ACCOUNT OF THE VOYAGE OF THE URSULINES

TO NEW ORLEANS IN 1727.

[Translated by JOHN GILMARY SHEA from the edition of the original manu ..

script printed in Shea's Cramoisy Series, 1859.]

ON the 12th of January, 1727, all the religious destined to
found the monastery in Louisiana, assem bled in the Infirmary
of the Nuns at Hennohon to acknowledge as first Superior,
.Mother Mary Tranchepain of St. Augustine, who had been
confirmed in two letters of Mgr. the Bishop of Quebec-one
to Rev. Father Baubois, the other to that Mother. All the

professed nuns, one novice and two seculars, came to make
their su bmission to her according to their rank in profession,
as follows:

Sister Margaret Judde of St. John the ·Evangelist, professed
nun from the Rouen community.

Sister Marianne Boulanger of St. Angelica, from Rouen.
Sister Magdalen de Mahien of St. Francis Xavier, professed

of the Havre community.
Sister Renée Guiqnel of St. Mary, professed from Vannes.
Sister Margaret de Salaon of St. Teresa, from Plocrmel.
Sister Cecilia Cavalier of St. Joseph, professed from the

Elboeuf community.
Sister Marianne Dain of St. Martha, professed from the

Hennebon community.
Sister Mary Hachard of St. Stanislaus, novice.
Sister Claudia Massy, secular, choir.

Sister Anne, secular, Jay sister.
All the above-named religions came from France and

founded the Ursuline Monastery at New Orleans, August 7,
1 727. They were all professed members of the Paris congre­
gation, except Sister St. Mary, who belonged to that of Bor-

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2

-deanx, but who joined the others under condition of taking
the fourth vow, and conforming in all respects to the Paris rule.

'I'hey arrived at New Orleans in company with Fathers

"I'artarin and Doutrelcau, most worthy missionaries of the So­

.eiety of Jesus, after a painful voyage of five months, and they
would infallibly have perished but for the protection of the

Blessed Virgin and St. Francis Xavier, whom they invoked in

"all dangers. They came under the aùthorization of M'gr. John

de la Croix de Saint Vallier, Bishop of Quebec, who adminis-

-tered the diocese. The gentlemen of the
"

Compagnie des In-

-dos
'

were the founders, by the contract which they made with

Rev. Father Baubois, Vicar-General of Mgr. the Bishop of

Quebec, and Superior- General of the Louisiana missions.

This Reverend Jesuit Father, animated with zeal for the glory
.of God and the salvation of souls, came from New Orleans to

France to obtain an establishment of his order and of the

Ursuline N uns for the education of youth. God blessed his

good intentions by enabling him to succeed completely in his

.undertaking, notwithstanding a host of crosses and oppositions
which he had to suffer from the persons most necessary to his

work. But after a year's exertion by the Reverend Father

.and the Nuns, after a thousand impediments raised by the

Lord Bishops, who, having first approved the project, subse­

quently raised many difficulties, when it came to giving obedi­

ences to the Religious of their dioceses. On one occasion they
'were obliged to appeal to his Eminence Cardinal Fleury, .Min-

ister of State.
•

The" Compagnie des Indes" esteeming that the most solid

'basis of the colony of Louisiana is what tends to advance the

,glory of God and the edification of the people, such as the es­

tablishment ,of the Reverend Capuchin and Jesuit Fathers,

whose zeal and charity assure spiritual succor to the people,
.and inspire great hope of converting the Indians, and wish­

ing also by a new and pious establishment to relieve the sick

poor and at the same time provide for the education of youth,
welcomed and accepted the Ursuline Nuns.

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The Company agrees to support six Religious, including

the Superior; to pay their passage and that of four
servants

to attend them on the voyage; and moreover to pay
the pass:.

age of those who, for any reason, might desire
to return to

Franco.. It was agreed.lthat one of the Religious should be

Treasurer (Econome) of the Hospital, that she should
have

charge of all its temporal interests, and should present
her ac­

counts to the officers monthly; that two others should be con­

stantly in attendance on the sick; that there
should be one

for the poor-school, and another to act as assistant, to replace

the others in case of sickness, and relieve them when over­

tasked. When the Religious can do so conveniently, they

shall, if they deem it proper, take young ladies' as boarders,

but no one of the Sisters appointed to the care of the sick is

to be taken from that duty and assigned to the care and edu­

cation of the boarders.

