32the 33rd President of the United States.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34Independence, your stop. Please gather your belongings
0:13:34 > 0:13:37and be ready to exit the train. Independence will be next.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48That was a great ride. Thank you so much.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50- You're welcome.- Bye-bye, now.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04This is the house of Harry S Truman.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06He didn't have a college education,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09he ran a haberdashery business here in Independence.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12He became President of the United States.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Took the decision to drop the atom bomb on Japan.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18And after the Second World War, with the Marshall plan,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22rebuilt Japan and Germany as democracies.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25A self-educated man from small-town America
0:14:25 > 0:14:27reached the White House
0:14:27 > 0:14:30and took decisions that have shaped the world.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32That's the American dream.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Before railroads crossed the continent,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47Independence, Missouri was the trailhead
0:14:47 > 0:14:50for the gruelling and epic 2,000-mile trip west
0:14:50 > 0:14:52to Oregon or California.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Pioneers would gather here before setting out into the great unknown.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10I'm taking a ride with tour guide Ralph Goldsmith.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Ralph, what is the significance of Independence
0:15:15 > 0:15:17in the story of the conquest of the West?
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Well, Independence is where the trails began.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23The main reason is that Independence was about as far west
0:15:23 > 0:15:25as you could get on the Missouri River at that time.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28So, for example, in the 1840s,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31what sort of people were starting from Independence?
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Would they be families or ambitious young men?
0:15:33 > 0:15:35A little of both. A little of both.
0:15:35 > 0:15:36They, er...
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Horace Greeley said it, "Go west, young man, go west."
0:15:39 > 0:15:42If you're ambitious, you know, there are opportunities out there.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44They were giving land away free in Oregon.
0:15:44 > 0:15:45All you had to do was get there.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49Some people would sell everything they had to come here, you know,
0:15:49 > 0:15:51to make a new nation here.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54Between 1840 and 1860,
0:15:54 > 0:15:59around half a million migrants made the journey west on the trails.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02The most popular destination was Oregon.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05But the discovery of gold in California in 1849
0:16:05 > 0:16:08drew tens of thousands to seek their fortune.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12- Did you need to have a bit of money to go out west?- Oh, yeah.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15You had to buy your oxen and mules and all your supplies.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20But you have to understand, it was a wagon train industry here.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Think about it. A thousand wagons leaving town in one month in 1845.
0:16:24 > 0:16:25Six animals per wagon.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28That's 6,000 head of livestock left this area.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30Times four.
0:16:30 > 0:16:3324,000 mule shoes, ox shoes and horseshoes had to go on.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37It was incredible. The commerce here was just off the wall.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Right here, where the courthouse is,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42is where the Presbyterian and Methodist church
0:16:42 > 0:16:45would have gatherings here and pray for the pioneers as they'd leave.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47The Episcopal church down here
0:16:47 > 0:16:49would actually anoint them, the animals, with holy water.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51It was a pretty perilous undertaking.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54It was a perilous taking. They were taking their lives in their hands.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Five-and-a-half months from this point, right here.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00And they never averaged more than 9 to 15 miles per day.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01Unbelievable.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03They called it "seeing the elephant".
0:17:03 > 0:17:06You know, you had this vision of what it's going to be like
0:17:06 > 0:17:08but, when you get out on the prairie,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11there's nothing but prairie grass for thousands of miles.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14And you realise, "Holy Moley, what have I got myself into?"
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Ralph, I want you to level with me. What are our chances of making it?
0:17:18 > 0:17:21400,000 people made that journey.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25They claim at least 9% died along the way.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28- Died of what? - Dysentery, snakebites,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31wagon accidents, cholera.
0:17:31 > 0:17:32They claim less than 300 of them
0:17:32 > 0:17:35were actually killed by American Indians along the way.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38But those people, their courage, their strength, their stamina,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42they're the ones who made us a nation
0:17:42 > 0:17:44from sea to shining sea.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46We had a name for this dream.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50We called it "manifest destiny".
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Yah! Come on, get 'em up, now!
0:17:52 > 0:17:54- Here, you take them for a while. - OK.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Let's go west, young man!
0:17:56 > 0:17:58All right!
0:17:58 > 0:18:00I smell...gold!
0:18:07 > 0:18:08At the end of the day,
0:18:08 > 0:18:12wagon trains would be drawn into a circle to corral the livestock.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16- What's for supper, Keith? - Buffalo soup.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18- Not again!- Oh, yeah.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19It's your favourite.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23I tell you, Keith, it's good.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31To many pioneers on the trail, my meal would have seemed like a feast.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36Diaries reveal the hardships that they faced.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Virginia Reid Murphy, aged 13, 1846 -
0:18:40 > 0:18:41"We could scarcely walk
0:18:41 > 0:18:44"and the men had hardly enough strength to procure wood.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47"We would drag ourselves through the snow.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51"Poor little children were crying with hunger and mothers were crying
0:18:51 > 0:18:54"because they had so little to give to their children.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57"We now had nothing to eat... but raw hides."
