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 > 0:00:19Appletons' General Guide to North America will direct me to all that's
0:00:19 > 0:00:26novel, beautiful, memorable and striking in the United States.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28- ALL:- Goed!
0:00:28 > 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 > 0:00:35MEDLEY OF GUNSHOTS
0:00:35 > 0:00:39And how the railroads tied this nation together,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42helping to create the global superstate of today.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13By the time of my guidebook,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16railroad tracks stretched across the continent,
0:01:16 > 0:01:20and Americans were using them to tour their land for pleasure.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32My rail journey westward from St Louis to the Grand Canyon,
0:01:32 > 0:01:37covering maybe 1,700 miles, is reaching its climax.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41I've hugged the banks of the Missouri and Arkansas rivers.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45I've followed the wagons along the old Santa Fe Trail.
0:01:45 > 0:01:51And I've ridden on transcontinental tracks first laid in the 1870s.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56Now it's time to wallow in some of the luxury offered by the West today
0:01:56 > 0:02:00before witnessing one of the greatest sights on earth.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08I began my journey in St Louis, Missouri.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Then headed to Kansas City.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16From there I struck out west across the plains to gun-toting Dodge City
0:02:16 > 0:02:20before arriving in the Rocky Mountains at Colorado Springs.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24Now I'm heading south, through New Mexico,
0:02:24 > 0:02:29ending at the spectacular natural wonder of Arizona's Grand Canyon.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Today, I explore Santa Fe,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41then turn south to a Native American settlement in Acoma.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49I discover how the great outdoors adds to the drama of opera.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54John Crosby thought that it would be a shame to enclose the theatre when
0:02:54 > 0:02:58we are surrounded by such incredible natural beauty.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Uncover Santa Fe's historic past.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06It's the longest continuously occupied public building
0:03:06 > 0:03:07in the whole United States.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11When the White House was built, it was 200 years old already.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14And I'm privileged to be invited to visit
0:03:14 > 0:03:17an ancient Native American pueblo.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20How long has there been a settlement up here?
0:03:20 > 0:03:23The way we describe it to ourselves is,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25we've been here since the beginning of time.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41Amtrak's Southwest Chief service crosses eight states between Chicago
0:03:41 > 0:03:44and Los Angeles in three days.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51A full restaurant service means that hungry passengers
0:03:51 > 0:03:53can eat great food, as some of the world's
0:03:53 > 0:03:55most awesome landscape rolls by.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07- Your steak, sir.- Thank you.
0:04:07 > 0:04:08Steak knife for you.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Is there anything else I can bring you right now, Michael?
0:04:11 > 0:04:12Oh, Linda, it looks great.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15I'm going to be just fine.
0:04:15 > 0:04:16Thank you.
0:04:21 > 0:04:22Look at that - perfect.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24Mmm!
0:04:41 > 0:04:45My journey West has brought me into the state of New Mexico,
0:04:45 > 0:04:50which retains its Hispanic heritage dating back to the time before its
0:04:50 > 0:04:53conquest by the United States.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56After the rough-and-tumble of the Wild West,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58it's time for some luxury,
0:04:58 > 0:05:03and to discover how, in Santa Fe, there arose a biblical epic,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07appropriately, perhaps, since the city's name
0:05:07 > 0:05:09translates as "holy faith".
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Founded in 1607,
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Santa Fe was the capital of the Spanish kingdom of New Mexico,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26and is the state capital today.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33The city's distinctive low adobe buildings
0:05:33 > 0:05:35with their round walls and flat roofs
0:05:35 > 0:05:39are made from bricks formed of sun-dried earth and straw.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02The architecture of Santa Fe is delightfully dominated
0:06:02 > 0:06:05by the Spanish colonial period.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07We Europeans scoff at the Americans
0:06:07 > 0:06:09because they don't have many old buildings.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Well, the mission of San Miguel was built at the beginning of
0:06:12 > 0:06:15the 17th century, which makes it older
0:06:15 > 0:06:17than London's St Paul's Cathedral,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20or France's Palace of Versailles.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23So perhaps we should show some humility.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34In the late 19th century,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37railroad refreshment was a much less leisurely experience
0:06:37 > 0:06:40than mine aboard the Southwest Chief.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Passengers had to disembark and were given 15 minutes
0:06:44 > 0:06:46to eat and freshen up before re-boarding.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52Thanks to a British immigrant named Fred Harvey,
0:06:52 > 0:06:53arrangements began to improve.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58'I'm meeting Jenny Kimball at La Fonda Hotel.'