On the 9th of August, 1727, the holy Sacrifice of the Mass

was offered for the first time in a hall of the house where we

were staying till the new monastery was built. They
deferred

placing the Blessed Sacrament there till October
5th in the

same year, when the little
tabernacle was prepared; and on

that day the Rev. Father Baubois, our most worthy Superior,

assigned to the care of the whole
-

community by Mgr. the

Bishop of Quebec, and acknowledged with the ordinary
cere­

monies, left us this precious deposit. He also confirmed Sis­

ter Mary Tranchepain of St. Augustine, as Superior.

RELATION OF THE VOYAGE OF TUE FOUNDRES8ES OF NEW ORLEANS,

WRITTEN TO THE URSULINES OF Fl{ANCE, BY THE FIRST SU­

PERIOR, MOTHER SAINT
AUGUSTINE.

After having spent some time with the good Ursulines of

--,
we embarked February 22, 172'7; but as the wind

shifted, it was decided not to set sail till next day. This gave

us time to arrange ourselves in our
little apartment, This

was a place that they had enclosed for us between decks; we



found ourselves somewhat cramped, but we had -it all to our­

selves, which gave us much pleasure.
We set sail, February 23d, at two o'clock in the afternoon;

the weather was beautiful, and we went 'on deck to enjoy the

air; but half a league from L'Orient we struck a rock; the

shock was severe and the alarm genera1. At the same time

the sails were furled. This being perceived from the har­

bor of L'Orient, they came to onr assistance, and exerted

themselves 80 vigorously that we were delivered from this

first fright, and enabled to keep on our way. Then each one

began to pay tribute to the sea. None of us escaped, and the

least sick were Sisters Boulanger and Hachard, who got off

with a slight nausea.

Meanwhile the winds changed and became dead against us.

The vessel was constantly tossing, and gave lurches that sent

lIS over each other. Scarcely was the soup on the table when

a pitch would upset it. These little accidents and others

made us la.ugh in spite of the seasickness which is a violent

diséase, and brings one almost to extremity: but when it is

known, no one takes alarm, for people do not die of it. I

was the one who suffered most: but that did not shake my

vocation: our Lord infuses something indescribable into all

we do for Him, that sweetens pain itself: my Sisters experi­
enced this even more than l did, because they deserved it more.

It was thus m'y eonsolation to see that in spite of discomfort,
'sickness cansed by our long voyage, in spite of encounters

with pirates, not one repented the sacrifice which she had

made to God of her whole being, or was troub1ed at the dan­

gers we ran. It was on one of these perilous occasions that we

made a vow to the Blessed Virgin and to Saint Francis Xavier,
in order to merit their protection.

Meanwhile our vessel made scarcely any progress, and in a

fortnight we sailed no further than 'Ne ought to have done in

three idays. Our provisions were running short, water espe­

cially: and we were limited like the crew to a pint a day, and

very 'wretched water at that. Our captain was forced to put

4



5

in at the Island of Madeira, three hundred leagues from Lori­
€nt. As soon as the chief city on that island discerned us, a
boat was sent to know what we wished. They were satisfied
and returned. Then the captain fired seven cannon to salute
the town, which answered in the same style. When those who
came to see us, reported that there was a Religious Community
()TI board and some Jesuit missionaries, as those Fathers have

a famous college in that city, they were not long in paying us
a visit, before our Reverend Fathers had time to anticipate
them. Nothing could be more gracious than these Fathers
were: only one among them spoke French, but be said a
thousand courteous things to us in the name of all. They
begged us to land and take up our abode with them, but we
thanked them. Our two Fathers went there the next day to

.dinc, and were received with all possible hospitality and mag­
nificence. We shared in their generosity, for they themselves

brought us large baskets full of all kinds of refreshments.

