10 Jul Cape Girardeau, MO

This post is based primarily on Don's notes, occasionally supplemented with MT's notes from our cruise in July 2025. When information from other sources is added—for further explanation to readers or to satisfy our own curiosity—that is set off in a text box (as this one).
Most of the photos that accompany this post are from Don’s camera (with a caption indicating the time it was taken); those from MT’s iPhone are indicated by “MT” placed at the beginning of the photo caption. Photos from any other source (such as the public domain Wikimedia Commons), occasionally used for clarification, indicate that source in the caption.

The Viking Daily newsletter showed today's weather forecast as "Partly Sunny 89° F" and "Sunrise: 5:45 AM | Sunset: 8:20 PM."

Don woke at 6:30 am (MT already up).

At 7:30, we went to the River Cafè (Deck 5) for breakfast.

Around 8:00, we went for a walk around Deck 1 and played cornhole at the bow. As we approached Cape Girardeau, we saw the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge.

MT Thursday, July 10, ‎2025, 8:19 AM - Mississippi River: Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge at Cape Girardeau.

The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge* across the Mississippi River between Cape Girardeau, MO and East Cape Girardeau, IL. It is named after Bill Emerson, a US congressman from Missouri from 1981 until his death in 1996. Planning for the four-lane bridge began in 1987, and construction began in 1996. The bridge opened in 2003 just south of its predecessor, the Cape Girardeau Bridge, which was demolished in 2004.
* A cable-stayed bridge has one or more towers (or pylons), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the stays (cables) that run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern or a series of parallel lines. This is in contrast to the suspension bridge, where the cables supporting the deck are suspended vertically from the main cables, which run between the towers and are anchored at both ends of the bridge.

MT 8:29 AM - Mississippi River: Don on Deck 1 with Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge in background.

The Viking Daily newsletter said we would dock at Cape Girardeau, MO at 10:00.

Cape Girardeau, Missouri (colloquially referred to as “Cape”) is a city (pop. 39,540) in Cape Girardeau County and a sliver of Scott County in southeastern Missouri.
The city is named after Jean Baptiste de Girardot, a French soldier and trader in the French colony of La Louisiane who established a temporary trading post in the area around 1733. The “Cape” in the city name referred to a rocky promontory overlooking the Mississippi River which was later destroyed by railroad construction. As early as 1765, a bend in the Mississippi River, about 60 miles south of the French village of Ste. Genevieve had been referred to as Cape Girardot or Girardeau (both pronounced the same in French.)
The settlement of Girardeau is said to date from 1793, when the then-Spanish government of Louisiana granted Louis Lorimier, a French-Canadian, the right to establish a trading post, giving him privileges of trading with the indigenous peoples. Lorimier was made commandant of a large district surrounding his post.
In 1799, American settlers founded the first English school west of the Mississippi in Cape Girardeau. The town of Cape Girardeau was incorporated in 1808 and reincorporated as a city in 1843. The advent of the steamboat in 1835 and related river trade stimulated the development if Cape Girardeau was the biggest port on the Mississippi between St. Louis, MO and Memphis, TN. Today, it remains the largest city between St. Louis and Memphis.

MT 9:27 AM - Cape Girardeau: the Mississippi Riverfront Mural on the river side of the floodwall greets visitors with "[Welcome to] Cape Girardeau, Missouri" (panorama).

9:31 AM - Cape Girardeau: "Welcome to Cape Girardeau, Missouri" mural on floodwall (panorama).

9:31 AM - Cape Girardeau: "Cape Girardeau" part of mural on floodwall.

9:32 AM - Cape Girardeau: "Missouri" part of mural, with gangway from ship and open gate in floodwall.

9:41 AM - Cape Girardeau: map showing Cape Girardeau between St. Louis and Memphis on floodwall near tent for city's visitor services (not yet manned) and gate.

Since we did not have a shore excursion until 1:30, we did our own unguided tour of the historic downtown.

 

9:48 AM - Cape Girardeau:  at left is the Old Hecht Department Store building on Main St, near the corner with Themis (telephoto 79 mm).

