Great Plains
Ray Mears finds out how 500,000 square miles of flat, treeless grassland was the setting for Wild West stories of Indians, wagon trains, homesteaders and cattle drives.
Ray Mears explores how 500,000 square miles of flat, treeless grassland was the setting for some of the Wild West's most dramatic stories of Plains Indians, wagon trains, homesteaders and cattle drives.
Ray joins the Blackfeet Indian Nation as they demonstrate bareback riding skills before a ritual buffalo hunt and sacrifice, and learns how their ancestors were dependent upon the buffalo for their survival. He follows in the wagon ruts of the early pioneers along the Oregon Trail and hitches a ride on a prairie schooner with wagon master Kim Merchant. He discovers the stories of the early homesteaders who lived in sod-houses and farmed the wild grassland around them.
At a cattle auction in Dodge City he explores the story of the railways, cow-towns and the buffalo massacre. His journey across the Great Plains ends at Moore Ranch where he joins a long-horn cattle drive and learns about the life and myth of one of the Wild West's most iconic figures, the cowboy.
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Old West cattle drive
Duration: 02:47
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Ray Mears |
Producer | Clare Bradshaw |
Executive Producer | Andrea Cornes |
Broadcasts
- Thu 29 May 2014 21:00
- Fri 30 May 2014 02:15
- Mon 2 Jun 2014 22:00
- Thu 16 Oct 2014 21:00
- Fri 17 Oct 2014 02:30
- Thu 2 Jul 2015 20:00
- Fri 3 Jul 2015 01:30
- Tue 20 Dec 2016 20:00
- Thu 22 Dec 2016 01:35
- Wed 4 Oct 2017 13:00大象传媒 Two Scotland
- Wed 4 Oct 2017 14:45大象传媒 Two except Scotland
- Wed 29 Nov 2017 20:00
- Thu 30 Nov 2017 01:55
- Wed 19 Sep 2018 20:00
- Thu 20 Sep 2018 02:30
- Sat 9 May 2020 20:00
- Sun 10 May 2020 02:35
- Thu 15 Oct 2020 22:15
- Fri 16 Oct 2020 02:45
- Thu 20 Jan 2022 23:50
- Sat 22 Jul 2023 20:00
- Mon 24 Jul 2023 01:35
- Sat 8 Jun 2024 19:00
- Sun 9 Jun 2024 02:30
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How the Wild West Was Won
Ray Mears explores how the wilderness of North America shaped the story of the Wild West