During the three days we spent in the harbor, these generous
Fathers paid us several visits, and every day they seemed to
find new pleasure in praising the zeal which had induced us
to undertake such a long voyage. The greatest regret, he said,
that they felt, was their iuability to render us greater service,

treating what they did as nothing compared to their good-will.
These Fathers wear large spectacles on the nose, in the Por­

tuguese style, and I noticed one who took his off in order to
read something, which made us laugh. Otherwise, their man­
ner is nearly that of our French Fathers, except that they
wear their hair short.

We also received a visit from all the pupils of the Jesuits :

they carry a rosary in their hands, which gives them a good
appearance; but for all that, we are told that they are not the
more devout. The most notable gentleman of the island paid
us a visit: but we did not see any ladies; in this country
they are not visible and are seen only behind gratings. They
never go out except to mass, and all together, so that they
form a kind of procession. They walk enveloped in great
veils, in silence or saying their beads.

.



6

There are two communities on this island.
The principal

one is of the order of St. Clare, and the Abbess
is a Portu­

guese princess. As they
have greater freedom than

secular

women, their
manners are consequently more easy. They soon

received inte1ligence of our arrival,
for the Abbess wrote me in

a most polite and flattering manner
to invite me and all my

religious to her convent. Her style
is very friendly, and she

lavished praises on DS. I replied as well
as I could, and she

received my letter with
all marks of esteem and friendship

that I could have desired from one of illy own equals.. The

next day a young woman from on board, going
to visit her in

my name, was
loaded with attentions and presents. 'I'hey re­

peated to her their pressing
invitation to induce us to visit

their convent; but not thinking that we ought
to do so, and

the crew having laid in the necessa.ry supplies,
we thanked

the city by firing a cannon, and
made £01' the high se'a to con­

tinue om voyage, The
wind was favorable only two days;

then it changed, and we were a long
time making 200 leagues,

at the end of which we descried a pirate. We immediately

made the ordinary preparations
for defense; each one armed

himself', and the cannons were
loaded. It was determined to

shut us up in the
safest part between decks during

the

action. Women bade farewell to their husbands.
.Mlle, La

Chaise, who wished to join us, wept bitterly
for fear of losing

her brother, who is one of the officers
of our vessel. As for

us, thanks be to our Lord, not
one of us showed any weak­

ness. After all, the pirate, seeing himself not strong enough,

stood off, and left us at liberty: a sad liberty
for nuns to be

on a vessel where it is impossible to have a moment to your­

self. However, we performed our spiritual exercises,
but amid

the dissipation that prevails among people
who think only of

amusing themsel ves to pass
the time, and this constituted

our greatest pain.
At last we reached the tropic. It was Good Friday,

and the

holiness of the day having prevented the baptismal ceremony

of which you have
doubtless heard, it was deferred till Satur-



7

day afternoon. I will not give you the details of this cere-'

mony, which is merely a diversion for the sailors, the more so as

yon cannot obtain exemption except by money, and as we

numbered more than twenty, including servants, those of the

Fathers as well as ours, we had a nice little sum to pay.

Those who were 'unwilling to give anything had several buck­

ets of water poured over them; but the great heat may have

made the bath agreeable.
Some days later we had a second alarm, by meeting a vessel

which followed us closely. We put ourselves on the defcns­

ive, and when the vessels came near each other', we were shut

up in the place assigned to us. As onr vessel was about to

fire, the enemy sheered off a little, which gave us time to get

supper. As the enemy was seen approaching from time to

time, a strict watch was kept an night: we went to sleep, ex­

pecting all the while that they would come to rouse ns. The

next day the enemy bore avvay, the sea continuing to excite

alarm, and so furious at times, that we expected to be swal­

lowed up. But we suffered most from the length of the voy­

age, sighing moro and more for that land 80 long and so

ardently desired, which made us redouble our prayers to ob­

tain more favorable weather. Our Lord sometimes granted
us several hours of favorable wind, and by the assistance of

this succor we reached Bay Saint Louis, where we were to

anchor. As there was no religions house and no person of

our acquaintance at that place, we intended to land only to

take a stroll, and to oversee the necessary clothes-washing.
Bnt the very evening of the day We anchored, the Directors

of the Oompany asked leave to pay us a visit, and declared .
that they wished us to lodge with them as long as the vessel

remained in the roadstead. \tVe COUld not resist such pressing
offers and promised to go there the next day. These two

gentlemen are perfect models of politeness and merit. They

g.we us one magnificent entertainment, and during the fort­

night we spent with them, we ate in private: that is to say,
with our Reverend Fathers only, and we were lavishly regaled ..