0:06:59 > 0:07:04Jenny, now, I believe it was once a Harvey hotel, what did that mean?
0:07:04 > 0:07:10Well, Fred Harvey operated hotels all along the railroad line.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14And the Fred Harvey Company bought it in the early '20s.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Which meant it was part of the Harvey chain.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Fred Harvey had worked as a railroad caterer
0:07:21 > 0:07:25which is how he spotted a gap in the market
0:07:25 > 0:07:27for good food on long journeys.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29In 1876, he struck out on his own
0:07:29 > 0:07:32and opened the first of his restaurants
0:07:32 > 0:07:35on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41At its peak in 1928, Fred Harvey's empire,
0:07:41 > 0:07:46comprised nearly 100 restaurants and 25 hotels known as Harvey Houses.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Within his hotels and restaurants
0:07:50 > 0:07:53tell me about the sort of service you could expect?
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Service was impeccable, only the best,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58white glove silver service.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00And it was mainly because of the Harvey Girls.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04The Harvey Girls were educated women, mainly from the East Coast,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06that wanted an adventure.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10They were trained in manners, service.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13They had impeccable starched uniforms.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15And they couldn't be married.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18They couldn't fraternise with the guests.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21So, I mean, they had a whole list of dos and don'ts.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25But they really elevated the service at all of the Harvey Hotels.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27The Santa Fe Railroad Company
0:08:27 > 0:08:30introduced Pullman dining cars in 1888.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34And Fred Harvey provided both the menu and the staff.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40What was served until then was what they called slop, the Western slop.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42He served lobster.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47He served very sophisticated European food on the train.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51May have been kind of the precursor to first class on an aeroplane.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54He didn't do badly for a lad from Lancashire, England.
0:08:54 > 0:08:55No, he did not do badly, yeah.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01With good quality food and impeccable service,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05the Fred Harvey Brand became widely known in America.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10And in 1946, Fred's Harvey Girls were immortalised in a film
0:09:10 > 0:09:12starring Judy Garland.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18'Bernette Jarvis and Beverly Ireland worked at La Fonda Hotel
0:09:18 > 0:09:19'in the 1950s.'
0:09:20 > 0:09:23How did you get the job of being a Harvey Girl?
0:09:23 > 0:09:28We moved here from Minnesota in 1955.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30We thought it was a temporary job.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35It turned out to be several years of a wonderful experience.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39What attracted you about the reputation of Harvey Girls?
0:09:39 > 0:09:45Find service, elegant dishes, food was marvellous.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49It just was a prestige job.
0:09:49 > 0:09:55It was the only place in Santa Fe that was a nice hotel.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57And we worked breakfast and lunch
0:09:57 > 0:10:01only because we were 18 years old and couldn't serve liquor.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05Looking back, are you pleased that you were Harvey Girls?
0:10:05 > 0:10:06Absolutely.
0:10:06 > 0:10:12It was a hard job because of the standard
0:10:12 > 0:10:16but it was a way to get ladies a job.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19To get away from home.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22And to be in the workforce.
0:10:22 > 0:10:23I wouldn't trade it for anything.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39I'm heading seven miles north of Santa Fe
0:10:39 > 0:10:43to an adobe building inspired by the high desert landscape
0:10:43 > 0:10:44which it inhabits.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57As though to symbolise the civilisation of the West,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Santa Fe has an opera house of global renown,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03attracting the best talent.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Audiences travel for thousands of miles.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10I made the pilgrimage myself some years ago.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12The auditorium is like no other.
0:11:12 > 0:11:13It has no sides.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17For many productions, the backdrop is provided by the mountains and the
0:11:17 > 0:11:20sunsets of New Mexico.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23What better place to perform Puccini's La Fancuilla del West -
0:11:24 > 0:11:26The Girl of the Golden West?
0:11:37 > 0:11:41The general director of the Santa Fe Opera is Charles MacKay.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50Charles, how and why did they think of building an opera house here?