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Terrible.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14At the time of my Appletons' Guide,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18waves of migrants continued to push the American frontier westward,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21while others settled.
0:19:21 > 0:19:2315 miles south of Independence,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26I hope to find out what life was like for them
0:19:26 > 0:19:30from Jonathan Klusmeyer, who, along with 150 volunteers...
0:19:30 > 0:19:32Thank you. It's so nice to see you.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37..runs a living history museum called Missouri Town 1855.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41You know, there is such amazing tranquillity here.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44I can't believe it. No sound of cars, no sounds of trains.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46- It's a very special place, isn't it? - Absolutely it is.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49The town actually never existed.
0:19:49 > 0:19:50We actually moved buildings in here
0:19:50 > 0:19:52from different parts of western Missouri.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55So these buildings have come from somewhere else,
0:19:55 > 0:19:57- but they're perfect in their period detail?- Yeah.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59These folk, who came to Missouri,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01they had not made the trek of 2,000 miles to Oregon or California
0:20:01 > 0:20:04but, nonetheless, the conditions they found here were difficult.
0:20:04 > 0:20:05They were difficult.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09So they found rocky soil, they found tall trees,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11they had to clear all of these roots out of the area
0:20:11 > 0:20:14and really get the land ready to farm.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16So where had they come from?
0:20:16 > 0:20:19They were coming from all over the South, primarily.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21Until actually you get into the 1850s,
0:20:21 > 0:20:23when the Germans and Irish started coming over,
0:20:23 > 0:20:25you're getting mainly just Virginians,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27people from Tennessee and also Kentucky,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30that are trying to escape the higher land prices in the East.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36The Homestead Act of 1862
0:20:36 > 0:20:39opened up settlement of the Western United States
0:20:39 > 0:20:45by allowing any citizen over 21 to claim 160 acres of land.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Those who farmed it successfully for five years would then own it.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55Others were drawn to follow, and settlements grew into towns.
0:20:55 > 0:20:56Hello.
0:20:57 > 0:21:03The number of such claims approved eventually exceeded 1.5 million.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05- Hello, sir.- Mr Bailey.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07They tell me this is the very heart of the village.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Who are your clients? What are they coming here for?
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Well, pretty much everybody has some business with me one way or another,
0:21:12 > 0:21:15but most of the people, of course, are farmers.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19So I put tyres on the wagon wheels, shoes for the horse, mule and ox.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23And whatever their metal needs are, I pretty much take care of them.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Tell me a bit about how the town works.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27I think of people here being self-reliant.
0:21:27 > 0:21:28But, actually, I'm getting an impression
0:21:28 > 0:21:30that it has to function as a community.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33We're really more dependent on one another than you might imagine.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36I don't farm, but I still like to eat.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38So what I do is, oftentimes,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42if people can't afford to pay me outright with cash, we do barter.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44And that's, of course, a way of life with us.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Now, I interrupted you. You were making something.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49Well, yes, sir. Got a little hook in the fire here.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51You want to work it whilst it's still hot.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53The old saying, you've got to strike while the iron's hot.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55This is where it came from.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57I'm making a little curlicue on the end of this.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59We don't want this to snag momma's dress
0:21:59 > 0:22:00while she's working in the kitchen.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03And the next thing that's left
0:22:03 > 0:22:05is just to put a twist in it to kind of finish it off.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Why don't you come on over here and try the bellows for a little bit?
0:22:10 > 0:22:13- Takes a bit of effort, Mr Bailey. - Yes, it does.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15We're going to bring that out.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Put it with the hook up in the vice.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23- Now, take the tongs and get a good grip on the shank itself.- Yeah.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26And in this state, it's easy enough to put a little twist in there.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29There you go, sir.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33A lovely S-hook with twists at either end,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35ready for grandma's kitchen.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40To encourage western migration,
0:22:40 > 0:22:45the Homestead Act even made provision for women and freed slaves
0:22:45 > 0:22:49to take over land and begin new lives in the prairies and beyond.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52- Good morning, Linda.- Hello.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55- How are Dan and Murphy today? - Very good, thank you.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59They've been very busy ploughing, hauling grain.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01And excuse me asking you, it is usual for a woman
0:23:01 > 0:23:03to be in control of a couple of huge oxen?
0:23:03 > 0:23:05It is not that common but, of course,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08in the absence of her husband or any sons,
0:23:08 > 0:23:12women of all ages and all generations rise to the occasion
0:23:12 > 0:23:13and do what's required of them.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17Honestly, what's it like for a woman in 1855 living out here in the West?