Hecht’s Department Store closed in 2004 after 86 years. It was the second oldest building on Main Street.  Hecht’s was the leading independent clothing retailer in Cape Girardeau from 1917 until 2004, when it closed because the local family managing it retired. It is unclear whether it was  related to the Hecht’s chain of department stores. From 2007 to 2012, the building was occupied by bars and clubs. 

(Hecht’s was a department store chain founded in 1857. It was headquartered in Washington, DC and operated in Mid-Atlantic and Southern US. In 1959, the chain was acquired by the May Department Stores Company, which itself was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 2005. In 2006, Hecht’s was dissolved in favor of the Federated-owned Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s brands.)

9:49 AM - Cape Girardeau:  front view of Old Hecht Department Store building near corner of Main and Themis.

9:49 AM - Cape Girardeau:  street sign at the intersection of Main and Themis; Don took this photo to help identify that building as near this corner.

9:54 AM - Cape Girardeau:  part of the Missouri Wall of Fame mural on the inside of the floodwall; the building in the foreground has a sign "Welcome to Old Town Cape - Boardman Pavilion."

The John Boardman Pavilion on Main St. is a focal point of Cape Girardeau’s riverfront for both residents and visitors. It offers picturesque views of the Mississippi River and frequently hosts community events, including live music, festivals, and markets. The pavilion is named for John L.E. Boardman (1926-1999), a local architect known for his contributions to the architectural landscape of Southeast Missouri.
 
The Missouri Wall of Fame is a 500-ft-long mural on the floodwall, painted in 1995. It contains 45 panels with 47 famous people who were born in Missouri or achieved fame while living there, including Scott Joplin, Mark Twain, Walter Cronkite, Betty Grable, John J. Pershing, and Ginger Rogers.

9:54 AM (Cropped) - Cape Girardeau:  part of the Missouri Wall of Fame mural on the inside of the floodwall.

9:57 AM - Cape Girardeau:  B'nai Israel Synagogue.

The B’Nai Israel Synagogue on South Main St. is a former Jewish synagogue. It was built in 1937 in the Spanish Colonial style with some Islamic influences. It later housed a nondenominational Christian church called Lighthouse Cape and is now occupied by Riverside Pottery, although it is still owned by Lighthouse United.

9:59 AM - Cape Girardeau:  B'nai Israel Synagogue, with bronze plaque to right of door and sign out front for Riverside Pottery.

9:58 AM - Cape Girardeau:  B'nai Israel Synagogue - bronze plaque to right of door reads as follows:

"B'nai Israel Synagogue

"This building was constructed in 1937 by the Hecht family, the Jewish community and local support from business and individuals alike. This synagogue served all of Southeast Missouri's Jewish citizens. With its Islamic influences, ceramic glazed tiles & a dome rotunda, this building has served a vital role in Cape Girardeau's history. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

9:59 AM - Cape Girardeau:  Old St. Vincent's Catholic Church.

10:01 AM - Cape Girardeau:  sign for "Welcome to Old St. Vincent's Catholic Church, Built 1853, Celebrating  179 Years" (telephoto 93 mm).

10:01 AM - Cape Girardeau:  Old St. Vincent's Catholic Church - MT on steps.

MT 9:59 AM - Cape Girardeau:  Old St. Vincent's Catholic Church - Don, with city map, on steps. 

10:02 AM - Cape Girardeau:  Old St. Vincent's Catholic Church - bronze plaque reads as follows:

"1838 - 1982

"Old St. Vincent's Church

"On this site in 1833, Father John Timon, a Vincentian priest, celebrated mass in a warehouse of Don Louis Lorimier.

"The first St. Vincent's Church, constructed in 1838, was destroyed by tornado in 1850. Re-built a year later, the foundation of the present English Gothic church is stone from the original building.

"Declared a chapel of ease in 1977, Old St. Vincent's Church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and has remained a place of worship since Father Timon came to this spot in 1833."

10:11 AM - Cape Girardeau:  sign for "Red House Interpretive Center."