0:11:50 > 0:11:5360 years ago John Crosby, the founder,
0:11:53 > 0:11:57had always had the dream of founding an opera company here.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59And so, lo and behold,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02he talked his parents into fronting the money
0:12:02 > 0:12:04to build the first theatre
0:12:04 > 0:12:07and persuaded a group of businessmen in Santa Fe to back it
0:12:07 > 0:12:09and the company got started.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15John Crosby was a New York musician with a passion for opera.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19Santa Fe had a long connection with visual artists and writers
0:12:19 > 0:12:21but little with musical life.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26Crosby set out to change that in 1957 by building
0:12:26 > 0:12:28a 480-seat wooden theatre
0:12:28 > 0:12:31and inaugurating a summer opera festival.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36He always had the idea of doing something that was very different,
0:12:36 > 0:12:41to combine standard, rarely performed and new works,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45and to create the first apprentice programme for singers
0:12:45 > 0:12:47in the United States.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52Fire destroyed Crosby's Theatre in 1967.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Within a year it was replaced with a larger structure.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01And in 1998, the present 2000-seat auditorium opened.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Was it always the idea from the beginning
0:13:06 > 0:13:10- to have a sideless and backless opera house?- It was.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16John Crosby thought that it would be a shame to enclose the theatre when
0:13:16 > 0:13:20we are surrounded by such incredible natural beauty.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25And to have a beautiful sunset as the performance is beginning.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28And occasionally that the elements
0:13:28 > 0:13:31contribute to the telling of the story.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34So what happens when you get torrential rain?
0:13:36 > 0:13:41If the rain is coming down vertically, everything is fine.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46But when it's coming horizontally that's a little bit of a problem.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51It can get a little bit dicey if the rain gets into the orchestra pit.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Sometimes you might end up with a performance
0:13:53 > 0:13:58where there's just one first violin playing at the end of the opera.
0:14:08 > 0:14:13Puccini's The Girl of the Golden West is a love story between Minnie,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16a saloon owner, and a bandit called Dick Johnson.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20And is set during the California gold rush of 1849.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27Cooper Nolan is an apprentice singer at the opera.
0:14:27 > 0:14:28Cooper. Good to see you.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30- Good to see you, how's it going? - Very well.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34I understand you're on the Santa Fe Opera apprenticeship programme.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Yes, I am. This is my second year.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Now you're studying the role of Dick Johnson?
0:14:38 > 0:14:40- Correct. - In The Girl of the Golden West.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43Would you be so kind as to sing me a little bit?
0:14:43 > 0:14:45- Sure, absolutely. - What are you going to sing?
0:14:45 > 0:14:48So this is the second act aria after she's discovered
0:14:48 > 0:14:50that Dick Johnson is not who he says he is.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52He still loves her, but he's been lying.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55He's actually the bandit that everyone's been looking for.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04# Or son sei mesi che mio padre mori
0:15:13 > 0:15:21# E il labbro mio mormoro un'ardente preghiera
0:15:23 > 0:15:24# Oh Dio!
0:15:24 > 0:15:28# Ch'ella non sappia mai
0:15:28 > 0:15:36# Non sappia mai la mia vergogna!
0:15:36 > 0:15:44# Non sappia mia!
0:15:47 > 0:15:53# Il sogno e stato vano!
0:15:54 > 0:16:01# Ora ho finito. #
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Well done. You've convinced me you're a good guy.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thanks for coming around.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11- And a very good singer.- Thank you.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14NOTES ON XYLOPHONE RING OUT
0:16:37 > 0:16:41When the railroad arrived in 1880 it followed the route of the earlier
0:16:41 > 0:16:45Santa Fe Trail, which had brought pioneers from Missouri.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50As people in the eastern states grew wealthier,
0:16:50 > 0:16:54the more intrepid among them began to venture west as tourists.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Appletons' quotes the writings of a Mrs Wallace who was married to the
0:17:00 > 0:17:05United States Governor before New Mexico was a state.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07"The ancient governor's palace
0:17:07 > 0:17:10"extends along one whole side of the plaza,
0:17:10 > 0:17:14"a long low structure built of adobe.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16"Santa Fe was a stronghold before
0:17:16 > 0:17:19the Spanish conquest and a town of some
0:17:19 > 0:17:24"importance to the white race when Pennsylvania was still a wilderness.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27"It is rich in historic interest."