8

Two days after our arrival the Governor came to pay us a

visit. He is a Parisian gentleman, somewhat in years, but

enjoying good health, and of very courteous address. He
twice gave us dinner with French magnificence, and we had

complete liberty to perform onr spiritual exercises. This gen­
tleman manifested a great desire to have an establishment of

Ursulines in this country. The Directors of the Company
have the same desire in order to educate the young creole girls
who show much aptness. We must hope that we shall have a
house of our order in this country. I say this, incidentally,
in order to inflame some with zeal for the salvation of souls.

What happiness to burn with so noble a fire! The lack of

religion here ought to excite zeal: the most devout are those
whose 1ives are not scandalous. The day we dined at the
Governor's he wished us to visit the fort, situated on the

sea, and which, according to connoisseurs, is something rare in
'its way. We found two or three garrisons drawn up to
reeeive us under arms, the drums beating to do us greater
honor. Some refreshments were served to us.

At last we embarked on the 19th, loaded with courtesies
and presents: moreover, they offered us yarious refreshments,
to alleviate the rest of our voyage, which was 500 leagues more.

The wind, at first favorable, became contrary, and calms

greatly retarded our progress. We encountered two hostile

ships, but we escaped from them by making ready to engage.
Notwithstanding this misadventure, we hoped to reach port by
the feast of Corpus Christi, but our Lord reserved one more
trial for us to finish with, for the head winds, together with the

currents, drove us for all we could do on White Island, at the

very moment when we were impatiently expecting the pleas­
ure of beholding the first land in .Mississippi. We felt great
joy on approaching that land, but alas! how short was our

joy! and how dearly purchased. At the moment when we
least expected, when enjoying ourselves on deck, the vessel

suddenly struck so violently and repeatedly, that we thought
ourselves lost beyond all hope.



9

The captain and crew lowered the sails, and used many
manœuvres to extricate the vessel from its danger, but all was

useless, and by means of the lead we found that the ship was

five feet deep in the sand. The captain resolved to unload her.

They began by the cannon, which were fastened to two pieces of

wood 80 that they could not sink and they were committed to

the sea. Then the ballast, composed of stones, lead, and iron,
was removed. As all this did not lighten the vessel sufficient­

Iy, they decided to throw overboard the boxes, which were

ver.y numerons. Ours came first, so we had to make the first

sacrifice. We did not take long to deliberate, and cheerfully
consented to see ourselves deprived of everything in order to

practice stricter poverty. We had been assured that being so

near land, we need feel no fears for our lives; but we were to

1eave the ship only when it came to the worst, as the island is

inhabited only by very cruel Indians. At last, at the very
moment when we expected to see our boxes go over, the cap-.
tain changed his mind, and threw overboard the sugar, which

formed a large part of the cargo. Our Reverend Fathers and
we lost a cask of 300 pounds which the Directors of the Com­

pany had given us.

For all that the ship remained too heavy and they again
ta1ked of our boxes, but by the permission of God, and the

protection of the Blessed Virgin, whom we invoked during
all this time, every time they came to seize our trunks, the

captain changed his mind, and made them take something
else. Sixty barrels of brandy and a large quantity of salmon
were then thrown over, after which renewed efforts were
made to get the ship off. They succeeded at last, which filled
us with great joy. This peril lasted twenty-four hours, and
few persons retired to sleep that night.