The Red House Interpretive Center is located just off Main St. on Aquamsi St. in the historic downtown of Cape Girardeau. Originally built in 1797 by settlement founder and French-Canadian Louis Lorimier, the structure overlooks the Mississippi River. Although the original building was destroyed by a tornado in 1850, it was rebuilt in 2003 using the poteaux-sur-solle (post-on-sill) technique once favored by French settlers.
In the early 19th century, the “red house” was the best-known trading post between St. Louis and Memphis. Aside from being Lorimier’s home, it also served the settlement as a center of government for the area. In 1803, Lewis and Clark stopped to visit with Lorimier’s family and purchase supplies for their expedition.
The reconstructed house has exhibits depicting the lives of the area’s early settlers. Visitors can peruse 19th-century merchandise in Lorimier’s Trading Post or visit the Lorimier Room to see how a home of this period may have been decorated. In the Girardeau Room, a large map of the territory under control of Don Louis Lorimier for the Spanish Government is on display.

10:10 AM - Cape Girardeau:  sign outside the Red House for "The Lewis and Clark Expedition Across Missouri." The text describes the visit of Lewis and Clark as "an official visit to Commandant Lorimier" at his residence known as the 'Red House.'"

10:11 AM - Cape Girardeau:  plaque outside the Red House for "George Douillard" placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution; the text reads as follows:

"George Drouillard was chief hunter and interpreter on the Lewis and Clark Expedition Corps of Discovery. He was the son of a Frenchman and Shawnee woman as well as nephew of Louis Lorimier, Commandant of the Cape Girardeau District. Drouillard lived and bred horses in the Cape Girardeau area. Meriwether Lewis described him as: 'A man of much merit; he has been particularly useful from his knowledge of the common language of gesticulation, and his uncommon skill as a hunter and woodsman; those several duties he performed in good faith and with an ardor which deserves the highest commendation.'"

10:12 AM - Cape Girardeau:  Red House - exterior.

10:15 AM - Cape Girardeau:  Red House - Lorimier Room, living/dining room.

MT 10:11 AM - Cape Girardeau:  Red House - Girardeau Room, sign about "Lewis and Clark in Cape Girardeau."

10:16 AM - Cape Girardeau:  Red House - Girardeau Room, sign about "Lewis and Clark in Cape Girardeau."

10:16 AM (Cropped) - Cape Girardeau:  Red House - upper right on that sign (not fully visible in MT's photo); the caption of the drawing reads as follows: "Major Brook's sketch of the Red House based on Sarah Bollinger Daugherty's recollection."

Sarah Bollinger Frizel Daugherty (1799-1882) married Joseph Frizel in Cape Girardeau in 1819 and, after he died in 1823, married William Dougherty in 1825, also in Cape Girardeau, where she is buried.

10:18 AM - Cape Girardeau:  Red House - Girardeau Room, sign about "The Trail of Tears"; Cape Girardeau is shown near where the southernmost branch of the trail made a turn to the southwest; the text reads as follows:

"Despite a strong Cherokee presence in Missouri for nearly 100 years, Cherokee numbers were strengthened in the mid-1800s by sizeable numbers of Cherokee who dropped off the Trail of Tears as it passed through Missouri in 1838-39.

"Many tired or ill people were taken in by local Cherokee families and remained in the area of Missouri. Although forced by law to hide their ancestry, they were able to buy land which resembled their homelands in the Smokey Mountains."

MT 10:14  AM - Cape Girardeau:  Red House - Girardeau Room, sign about "Native Peoples of the Cape Girardeau Area."

10:19 AM - Cape Girardeau:  Red House - Girardeau Room, sign about "African Americans in the Cape Girardeau District"; text at upper left reads as follows: 

"According to the General Census of 1800, there were 111 slaves living in the District of Cape Girardeau, a number which grew to 180 by 1803."; the sign includes posters about slaves for sale and rewards for runaway slaves.

10:30 AM (Cropped) - Cape Girardeau:  more of the Missouri Wall of Fame murals as we walked back toward the Boardman Pavilion (at left).

10:35 AM - Cape Girardeau:  back at the corner of Main and Themis, where we turned left on Themis toward what looked like another church but turned out to be the City Hall.