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Time to discover more about the palace and about the Wallaces.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51'Meredith Davidson is curator at the Palace of the Governors,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53'a New Mexico history museum.'
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Meredith, I'm very struck by the depth of history here.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05The number of regimes that there have been in Santa Fe,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07and specifically in this governors palace.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09It was built in 1610.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12It's the longest continuously occupied public building
0:18:12 > 0:18:13in the whole United States.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17When the White House was built, it was 200 years old already.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21It's seen five separate governments across its history.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23Before it was cited in 1608,
0:18:23 > 0:18:27New Mexico was occupied by Native Americans.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31It was part of the Spanish Empire from 1610 on.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33After that it was briefly part of Mexico,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37when Mexico declared independence in 1821.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40And following that it became a US territory.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43And then later became a state in 1912.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47I'm in search of one particular governor mentioned in Appletons'.
0:18:47 > 0:18:48Governor Wallace.
0:18:48 > 0:18:55Yes, Governor Wallace was our governor from 1878 to 1881.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58And he was here at a really fascinating moment
0:18:58 > 0:19:03where the railroads were coming into New Mexico for the first time,
0:19:03 > 0:19:07where there was still quite an environment
0:19:07 > 0:19:11of what romantically is sort of called the Wild West.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Lew Wallace was a Union general in the Civil War.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18A lawyer and diplomat.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21But his fame today largely rests on his work as a writer.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30So we've come down here to look at the chair
0:19:30 > 0:19:33that belonged to Governor Lew Wallace.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37It was from here that he wrote or presumably wrote the book that
0:19:37 > 0:19:42he became most well known for, Ben Hur, which came out in 1880.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46So, he would sit there, and this is his writing desk, his table.
0:19:46 > 0:19:47- He has it on his lap.- Right.
0:19:47 > 0:19:48Exactly.
0:19:50 > 0:19:51Set in the Roman Empire,
0:19:51 > 0:19:56the novel tells the story of a young Jewish man of means who loses his
0:19:56 > 0:20:00family and freedom because of the injustice of a Roman officer.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04But eventually triumphs through his own determination
0:20:04 > 0:20:07and the intervention of Jesus Christ.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12Adaptations for stage and screen followed, most famously in 1959,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15starring Charlton Heston as Ben Hur.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Was it a successful book?
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Ben Hur was really an instant success.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24It very quickly surpassed sales of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27A book that had been, since the Civil War, really,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30one of the most purchased books in the nation.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53I'm continuing my journey from Santa Fe south west,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56on an excursion recommended by my Appletons'.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11My next destination will be Acoma.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15Appletons' says, "the towns of these Indians are similarly interesting
0:21:15 > 0:21:19"and well worth a visit. On an eminence commanding a view
0:21:19 > 0:21:22"so situated that they can be approached
0:21:22 > 0:21:24"only through a narrow defile.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27"The houses are two or three storeys,
0:21:27 > 0:21:29"ranged in the form of hollow squares.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33"Access can be had only by ladders to the second storeys.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37"The first being built solid without an opening."
0:21:37 > 0:21:39By the end of the 19th century
0:21:39 > 0:21:42the Native American had become a curiosity,
0:21:42 > 0:21:43a tourist attraction.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50The Pueblo Indians of the South West
0:21:50 > 0:21:54take their name from the Spanish word used by the first explorers
0:21:54 > 0:21:58to describe the apartment-like buildings in which they live.
0:22:01 > 0:22:0619 Pueblo communities remain in New Mexico.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09They welcome tourists to buy the pottery for which they're renowned,
0:22:09 > 0:22:11but filming is rarely allowed.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23It's a privilege for me to be invited to visit Acoma Pueblo
0:22:23 > 0:22:28on its sandstone bluff 367 feet high.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35'I'm meeting tribal secretary John Sims.'
0:22:41 > 0:22:45These houses are very much as described in my guidebook
0:22:45 > 0:22:46with the ladders.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49It says that in those days there was no opening on the ground floor.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53Yes. You know, the ground floor was basically meant for storage
0:22:53 > 0:22:57and in case there was intruders or anything like that
0:22:57 > 0:22:58you would pull the ladders up
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and the living quarters were on the second storey,
0:23:01 > 0:23:02so everybody was nice and safe.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23The view from here is absolutely breathtaking.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25How long has there been a settlement up here?
