Tahitian language
In December 1841, Caret was in Papeete, Tahiti, where he contracted smallpox during an epidemic. Efforts to establish a mission in Tahiti were hampered by the government, but by autumn 1842 Caret built a house out of dried brick, which Herman Melville visited that same year. The house burned down on the evening of 30 June 1844. Caret was convinced the cause was arson. The small nearby chapel was also consumed, as well as manuscripts of all the work done on the language of Tahiti and the Marquesas, including a catechism, prayers and a Tahitian language dictionary.