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Well, it can be rather frightening. It can be very lonely.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24But, of course, that makes it all the more enjoyable
0:23:24 > 0:23:28when we get to go to church or if we have a quilting bee
0:23:28 > 0:23:30- and get together with the other ladies.- Hm...
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Now, next time I get lonesome, I'll think about a quilting bee.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36- Could be just the thing. - It might be just the thing.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38- Thank you, Linda.- Thank you. - Bye.- Bye.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Railroad companies drove the settlement of the West.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47In order to encourage new lines,
0:23:47 > 0:23:49the government offered them generous land grants
0:23:49 > 0:23:52on either side of their tracks.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55They launched a settlement campaign,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58offering transport and temporary accommodation,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01while families built their own homes.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03Communities quickly grew.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08OLD-TIME COUNTRY MUSIC
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Ma'am, what a privilege.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28You are welcome, sir.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32From Independence,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35you can see the gleaming towers of Kansas City, Missouri,
0:24:35 > 0:24:36ten miles away.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45But most trains approaching the city today don't carry passengers.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50They move America's freight.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58Shellee Currier is from the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Shellee, I get the impression that Kansas City
0:25:03 > 0:25:05must be a very major hub for rail freight.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06Where does it rank in the nation?
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Yes, Kansas City is the second largest rail hub after Chicago.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12But it's first with consideration of tonnage
0:25:12 > 0:25:14that travels through the terminal.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16As you're seeing above us,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18this is considered a container train.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20You could have a mix of unit train,
0:25:20 > 0:25:24where it's one train carrying one product, such as coal.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Or you could have what's called a manifest train,
0:25:27 > 0:25:29100 to 132 railcars,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33and it's a mixture of, like, cement or sand or things of that type.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37So let's say the average length of a car is 60 feet, 20 yards.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39And you've got 100 cars, that's 2,000 yards.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42That is more than a mile!
0:25:42 > 0:25:45We do have some long trains here, yes.
0:25:45 > 0:25:46I get the feeling in Kansas City
0:25:46 > 0:25:49we're at the centre of the spider's web. Would that be right?
0:25:49 > 0:25:51That is true. Each carrier that's in here,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53their network looks a little bit different.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55For the Kansas City Southern, for example,
0:25:55 > 0:25:56this is their furthest north point,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59and then they're travelling down into the Mexico area.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02For the Canadian Pacific, this is their furthest west point.
0:26:02 > 0:26:03The BN and the Union Pacific,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06they have traffic that runs both east and west
0:26:06 > 0:26:09and also some lines north and south, as well.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15At the time of my guidebook, separate rail companies cooperated
0:26:15 > 0:26:19to provide direct services for goods across the United States.
0:26:20 > 0:26:26Today, the freight rail network extends to 140,000 miles
0:26:26 > 0:26:28and plays a major role in transporting goods.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Shellee, what sort of freight would you be moving on these lines?
0:26:35 > 0:26:37Predominantly, we're moving bulk paper
0:26:37 > 0:26:42that would be used to manufacture moving boxes and paper plates.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46Keith, your job, then, is to pick up goods like this, like paper,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49- and take them into the centre of Kansas City.- That's correct.
0:26:49 > 0:26:50What will happen to them there?
0:26:50 > 0:26:52They switch them between different railroads
0:26:52 > 0:26:54and send them on their way out.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57So you're the local service. You're picking up and delivering
0:26:57 > 0:27:00- to the cross-continental railway? - That's right. We're the local crew.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02This locomotive, how big a train could this haul?
0:27:02 > 0:27:07This train is only 2,000 horsepower, so it'll haul about 2,000 tonnes.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10- 2,000 tonnes? That's still a serious amount.- Oh, yeah.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15Every night on this journey,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19from my bed I hear the mournful horn of a locomotive.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22TRAIN HORN BLARES
0:27:22 > 0:27:26It is the soundtrack of the American economy.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28TRAIN HORN
0:27:30 > 0:27:33The settlers endured months of travel on wagons
0:27:33 > 0:27:36that were pulled by oxen or mules
0:27:36 > 0:27:39and many of them perished on the way.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42The survivors had to clear forest or prairie
0:27:42 > 0:27:45to have ground which they could plough.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48They had to suffer the heat and the cold and disease.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51The next time that I get cross because the car won't start,
0:27:51 > 0:27:53or because the Wi-Fi's on the blink,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57I'll remind myself that I would never have made a pioneer.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03Next time...
0:28:03 > 0:28:06I'll witness the art of the auctioneer.
0:28:06 > 0:28:0856, 57...
0:28:10 > 0:28:13..learn about the perils of the Pony Express...
0:28:16 > 0:28:18"Wanted - young, skinny, wiry fellows,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22"willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred."
0:28:22 > 0:28:25..and discover the truth about the demise
0:28:25 > 0:28:27of one of America's most famous outlaws.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Jesse's not carrying a gun.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34Jesse's back is to us. So we're just going to murder him in cold blood.