0:23:25 > 0:23:27The way we describe it to ourselves
0:23:27 > 0:23:32is we've been here since the beginning of time,
0:23:32 > 0:23:38but in terms of anthropology, you can date us to 1500 AD.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Did they settle here for defensive for religious reasons?
0:23:41 > 0:23:45The mesa top here was chosen I think more particularly for defence
0:23:45 > 0:23:47than anything else.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50How did you fare with the Spanish when they arrived?
0:23:50 > 0:23:56They originally came in, and for the most part the Pueblos welcomed them.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58The Spanish had other things in mind,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01which was to take over land and territories
0:24:01 > 0:24:04and for the most part they were also looking for riches.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07They were looking for gold and they didn't find them.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11You know, the battle for Acoma is definitely a large one
0:24:11 > 0:24:13in the context of the Pueblo world.
0:24:15 > 0:24:20The battle of Acoma between the Spanish and the Pueblo Indians
0:24:20 > 0:24:25in 1598 was devastating, with up to 1,500 native Americans killed.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Over the following decades the Spanish continued
0:24:28 > 0:24:34to repress the Pueblos, until in 1680, the tribes united in revolt.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37The Pueblos got together and through force
0:24:37 > 0:24:40drove the Spanish out of New Mexico
0:24:40 > 0:24:44and the Spanish basically did not enter New Mexico territory for
0:24:44 > 0:24:46about a decade, for almost ten years
0:24:46 > 0:24:50and in those ten years it allowed the Pueblos to rebuild
0:24:50 > 0:24:54and to basically bring back their traditions.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56With regard to the present day,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59do you think that the Pueblos have survived better
0:24:59 > 0:25:00than some other tribe?
0:25:00 > 0:25:03The Pueblos have survived a lot better
0:25:03 > 0:25:08than our brothers and sister tribes out in the rest of North America.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12For one instance, a lot of us weren't pushed onto reservations.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15We got to stay in our homeland, like you see us here today.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20And secondly, our culture and language survived.
0:25:26 > 0:25:27When the railroad came through,
0:25:28 > 0:25:30not only did it bring jobs,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33but it brought commerce, it brought tourism.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38Up to that point our people were basically farmers, hunters,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40but with tourism, brought money.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43We took an item that was traditionally used...
0:25:44 > 0:25:47..in the homes and so our ladies started to make
0:25:47 > 0:25:51pottery for these people that were coming through the railroads.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56Later on as the train kept building and the lines kept building,
0:25:56 > 0:26:00our people found work with them and so to this day
0:26:00 > 0:26:05you find large numbers of Acoma people in places like Sacramento,
0:26:05 > 0:26:10in places like Arizona and that was the total direct result of them
0:26:10 > 0:26:11working for the railroad.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37How would you say the United States treats the Pueblo people today?
0:26:38 > 0:26:42The overall thing is that you hear in Acoma we have been here
0:26:42 > 0:26:47through the Spanish, we were part once of Mexico also, you know?
0:26:47 > 0:26:54And then we're here through the American government and as strong as
0:26:54 > 0:26:57America is, once the Spanish thought they were just as strong and just as
0:26:57 > 0:27:00mighty, and so for Acoma people,
0:27:00 > 0:27:02we're going to be here till the end of time.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20In 1492, Columbus discovered America.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23That's what I was taught at school,
0:27:23 > 0:27:27but that Europe-centric view has been discredited for neglecting the
0:27:27 > 0:27:31millions of Native Americans who lived at one with nature
0:27:31 > 0:27:34in dramatic scenery such as this.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Nowadays, this Pueblo town benefits from tourists,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40attracted not least by its pottery.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44At least that way the Pueblos are recognised
0:27:44 > 0:27:45and regain a foothold
0:27:45 > 0:27:48in the historical landscape of North America...
0:27:52 > 0:27:57Next time, I'll marvel at American steam technology.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00My goodness, John, that is enormous!
0:28:02 > 0:28:05..discover the flavours of New Mexico...
0:28:05 > 0:28:07That's perfect. Excellent.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09More chilli on top.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13..and watch the earth open below me.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18Here we go over the edge and the ground falls away beneath us.