10:36 AM - Cape Girardeau:  view up Themis St. toward City Hall.

 

Court of Common Pleas (By Larry J. Summary Cape Girardeau, MO Own Work  at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CommonPleasCourt.JPG).

 
The Cape Girardeau Court of Common Pleas, high on a terraced hill, was built in 1854 in the Federalist style. It is a two-story brick building on a limestone foundation, with a hipped roof and cupola. Additions made in 1888 added Classical Revival elements including a pedimented portico. Another addition was constructed in 1959. In 2010 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It served as the Union headquarters when the city was under martial law. In 1864, a rebel guerrilla captured by Union forces who was being held in the dungeon of the building’s basement was lynched and hanged. It is still in use by the Cape Girardeau County Courts.
 
City Hall is on North Lorimier St. where it intersects with Themis. It is physically a combination of historic places including the Common Pleas Courthouse, Carnegie Library, and Ivers Square.

10:38 AM - Cape Girardeau: historical marker, in front of Courthouse, for "Grant in Southeast Missouri," a part of "Missouri's Civil War 1861-1865."; the text reads as follows:

"Southeast Missouri was where Ulysses S. Grant, the nation's eighteenth president, began his rise to prominence as a soldier. This story began in mid-August, 1861, at Ironton, Missouri, 70 miles west of Cape Girardeau via Missouri Highway 72. Grant arrived in 'the Cape' on August 30, 1862,  a newly commissioned brigadier general of volunteers commanding the Union District of Southeast Missouri. It was here that General Grant launched his historic campaign to control the Mississippi River.

"After serving in Ironton, where he received his commission, and briefly serving in Jefferson City, Grant was summoned to Army Headquarters in St. Louis on August 28, 1861. Historians disagree, still, on the circumstances. According to one eyewitness, Grant was ordered to report to St. Louis for reassignment and was 'discovered' waiting in the basement during a senior staff meeting. According to this version, it so happened that Union Major General John C. Fremont and staff were discussing candidates to lead an offensive from Southeast Missouri. Perhaps Grant was selected to fill this post because Fremont realized he was the most senior of the new Illinois brigadiers.

"After assembling a staff, General Grant boarded a steamboat in St. Louis on August 30, 1861 and arrived that evening to take command in Cape Girardeau. He took lodging most likely in the St. Charles Hotel, which stood at the southwest corner of Themis and Main Streets, a half bock east of where you are standing. One of Grant's first acts was to order Union regiments stationed in the interior at Ironton to march to meet him in Cape to prepare for offensive operations. In the next days, those regiments (among them the 17th and 24th Illinois regiments, and the 7th Iowa) marched to meet Grant. The arrival of these troops, on September 2, was the occasion for a dispute between Grant and General Benjamin Prentiss of Illinois (see right-side story).

"Grant moved his headquarters to Cairo, Illinois, on September 4, 1861. Then, on the evening of September 5, Grant engineered a movement upon Paducah, Kentucky, an immediate response to the decision by the Confederate army to enter Kentucky despite that state's declared neutrality in the early months of the Civil War. On the next day, only a week after taking command in Cape Girardeau, Grant with a small force occupied the City of Paducah.

"Grant returned to Cape Girardeau on September 7, 1861, to see the disposition of troops that were still stationed here.

"Ulysses Grant's last campaign in southeast Missouri was launched from Cairo on November 7, 1861. After dispatching Union troops to Sikeston (in Scott County) and Bloomfield (in Soddard County), Grant attacked Belmont, Missouri, in Mississippi County on November 7, the first battle of the Civil War in which the future lieutenant general commanded troops in the field. He would move from Cairo to Fort Donelson, Tennessee, in January, 1862, then to Shiloh and into the pages of history."

