One in a series

Lewis and Clark crew headed to St. Louis

The Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery reenactment crew is headed to St. Louis. With St. Louisan Scott Mandrell leading, the crew is scheduled to dock Friday, Dec. 12, at Hartford, Ill.

Clayton school teacher Mandrell is acting the part of Merriwether Lewis of the original Corps of Discovery crew. Mandrell has been on the road and river since last summer.

First, he rode a horse from Harper's Ferry, Va., to Pittsburgh to pick up the replica keelboat. From Pittsburgh, the party took the Monongahela and Ohio rivers to Cairo, Ill.

That's all downstream. But, since mid-November, the reenactors have been going upstream on the Mississippi.

When the original Lewis and Clark expedition made the trip 200 years ago, they used oars and poles to go upstream.

The current crew is getting a little help from technology. Both the keelboat and pirogue have motors.

But, the motors don't exactly make the upstream travel speedy. The keelboat's engine allows the crew to average just 3 to 5 mph.

Of course, the Mississippi River the reenactors are facing also has changed. Now, a series of locks and dams make the river deeper and current swifter to accommodate modern barge traffic.

Mandrell is on a leave of absence from Wydown Middle School to be Merriwether Lewis on the reenactment tour.

He said, "The most difficult part of the Ohio River trip was dealing with high water and heavy rainstorms." There were even storms left over from Hurricane Isabel.

On the Mississippi, it's the swift current and floating debris, he said.

For this reenactment, the biggest change in technology has been with communications. The group has satellite phone service and has a running trip diary on a special website.

Two other Clayton teachers are helping with communications. Tim Gore is the coordinator of the Lewis and Clark Education Initiative. He operates from St. Louis. Jim Strum is the technology coordinator traveling with the reenactors.

They use the satellite phone to stay in touch wherever the trip party is.

Along the way, the Discovery crew stops off to take part in Lewis and Clark celebrations. Also, they conduct video-conference classes. For instance, St. Louis school kids watched while Mandrell conducted a navigation class from Cairo, Ill.

(You can keep track of the Corps of Discovery reenactment tour via the internet. Apple Computer has provided a website at www.ali.apple.com/lewisandclark. On the site, Mandrell, Strum and Gore provide running accounts of the adventures.)

Also on the website are advance schedules for upcoming events.

For instance, you can log on now to get the schedule for the arrival weekend at Camp DuBois. After the arrival on December 12, there is a program of events on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 13-14.

The initial landing will be at the new Lewis and Clark Visitors Center in Hartford, Ill. That center also has a website at www.state.il.us/hpa or you can call (618) 251-5811.

From there, Mandrell will lead a troop of infantry reenactors north to where a replica of the Corps of Discovery winter camp is under construction. That's just across the river from where the Missouri River flows into the Mississippi.

The reenactors are going to winter there until May, 2004. That's when, 200 years previously, Lewis and Clark went to St. Charles for final outfitting for the westward expedition.

During this winter's encampment, the replica keelboat and pirogue will be taken to the new Lewis and Clark Boathouse and Nature Center in St. Charles. That center is built on stilts and the ground-floor is set up as a boat repair and storage area.

(You can learn more about the St. Charles center at www.lewisandclark.net.)

The keelboat and pirogue will undergo any repairs and refurbishing they need for the longer trip up the Missouri River and to the Pacific Ocean.

On the current Discovery trip, the role of William Clark is played by Bud Clark. He is a direct descendant of the original expedition co-leader.