"Hoochnoo" (crosspost from ADS-L)

[David D. Robertson]

Hi,

Barry Popik's interest is in researching the earliest occurrence in
English of various food- and drink-related words.  Here's a post of his
from today on another list, of interest to many on ours.

I'm not going to take the time right now to look, but I suspect Emily
Fitzgerald (was that her name?) used the word earlier in her letters from
Sitka, circa 1874.  "An Army Doctor's Wife on the Frontier" is the title
of the book to look at.

--Dave R.


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Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Poster:       Bapopik at AOL.COM
Subject:      Hoochnoo (1875)
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TYPING MISTAKES:  "Fakir" is from "1875," not 1975.  Also, in yesterday's
post, the day before was September "23," not September 22.

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HOOCHNOO

   OED has 1877 for "Hoochinoo."  I'm not allowed to copy from the bound
volumes.  (The LOC didn't microfilm these early years of the CINCINNATI
ENQUIRER.)  Perhaps this long article is also on Ancestry?


   12 July 1875, CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, pg. 2, col. 4:
_The Alaska Indians and Whisky._
      WASHINGTON, D. C., July, 1875.
   The following interesting letter written by a prominent citizen of
British Columbia has been officially communicated to the United States
Government:
      VICTORIA, February 5, 1875.
Colonel Q. W. Powell, Commissioner of Indian Affairs in British Columbia:
   SIR:  I beg leave to present you a bottle of whisky distilled by
Indians residing near Sitka, Alaska.  It is made from molasses, and known
among them as "Hoochnoo." (...)
   The Hoochnoo I send you is within five per cent. of proof, and meets
all the requirements of first-class fire-water.  They make it from
molasses and sugar, with potatoes added, and the proper season can use all
the sweet berries of which the country furnishes an abundance. (...)
   H. GASTIN.