A few hours afterward we resumed our route, but we had

not gone a quarter of a league before the vessel struck agaiI
with such violent and repeated shocks, that we had no hope
left except in God's almighty power. Even the captain wa

quite astonished to see the ship hold together so long: and he

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10

declared that nine out of ten would have gone to pieces. The
crew were all in consternation. As for myself, I avow that I
never saw death so near, and although I was always hoping
in the succor of the Blessed Virgin, the alarm depicted on

every countenance led me to believe that our last hour had

corne. What gave me surest consolation was the magnanirnity
of my Sisters, who constantly maintained themselves in a spirit
of sacrifice, with surprising peace and calm. Bnt our Lord
was satisfied this time with our good-will, and gave His bless­

ing to the labors of the captain, and the efforts of the sailors
and passengers, who did not spare themselves on these occa­

sions. Rev. Father 'I'artarin was conspicuous. We were ex­
tricated from peril this time also, and the captain had the
" Te Deum" chanted in thanksgiving.

After this last danger, the boat always went ahead, and an
officer had the lead in hand, till we got into deep water.
Then we ran out of water. The heat was excessive: we suf­

fered greatly from thirst, and this made us exchange our wine
for water, but we could get it only bottle for bottle: and we
were fortunate to get it at that price. This lasted nearly two

weeks, for the winds and currents were almost constantly ad­

verse; so that we had to anchor several times a day. At last
we came in sight of a land unknown to us, and which we sup­
posed to be inhabited by savages, on account of the great fires.

blazing there. However, we sent a boat ashore for water.
Some hours after the boat left us, the wind became favora­

ble, and. the captain not wishing to lose the chance of making
headway, fired a gun to warn the officer to return, and at the
same time weighed anchor; but tbe officer taking the report
of the cannon for thunder, kept on toward land, leaving us in

great alarm, for the sea was furious; however, he came off

again next day. This island is called St. Rose. We remained
there three or four days awaiting a favorable wind.

Having set sail we continued our route, and after a few

days we descried Isle Dauphine, and at the same time a brig­
antine coming out to us. This sight filled us with joy, hoping ,

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11

to hear some news of our New Orleans. Our hope was not

vain, and we had the pleasure of seeing the brigantine reach

our side, the captain proving to be one of ours. He
asked to

pay his respects to us, and it was
from him that we first re­

ceived the intelligence from Rev. Father Baubois, who
'was

impatiently awaiting us, that our residence was
all ready to

receive us, and that they had begun to build our monastery.

I avow that it was the first exterior joy that I had tasted since'

we left France, and it was so deeply felt that it made me, as

well as our Sisters, forget all our past sufferings and hardships.

We kept on, attended by the brigantine, toward Isle
Dau­

phine, where we lay to, in order to obtain water, fearing
the

calms which are frequent in these parts.

·We had scarcely anchored when a favorable breeze sprang

up; we kept on to Balize, which we reached July 23, 1'727,

five months, day for day, from our departure. Balize is a

port at the mouth of the .Mississippi. Mr. Duverger, who
was

in command there for the Company, at once came to see us,

and offered us his house till we could obtain conveyances to

transport us to New Orleans. We accepted the offer so po­

litely made. We took a long boat with part of our baggage,
accompanied by Mr. Duverger, The weather was very l iad,

the boat overloaded, the sailors tipsy, and �e found ourselves

once more in imminent peri], from which we should not have

been extricated if Mr. Duverger had not put in at Cane

Island, near Balize. We had some difficulty in making land

on account of a contrary wind, and we ran the risk of passing

the night there among the men employed in building a fort

under Mr. Duverger's direction. But that gentleman sent

for periaguas, and we had to separate into two parties.
We

reached his house, and he treated us as well as he could, Mr.

Duverger is very generous, and although he is young and
un­

married, he leads a very correct and ver'y secluded life, inces­

santly devoted to the duties confided to him.. We remained

at his house till the 29th. Father 'I'artarin had gone on some

days before to inform Rev. Father Baubois of our arrival. It

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12

was an agreeable surprise, for our long voyage had alarmed
the whole country, and we were supposed to be lost. The

Rev. Father Baubois lost no time in sending for us, and being
unable to come in person on account of sickness, he assigned
that duty to Mr. Massy, the brother of our postulant. This

gentleman handed me two letters--one from Mr. Perrier,
commandant of Louisiana, and Kllight of St. Louis, and the

other from Mr. La Chaise, director-genera1. AU manifested

a great impatience to see us, and as the long boat was too

small to hold all our party we had to separate. I took the

periagua with our five youngest Sisters, accompanied by Rev.

