lONEI OE! 



A letter from Fragrance of the Jasmine, to Frederick 

 O'Brien, at Sausalito, California: 



"la ora na oe! Maru: 



"Great sorrow has come to Tahiti. The people die 

 by thousands from a devil sickness, the grippe, or influ- 

 enza. It came from your country as we were rejoicing 

 for the peace in France. The Navua brought it, and 

 for weeks we have died. Tati is dead. Tetuanui is 

 dead. They cannot lay the corpses in the graves, they 

 fall so fast. There are no people to help. The dogs 

 and pigs have eaten them as they slept their last sleep 

 in their gardens. Now the corpses are burning in great 

 trenches, and drunken white sailors with scared faces 

 burn them, and drive the dead wagons crosswise in the 

 streets. The burning of our loved ones is affrighting, 

 and the old people who are not dead are in terrible fear 

 of the flames. It is like the savages of the Marquesas 

 in olden times. 



"Your dear friend Lovaina was the first to die of the 

 hotahota, as some call this sickness. Lovaina had a bad 

 cough. The man who looks after the engines of the 

 Navua went to see her, and she kissed him on the cheek. 

 Then the good doctor of Papeete who visits the ships 

 was called to see her. Maru, could that doctor have 

 brouffht the hotahota to Lovaina? She was dead in a 

 little while. 



533 



