Our Catlwlic Heritage in T ezas
42
A frightful sight met their eyes when they reached Natchez on May 7. A furious hurricane had almost completely destroyed the old Creole city just before their arrival. Undaunted, Odin saw no evil portent in this catastrophe that seems to have been the forerunner of two months of hard luck. "A few days after our departure from Missouri we experienced in a remarkable manner the special protection of Providence," Odin wrote calmly, "in escaping almost miraculously from a frightful hurri- cane which caused great damage at Natchez. At the time when furious winds uprooted the mightiest oaks, overthrew the most solid structures, and sank steamships, we were but a quarter of a mile from the region visited by this devastating scourge. The tops of trees, carried by the winds, fell in front of our vessel; and we certainly would have been exposed to the greatest danger, had we not in the morning been forced to push back.. . . What a sad spectacle was presented to our view ... houses overturned, hundreds of boats and barges smashed or submerged; corpses lying here and there in the streets, or floating on the waters; men mutilated or buried under the waves." 16 Stopping long enough to give aid to the wounded and solace to the dying, the little band continued to New Orleans, where they arrived on May 12. Timon had instructed Odin to outfit the party at New Orleans. For this purpose he was to collect from alumni tuition fees due St. Mary of the Barrens College, overdue assessments on Assumption and Ascension parishes, and stipends for Masses, and to solicit gifts and good-will offerings. But the ardent missionary found an appalling scarcity of money in the Creole metropolis. Not a cent could he collect from the alumni, for no money was to be had. At the end of two weeks Odin finally obtained about eight hundred dollars from Assumption and Ascen- sion parishes and immediately purchased the most essential supplies, such as missals, pyxes, altar cloths, wearing apparel, and towels. While waiting for passage, he continued to exert himself in every way possible to raise additional funds. He gave catechetical instruc- tions, delivered a series of sermons in English and French at the ca- thedral and a series of conferences to the Sisters of Charity at Chanty Hospital and Poydras Asylum, to the Ursulines at their convent, and to the religious of the Sacred Heart, but no money did he r~ceive for his labors. His work did not go entirely unrepaid, however, for he was given albs, chalice linens, and other presents. What Odin appreciated most were the prayers which his grateful listeners promised to say for the success of his mission. 16 Odln to Etienne, Galveston, April II, 1841, C. A. T.
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