Father Doutrelcau, Brother Cruey, and a gentleman. Our

other Sisters took the long boat with Mr. Massy, our two fol­

lowers, and two servants of the Reverend Fathers. This little

passage, which was only thirty leagues, was attended by in­

credible annoyance. As the long boat moved too slowly we

went on. We set ont on St. Ignatius' day, but we had to lie

to every night, and one hour before sunset, in order to have

timo to put up our mosquito nets, because you are attacked

by insects whose sting causes almost insupportable pain. -We

slept twice amid mud and water that fairly soaked us, and

our mattresses were almost always floating in the water. All

this tries ono at the time, but we are amply rewarded after­

ward by the pleasure we feel in each one's relating her little

adventures, and that we are utterly surprised at the strength
and courage which God gives on such occasions: a clear proof
that He never fails us, and that He does not permit us to be

tempted above our strength, always bestowing graces in pro­

portion to the trials He sends us.

The ardent desire we felt to reach our destination made us

endure our pains with great joy. When we came within

eight or ten leagues of New Orleans we began to see houses.

Then there was a competition where we should stop to enable

them to entertain us, and we were received everywhere with

a joy beyond all expression. Boarding scholars were promised
us from all sides, and some wished to confide the girls to us

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13

at once. We thus spent several days at varions plantations.

At last Rev. Father Tartarin, who had gone ahead,
returned

to inform us that Rev. Father Baubois was expecting us.
We

accordingly set out at three
o'clock in the morning, and ar­

rived on the 6th of August at five o'clock. Our
Sisters did

not arrive till the next day.
It would be too prolix and even useless to endeavor

to ex­

press the
varied sentiments of my heart on beholding

a

land for which I had sighed so many years. Yon
have too

much zeal, my Reverend Mother, to doubt
tbe excess of my

consolation on setting foot on land. We found
few people,

on account of the hour; and we made our way to Rev.
Father

Baubois' house, where we soon met hill}, coming
to us leaning

on a cane, on account
of his extreme feebleness. He looked

pale and reduced, but his
face was soon lighted up with the

joy he felt at seeing us.
He made us take a little rest, and

had an excellent breakfast served, which "vas often interrupted

by his friends, many of
whom came to pay us their respects.

About ten or eleven o'clock the Rev. Father took
us to our

abode. It is a house that the Oompany has hired, while wait­

ing for the completion of
our monastery. It is d}]'ectly at one

end of the town, and the hospital at the other.
We cannot,

therefore, assume the direction of it
till our monastery is fin­

ished. The settlers at New Orleans keep watch that we Iack

nothing; there is a rivalry
who shall send us most. This

generosity puts us under obligation
to them almost all. Among

our most devoted friends are the
Commandant and his wife,

who are persons full of merit, and very agreeable company.

This gentleman has acquired the respect
of the whole coun­

try, which he
traversed some months ago, and he has

succeeded

in appeasing the troubles which prevailed
in the city, We

also receive much politeness and courtesy from Mr.
La Chaise,

director-general of the Oompany;
he has refused us nothing

that we have asked so far. In a word, everything leads us to

hope that our establishment
will redound to the greater glory

of God; and that in time it will effect great good
for the sal-



vation of souls, which is our chief aim. For this we
need

prayers. I solicit
them from you, my Reverend Mother, and

hope that your zeal 'will obtain prayers
for us from all the com-

.munities of the order with which you are in correspondence.

_! earnestly hope that the perusal of this
letter may inflame

hearts with love for Jesus Christ, and prompt the Sisters,

whom He and His holy Mother have prepared for us,
to come

to our assistance. Let the long voyage and hardships we have

endured repel no one. Oh! if they only knew
how magnifi­

cently God rewards what we do for Him, they
would never

,take into account aU the hardships through
which they must

go. As far as possible we shall
take religious only of from

thirty to forty years ..
Rev. Father Baubois says mass for us every day, but does

not leave us the Blessed Sacrament. May God be ever praised

and adored throughout the earth,

I have the bonor to be, etc.,

SISTER MARY OF ST. AUGUSTINE TRANCHEPAIN

Superior.



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Syracuse, N. Y.

PAT, JAN. 21. 1908

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