[The hard-to-read story at the right is about "A Question of Rank," a dispute between Grant and Prentiss, who were both  commissioned and appointed brigadier generals on August 7, 1861. On August 17, Prentiss arrived at Grant's position and, believing himself to be the senior officer, asserted his right to command. Rather than provoke a fight, Grant temporarily gave up command and went to St. Louis to consult with General John C. Fremont, the head of the Department of the West. Army regulations stipulated that ties in commission date were to be broken by an officer's previous rank in the regular army. Since Grant had served as a captain in the regular army and Prentiss had only served in the militia, Fremont confirmed that Grant was he senior officer and gave him his new command. Despite this early tension, Prentiss later served under Grant again and earned his respect during the Battle of Shiloh in 1862.]

10:41 AM - Cape Girardeau:  Coca-Cola Mural.

 

The Coca-Cola Mural on the side of the Port Cape Girardeau building at the corner of Water St. and Themis St. was painted around 1940 and rediscovered in 1978 when the building underwent sandblasting. A restoration in 2023 updated the mural, preserving its original elements while giving it a fresh coat of paint.

10:41 AM (Cropped) - Cape Girardeau:  more of Missouri Wall of Fame Mural to the north.

10:42 AM (Cropped) - Cape Girardeau:  more of Missouri Wall of Fame Mural, looking back to the south.

MT 10:42 AM - Cape Girardeau:  post by gate in floodwall, with markers for flood levels in various years and Viking Mississippi visible through the gate (telephoto 65 mm).

10:44 AM - Cape Girardeau:  "Grant vs. Prentiss" on Missouri Wall of Fame Mural.

10:44 AM - Cape Girardeau: sign about three scene from the "Civil War" on Missouri Wall of Fame Mural, with "Grant vs. Prentiss" at the right; the text for this mural reads as follows:

"Cape Girardeau became a fortified and occupied community during the Civil War. Newly appointed Brigadier Generals ULYSSES S. GRANT and BENJAMIN PRENTISS reached Cape Girardeau on the same day with conflicting orders of command. This image recounts a HEATED ARGUMENT the two generals had over rank. A shouting match took place in which Grant emerged the winner. Prentiss returned to St. Louis while Grant went on to the Battle of Vicksburg, MS, as well as Shiloh and Chattanooga, TN, and later became President."

MT 10:40 AM - Cape Girardeau:  closer view of "Grant vs. Prentiss" on Missouri Wall of Fame Mural (mild telephoto 42 mm)

10:45 AM - Cape Girardeau: mural and sign about "St. Vincent's" and "Mark Twain" on Missouri Wall of Fame Mural; the text for this mural reads as follows:

"St. Vincent's Young Ladies Academy

"In 1839, St. Vincent's Young Ladies Academy was founded in Cape Girardeau by the Sisters of Loretto as a school for young women. It was ONE OF THE FIRST of its kind west of the Mississippi River. Prior to closing in 1923, thousands of young ladies were educated at this Academy."

"St. Vincent's Seminary

"St. Vincent's Male Academy was founded in 1838 and later evolved into St. Vincent's Seminary. In 1858, the Seminary changed its mission to training young men for the priesthood. Here, young men from across the nation as well as Europe earned the equivalent of a high school education in preparation for advancement to St. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville, MO, and Vincentian priesthood.

"... This building is now part of Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus  located just four blocks south of this panel."

The column about "Mark Twain" at the right reads as follows:

" 'Cape Girardeau is situated on a hillside and makes a handsome appearance ... There was another college higher up an airy summit--a bright new edifice, picturesquely and peculiarly towered and pinnacled--a sort of gigantic caster, with the cruet all complete. " 'Uncle Mumford said that Cape Girardeau was the Athens of Missouri and contained several colleges.'

--An excerpt from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain.

"On his journey down river, Twain was describing the Third District Normal School, later known as Southeast Missouri State University."

The painting above this sign shows a nun teaching a small girl to do cross stitch and a large cross stitch that says "St.Vincents [sic] Young Ladies Aca[demy]" and the poem 

"Oh that my heart might dwell alloof[sic]

From all created things

And learn the wisdom from above

Whence true contentment springs."

MT 10:44 AM (VIDEO) - Cape Girardeau:  tent with musicians outside the gate in the floodwall and the other tent  by the gate that we had seen  as our ship arrived and where the tourism office had later given us a map of the city as we came ashore.

