Chronicles of Notre Dame du Lac
Edward Sorin, CSC -- Translated by John M. Toohey, CSC, 1895

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1842-1843

pg 49                         7.  Arrival of the Second Colony

F. Cointet,       The second colony started from Le Mans on May 27th, 1843, 
Marivault,   and was composed of Father F. Cointet, the Rev. Mr. Marivault, 
and Gouesse; priest, Mr. l'Abbe F. Gouesse for the Society of priests; Bro. 
One Brother  Eloi for the Brothers; and the following Sisters:  Mary of the 
and Four     Heart of Jesus, Mary of Bethlehem, Mary of Calvary, and Mary of 
Sisters.     Nazareth.
                  Their voyage was pleasant enough, although at times a little 
             disagreeable.  They reached Detroit towards the end of the first 
             week of July.  There they were near losing their leader, F. 
             Cointet.  He fell from balcony of the Bishop's residence, and 
             naturally could not be expected to get up alive, considering the 
             height and the hardness of the ground where the accident took 
             place.  But Providence seems even then to have special designs of 
             protection and love towards this zealous missionary.  The only 
             penalty he paid was to remain some weeks in Detroit to recover, 
             whilst at the same time he became known there and edified all 
             that had the opportunity to wait on him.
                  His travelling companions meanwhile continued their journey,  
             leaving Bro. Eloi and Sr. Mary of Calvary to take care of the 
             patient.  Their arrival at St. Mary of the Lake made a sensation 
             impossible to describe, both on those that were there already and 
             on the new arrivals.  This moment may serve as a point of 
             comparison to represent to themselves what they will one day 
             experience when they meet in heaven.
                  A single room was placed at the service of the priests, and 
             the Sisters had to themselves the ground floor below the chapel, 
             where they spent nearly two years.  Except for the fact that 
             there was only one window, and in consequence of the close 
             atmosphere there was a large stock of lice and bed-bugs, they 
             were in the language of the country, pretty comfortable.
                  This reinforcement would, if need had been, infuse new 
             courage into the old missionaries; but there was one circumstance 
             that was embarrassing: none of the three ecclesiastics had made a 
             novitiate.  That was the first thing to be attended to, but it 
             afforded no relief to F. Sorin; on the contrary, an additional 
             amount of work.  Moreover, the needs of the times were such that 
             it was out of the question for them to shut themselves up and