A second greeting for Corps of Discovery

When Meriwether Lewis stepped off the keelboat at Cape Girardeau on Nov. 23, 1803, he wasn't greeted by a parade or a fife and drum corps that announced his arrival.

Instead, he went to the Red House hoping to meet with the trading post's owner, Don Louis Lorimier. Lewis had to wait for Lorimier to return from a horse race before the two could be introduced.

On a Sunday morning 200 years later, history was overlooked a bit so that Lewis and his Corps of Discovery could be properly welcomed to the city, as it is done in modern times -- with a parade and festivities.

Mix of old and new

The final day of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial visit in downtown Cape Girardeau was marked by a blend of 2003 and 1803.

A police car escorted the morning parade, which included a fife and drum corps, horse-drawn wagons and dozens of people dressed in 18th-century frontier clothing. The streets were lined with parked cars and the sidewalks were lined with spectators as the group walked from an encampment at Main and First streets down Main Street to the Red House Interpretive Center.

The parade was the highlight of the activities on the final day of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial visit to the city. Re-enactors with the Corps of Discovery arrived Friday for a weekend in Cape Girardeau. They leave this morning to head north up the Mississippi River.

Once the parade reached the Red House, Lewis met with Lorimier on the porch. Mayor Jay Knudtson, portraying Don Louis Lorimier, welcomed the Corps of Discovery to the city.

Scott Mandrell, who portrays Lewis, said the explorer had an enjoyable visit to the city. His journal entry -- more than 1,500 words and one of the longer passages -- spoke of the growing city, the lay of the land, a horse race, gambling and Lorimier's Revolutionary War experience with the brother of William Clark.

Clark's brother burned down Lorimier's trading post in Ohio. Clark didn't want to greet Lorimier for fear it would bring back bad memories. So he stayed behind with the boats while Lewis greeted the trader.

"This was a memorable stop 200 years ago," said Mandrell. In his journal, Lewis wrote about the eclectic group of people who had already settled in the area.

Diversity helped make this country strong and will be what sustains it, Mandrell said. A Clayton, Mo., teacher, he is one of six re-enactors who will make the entire journey west as part of the St. Charles Corps of Discovery.

Re-enactors wearing period dress milled about the Red House greeting visitors and answering questions about the corps and the Louisiana Territory frontier.

Many spectators stopped to have photographs taken with the re-enactors, particularly Mandrell and his companion, Seaman. Seaman was the dog that made the trip with the explorers.

Docents offered tours of the Red House trading post, concerts were offered at Old St. Vincent's Church and demonstrators showed their crafts to anyone who might pass by on the downtown sidewalks.

Dancing in the street

The porch of the Red House served as a stage for a dual performance by the Central High School orchestra and the Musical Corps of Discovery.

While the orchestra played "Soldier's Joy," middle school students danced a reel on the street, until rain forced them to cancel early.

Every Tuesday since early October the students have had a lesson about Lewis and Clark ranging from cooking to music, said teacher Pam Dumey.

Eric Walter, a sixth-grader, said the group had practiced for about two weeks for their performance but only peformed one dance.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

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