At 11:30, we went to the River Cafè (Deck 5) for lunch.

At 1:15, we went to the Living Room (Deck 1) meeting place for the "Trail of Tears" shore excursion, which would start at 1:30.

1:30 PM - Cape Girardeau:  Shore excursion ticket for "Trail of Tears," which was not collected by the guide or driver this time.

On the list of available shore excursions for the new itinerary, the (included) shore excursion “Trail of Tears” was described as follows:
“Gain insight into the somber circumstances surrounding an infamous part of American history, the Trail of Tears. You will travel by motor coach to the Trail of Tears State Park. Established in 1957, it is a memorial to the thousands of members of the Cherokee nation who perished during the arduous forced removal from their ancestral lands in the eastern US during the 1830s. At the visitor center, learn more about the park’s purpose, watch a poignant video about Indigenous American removal and explore exhibits that detail the removal’s impact and the park’s natural history. Later, board your coach for a panoramic tour to important sites within the park, including Moccasin Springs Road and the commemorative Bushyhead Memorial, culminating in a stop at a scenic lookout overseeing the Mississippi River. Afterward, transfer to your awaiting ship.”
 
A Missouri State Parks brochure says, in part: “The 3,415-acre park is a Trail of Tears National Historic Trails certified site containing a section of the original removal route. “Nine of the 13 Cherokee detachments being forcibly relocated to Oklahoma crossed the Mississippi River at the location of the park during harsh winter conditions in 1838 and 1839. Thousands lost their lives in the forced relocation. Research shows that Nancy Bushyhead Walker Hildebrand died and was buried within the park’s boundaries. The Bushyhead Memorial is a tribute to all the Cherokee who died on the trail.”

2:23 PM - Trail of Tears State Park Visitor Center: sign for "The Natural History of Trail of Tears State Park" (pointing to the left)

and "The Cherokee Trail of Tears" (to the right), with text that reads as follows:

"Many Cherokees suffered and died as they were forced to move west along what came to be known as the 'Trail of Tears.' Some of the Cherokee emigrants crossed the Mississippi River near the Trail of Tears State Park and Cherokee families once camped on what became park lands."

2:44 PM - Trail of Tears State Park Visitor Center: wagon of the type used on the relocation.

2:45 PM - Trail of Tears State Park Visitor Center: display about "Gold in Georgia," about the discovery of gold in Cherokee Territory; pictured, left to right, are: Elias Boudinot, Rev. Samuel Austin Worcester, John Marshall, and Andrew Jackson.

The discovery of gold in Georgia in 1828 led to the Georgia Gold Rush. When gold was discovered in Carroll County, Georgia in 1830, much of the land on which the gold was found was under the control of the Cherokee. During the rapid influx of prospectors and settlers, tensions with the Cherokee increased.  The culmination of tensions between the Cherokees and various states, including Georgia, led to the forced migration of Native Americans, later known as the Trail of Tears.
 
Elias Boudinot (1802-1839), member of a prominent family, with parents of mixed Cherokee and European ancestry, was born and grew up in Cherokee territory, now part of present-day Georgia. He was educated at the foreign Mission School in Connecticut. He was a Cherokee advocate for American Indian rights and co-founder of the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper. He became one of several leaders who thought that acculturation was critical to Cherokee survival. Along with numerous other leading Cherokee, particularly those who had been educated outside the tribe, he thought that removal was inevitable in the face of the numbers of United States settlers encroaching on their lands. He and several allies, known as the Treaty Party signed the Treaty of New Echota in 1835, ceding the Cherokee Nation's ancestral land in exchange for territory in the west. Cession of tribal lands was adamantly opposed by John Ross, the Principal Chief, and the full-blood members of the tribe, who comprised the majority. After Removal, he and three other Treaty Party leaders were assassinated in 1839 in Park Hill, Cherokee Nation West (present-day Oklahoma) by members of the Ross faction, known as the National Party. He is buried in the Worcester Mission Cemetery in Park Hill.

