CAIRO, Ill. -- President Clinton's tour through Southern Illinois wasn't about putting out a message; it was about meeting people and making history.

Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Hillary Clinton and Tipper Gore left Cape Girardeau about 5 p.m. Friday at the head of a lumbering convoy of 11 buses. They weaved their way through Cape Girardeau, waved on by hundreds of people, to the Mississippi River bridge and headed down to Cairo.

Along the way, Clinton called for two impromptu stops: one at Thebes and the other at Olive Branch. He didn't address the 150 or so people at Thebes who were clustered at the base of a short hill alongside the highway. Without fanfare, Clinton and Gore stepped from the bus, waved to the cheering crowd and commenced shaking hands with those along the fence.

On a historic journey through an area that is not a regular stomping ground for presidents and presidential candidates, Clinton added another notch in local history with his visit to Thebes. It is rumored that Abraham Lincoln visited Thebes around 1858, when he was a candidate for Senate. That is Thebes' and its courthouse's claim to fame.

Clinton approached the 300 or so gathered at the fire station in Olive Branch in the same way. Without introduction or a band playing "Hail to the Chief," the president and vice president quietly conversed and shook hands with those they could.

Clinton is noted for his enthusiasm for hand-shaking and his willingness to stop for a moment and talk or answer questions. That willingness delayed the scheduled arrival of the president's bus tour by more than an hour and a half into Cairo.

The thousands who waited seemed willing to forgive the president's tardiness and cheered enthusiastically as he, Gore, U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, Mrs. Gore and Mrs. Clinton walked from their bus to the podium on Sycamore Street facing the Cairo Public Library. Gore introduced Clinton much the same way he had in Cape Girardeau. And Clinton presented much the same speech as he had given earlier in the day at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau.

Simon was the only real exception: He was introduced by the president and addressed the crowd briefly.

"In all my years, I've never had a U.S. president introduce me before," Simon said.

When the speeches were over, Clinton and Gore made their way to the crowd and spent the next 10 minutes shaking hands.

Many of the Cairo citizens at the event held their children up to the president. More than one girl whose hand was touched by the president squealed, giggled or clutched their hands together.

The president's stop in Cairo was brief compared to Cape Girardeau, but he was there long enough for lasting memories in a town that had not been visited by a sitting president since 1909.