Fwd from Liland: Re: eulachon (was: The word for communion (fwd))

[Mike Cleven]

>From: "Alan H. Hartley" <ahartley at D.UMN.EDU>

>
>Here's the OED entry:
>
>EULACHON. Also ulikon, ulicon, ulken; and oolakan, -chan, etc.
>[ad. Chinook jargon ulâkân.]
>A small fish of the northwestern parts of North America, ascending the
>rivers in immense numbers to spawn; the candle-fish.
>1807 P. Gass Jrnl. 187 In the afternoon some of the natives came to
>visit us, and brought some of the small fish, which they call Ulken...
>At noon our fishermen returned with some ulken and sturgeon.
>1866 J. K. Lord Naturalist in Vancouver Isl. I. 88 A fish..called by the
>natives Eulachon or Candle-fish.
>1880 Libr. Univ. Knowl. (N.Y.) I. 205 All the early navigators and
>explorers..have spoken of the immense numbers of salmon, cod, halibut,
>mullet, ulicon, etc.
>1885 Simmonds Animal Food Resources ix. 318 The ulikon or oulachan
>(Thaleichthys pacificus, Gerard)..has long been an ichthyological
>curiosity... It is a small silvery fish, averaging about fourteen inches
>long, and in general appearance much resembling a smelt.
>1888 Goode Amer. Fishes 476 They [sc. trout] are taken in Frazer River
>at the time of the eulachon run, but they probably then ascend the river
>to feed upon the eulachon, and not for spawning purposes.
>1955 Sci. News Let. 8 Jan. 32/1 The candlefish, or eulachon, of
>America’s north Pacific coast is prized by Indians as food and for its
>oil.
>
>The Hdbk. N. Amer. Indians VII (1990) p. 50 gives the etymology as
>Chinook Jargon ulâkân or directly from its etymon Chinook
>ú&lbar.x&dotbl.an, and says on p. 25 "The eulachon (Thaleichthys
>pacificus), commonly called hooligan in British Columbia and also known
>as candlefish or Columbia River smelt, is a species of smelt that runs
>in a number of larger streams, generally in early spring."

Which brings us to the provenance of 'hooligan', as in rowdy thugs and
soccer bozos; is there a connection here, or does the rowdy-boy usage come
from somewhere else?

MC
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