Rev. Samuel Austin Worcester (1798-1859) was a missionary to the Cherokee and translator who co-founded the Cherokee Phoenix with Boudinot and was central to the Worcester v. Georgia Supreme Court case that protected Cherokee Sovereignty. Worcester left Georgia and moved to Indian Territory in 1838, in the period of Cherokee removal on the Trail of Tears.
 
Chief Justice John Marshall (1755-1835) presided over Worcester v. Georgia, ruling in 1832 in favor of the Cherokee Nation, defining that the federal government had an exclusive relationship with the Indian nations and recognizing the latter’s sovereignty. However, his decision was largely ignored by both President Andrew Jackson and Georgia Governor George Gilmer.
 
President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, was responsible for the Indian Removal Act, which led to the forced displacement of the Cherokee People on the Trail of Tears. Jackson had risen to fame as a US Army general and served in both houses of the US Congress before becoming president (1829-37). He was criticized for his racist policies, particularly toward Native Americans.

2:45 PM - Trail of Tears State Park Visitor Center: display about "The Cherokee Nation," with text that reads as follows:

"Before the middle of the 18th century, there was no Cherokee nation that spoke with a single political voice.

"The Cherokee nation was forged to conduct peaceful trade with colonial merchants, and to defend Cherokee territory against European settlers. On the eve of the American Revolution, a Cherokee national leadership emerged, including a tribal chief and a council of 'beloved elders' and warriors."

2:45 PM - Trail of Tears State Park Visitor Center: display about "Winfield Scott's Proclamation to the Cherokee People" and "The Treaty of New Echota," with photos of Gen. Winfield Scott (left) and General John Ellis Wool (right).

General Winfield Scott's Proclamation to the Cherokee People on May 10, 1838 was a direct order from the US President Martin Van Buren to the Cherokee people to forcibly relocate from their ancestral lands in the Southeast to West of the Mississippi River, as stipulated by the Treaty of New Echota, to which the vast majority of Cherokees had not agreed. That treaty, signed in 1835 between officials of the US and representatives of a minority Cherokee political faction, ceded the Cherokee Nation’s ancestral land in exchange for territory in the west. The proclamation issued by Scott as the commanding general to troops of the Eastern Division, Cherokee Agency was that this migration was to begin within the month of May.

General John Ellis Wool coordinated the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation following the Treaty of New Echota.

2:45 PM - Trail of Tears State Park Visitor Center: sign for "The Caravans Begin to Move," with text that reads as follows:

"The first contingents of 3,000 Cherokees began the move west in June 1838. Two thousand departed by water from Ross's landing near present day Chattanooga, Tennessee. Another thousand marched overland to Waterloo, Alabama, where they boarded keelboats and river steamboats to complete their journey to Indian Territory.

"[Parts of this second paragraph were obscured by a red line across the sign, representing the route.] Thirteen thousand Cherokees waited in the stockades for the severe summer drought to ease. The [rest] came late in September and [preparations] were completed for the journeys to the west to begin again. Chief Ross appointed [lead]ers to command 13 emigrating [contingents] of approximately 1,000 each. Separated by several days, the groups began to [???] the stockades one by one in October 1838."

2:46 PM - Trail of Tears State Park Visitor Center: sign showing more of the route "BY LAND ...," with text that reads in part "All 13 contingents [???] by Chief John Ross traveled overland from southeastern Tennessee, and [???] and across the southern tip of Illinois to the Mississippi River, which was [???] of Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.

"The [main route?] through Missouri was through [???] Farmington, Caledonia, and on to Steelville and [???] Springfield, then across the corner of  Arkansas [???]."

and "... AND BY WATER," with text that includes "water route up the Tennessee River [???] to the Ohio, then downstream [.???] the Mississippi, continuing downstream to the Arkansas River. [???] "to [Indian Territory?]."

2:46 PM - Trail of Tears State Park Visitor Center: sign for "Crossing the River," with text that reads, in part, as follows:

"The [???] Cherokee contingents reached the Mississippi late in the fall and crossed [the wide river?] at two spots. One crossing was made [directly?] opposite the location of the Trail of Tears State Park. The other crossing was about ten miles down river opposite Cape Girardeau.

"Safely upon he Missouri side, some of the Cherokee camped at Moccasin Springs, which is now in the state park. They waited until all of the group gathered in Missouri before continuing the journey west. The contingent led by Reverend Jessy Bushyhead was halted at the river crossing for more than a month."

At the upper left is a sign for "Princess Otahki" and one at the bottom left is for "Through Jackson." The texts of both are too hard to read.

Then we got back on the bus for what the excursion summary called "a panoramic tour to important sites within the park."

3:20 PM - Trail of Tears State Park: Don with sign for "Mississippi River Scenic Overlook."

3:24 PM - Trail of Tears State Park: sign for "Mississippi River Scenic Overlook," with historical marker at right.

3:24 PM - Trail of Tears State Park: historical marker for "Father Jacques Marquette 1673-1973 [sic! this may be the dates of the expedition and its tercentenary, rather than his birth and death, 1637-1675]," with text that reads as follows:

"In 1672 Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette were commissioned by King Louis XIV to discover the course of the Mississippi River. On June 17, 1673, the expedition entered the Mississippi from the Wisconsin River and began is descent by canoe.

"On July 4, 1673, the seven-man expedition passed the mouth of the turbulent Missouri River and later observed the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi. Upon reaching an Arkansas Indian village near present Helena, July 17, they were certain that the Mississippi River flowed into the Gulf of Mexico. Fearful of the Spanish if they continued southward, at this point Father Marquette and Joliet turned back.

"A dedicated and gentle priest, Father Marquette first brought the word of God into the Mississippi Valley, gave the world an account of its lands and, with Joliet, laid the basis for France's claim to the area.

"Born at Laon, France, June 1, 1637, Father Marquette died April 18, 1675, on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan from the hardships of his missionary life."

The sign says it was "Erected by the Missouri Marquette Tercentenary Commission September 15, 1968."

3:26 PM - Trail of Tears State Park: Mississippi River Scenic Overlook, with part of our group (MT in left foreground).

3:26 PM - Trail of Tears State Park: Mississippi River Scenic Overlook - sign for "The Lewis and Clark Expedition Across Missouri," with text that includes "The crew of the future Lewis and Clark Expedition passed this point on Nov 25, 1803."

3:27 PM - Trail of Tears State Park: Mississippi River Scenic Overlook - view of the river.

At this point, our tour guide told us about a white cross that had been erected on the other side of the river. The cross was hard to see in the distance, but Don tried several spots with the strongest telephoto setting on his camera.

3:29 PM - Trail of Tears State Park: Mississippi River Scenic Overlook - view of far bank of the river (telephoto 130 mm).

3:29 PM - Trail of Tears State Park: Mississippi River Scenic Overlook - same photo of far bank of the river (telephoto 130 mm, with red circle around the cross).

3:29 PM (Cropped) - Trail of Tears State Park: Mississippi River Scenic Overlook - same photo of far bank of the river (telephoto 130 mm, with red circle around the cross and cropped for further magnification).

At 4:10, we returned to the Viking Mississippi.

The Viking Daly newsletter said that all passengers should be back on board by 4:45, since the ship would depart at 5:00 for our next port in St. Louis, Missouri.

At 5:00, we went to the Living Room (Deck 1) for the Viking Explorer Society Party, where all guests were invited for a drink and toast (with champagne).

At 5:30, we stayed in the Living Room for the Daily Briefing, where Cruise Director Travis talked about the next day's excursions and events.

After that, we went back to our stateroom.

5:54 PM - Viking Mississippi: MT on our stateroom veranda (balcony) overlooking the 0 Mississippi.

At 6:00, we went to The Restaurant (Deck 1) for dinner.

At 7:15, we went to the Living Room (Deck 1) for "Evening Entertainment," a night of the blues with Ivas Dambrauskas, who was from Cape Girardeau.

MT 7:33 PM (VIDEO) - Viking Mississippi: Ivas Dambrauskas.

MT 7:43 PM (VIDEO) - Viking Mississippi: Ivas Dambrauskas.